Envious Justice

The Kadella series is beautiful! The author introduces new characters with a flair that is pretty rare. And the use of characters throughout the story is wonderful. I know that the series will end eventually, but until then I'm hooked.

Midnight on a cold, almost frosty autumn night in a rough neighborhood of Minneapolis. Two men, agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, are sitting in their car in the empty lot of a local park. It's dark while they wait when a man walks up to the driver's open window. Without any warning, not giving the armed agents the chance to defend themselves, the stranger pulls a gun, a .38 caliber revolver, and shoots both of them in the head. He flees while the agents die. A sensational act that rocks the Twin Cities. The murder of any law enforcement officer is still a rarity in Minnesota, especially one as planned, premeditated, and brutal as a double homicide.

Miles Davis, named after his father's favorite musician, has an extremely bright future ahead of him. Fourteen years old, an eighth-grade middle school student on the Northside of Minneapolis, Miles has almost every major college scouting him as a future NBA caliber point guard. On top of it he is carrying a 3.3 GPA, the result of a two-parent upbringing that has emphasized academics even more than his balling skills. This is the child every parent worthy of being called a parent wants their child to become.

A few days after the murders, MPD detectives burst into Miles' classroom and without a warning or apology, drag Miles out in handcuffs. The gun that did the murders was found hidden in his school locker. Enter Marc Kadella.

A close friend of the Davis family is a retired detective of the MPD and a friend of Marc's PI pal, Tony Carvelli. Initially, Marc wants nothing to do with a notorious, very likely pro bono murder defense. Except his wife, Madeline Rivers, insists he at least meet with Miles and the Davis family. Convinced of Miles innocence, Marc is hooked.

Envious Justice has enough twists, turns and suspects to fill two courtrooms. The confusing pretzel that is this story will keep you up with the SODDI defense while knowing Miles is innocent but then, who done it? As always, Carstens has crafted a terrific legal mystery with a realistic trial for those who admire the genre to enjoy, probably many times.