Hollow Spaces
by Victor Suthammanont
I’ve long been fascinated with criminal cases that end in acquittals — not because of the trial or the spectacle, but because of the aftermath, and how being found “not guilty” can have a significant negative impact on the lives of everyone involved, particularly family members of victims and the accused.
So I was especially intrigued by the premise of HOLLOW SPACES (Counterpoint, 384 pp., $28), which begins as John Lo, the only Asian American partner at his law firm, is acquitted of the murder of his colleague (and extramarital girlfriend) Jessica DeSalvo. After the trial, his marriage implodes; his two children, Brennan and Hunter, arrive at different conclusions about his guilt; and no one seems to care who killed Jessica if John didn’t.
Three decades later, Brennan and Hunter — a litigator and a war correspondent, respectively — decide to confront that mystery, which Suthammanont unspools with gorgeous precision. The heart of “Hollow Spaces” lies in the way children repeat their parents’ mistakes — and the not-so-casual racism in privileged spaces.
The Understudy
by Morgan Richter
A crime novel featuring an opera singer’s battle of wits with her understudy? I couldn’t devour THE UNDERSTUDY (Knopf, 336 pp., $28) fast enough, and if some of the parts didn’t quite gel, I was having too much delicious fun reading it to care.
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