THE LAST PLEA BARGAIN BY RANDY SINGER

RANDY SINGER is a writer of courtroom drama with a definite twist.  I have read most of his novels and enjoyed them all.  THE LAST PLEA BARGAIN is well worth reading as it is not only very exciting and well written, but there is a definite Christian message.
Jamie Brock, the protagonist, is assistant DA for Milton County.  Her boss, William Masterton, is campaigning for higher office, and he has the backing of all those who work for him.  
Jamie's father is dying, and both he and she are waiting for the execution of Antoine Marshall who was convicted many years before for murdering her mother and shooting her father.  Jamie's mother was a clinical psychologist who was well known in legal circles for her court testimonies.  Jamie misses her mother terribly and determined to get justice for her. Jamie's father was a defense attorney with an impeccable record - until there were rumours of illegal activities.
The two people who broke down her father's eye-witness testimony are Mace James, a former convicted criminal who is now a defense lawyer, and Caleb Tate, a successful attorney who heads up his own prestigious law firm.  Jamie is determined to see Antoine get his due and dislikes the two men intensely for disrespecting her father.  
Jamie loves her father, and goes to see him often in hospital, even though he has had two strokes and can't respond to her.  Her father dies and Antoine's execution is stayed once again. 
Jamie's brother, Chris, is a pastor and he is a great support to his sister.
Jamie lives in her parents' home, the one in which her mother is murdered, with her dog Justice.  Justice is great company, but not much of a watch dog, loving everyone and licking them to death!
When Caleb Tate's former showgirl wife dies from a drug overdose, Jamie goes all out to prove that he murdered her.  She had become a Christian and, amongst other things, Jamie felt that Caleb didn't like his "trophy" wife's religious conversion.
Jamie has always been against plea bargains, but there is a sinister turn around amongst the criminals who refuse all plea bargains and cause a tremendous logjam in the judicial system.  
Mace James, who has been in jail himself, has become a Christian and so has Antoine, although many people think the latter may not be sincere - just trying to evade the death penalty.  Mace knows that Antoine has definitely made a commitment to Christ.  Mace is against the death penalty and does all he can to save his client's life.
There is a strong message of the importance of forgiveness, of the danger of judging others and jumping to conclusions about people, and of the search for truth. Things definitely aren't always as they seem! It is when Jamie has a near death experience that she is drawn back to the God with whom she has been so angry for so long - ever since her mother's horrible death.  
The novel is exciting and the characters are well portrayed.  It is a "must read" for anyone who enjoys court room thrillers.