Except for identical twins, a person’s DNA is unique. No two individuals can have the same arrangement and frequency of the A, C, G, and T components on a chromosomal strand. So, what could be a more perfect alibi than to be in jail when a heinous crime is committed, and the perpetrator leaves your DNA behind?
In Phillip Margolin’s “The Perfect Alibi” (2019, 354 pages in paperback format), Randi Stark is raped by college football star Blaine Hastings, who previously beat up her boyfriend Ryan Tucker. Randi seeks out attorney Robin Lockwood to file suit against Hastings after he is arrested and sent to jail. But another young woman is raped, and the police collect a DNA sample that is identical to that of Blaine Hastings. The only possible conclusion is that the same person committed both rapes, but Hastings has “the perfect alibi” because he was in jail.
Hastings is released on bail, has a new lawyer, and is granted a new trial. However, Randi wants Robin to proceed with the lawsuit because, despite the evidence that has been collected, she knows who raped her. In his second trial, against the advice of Doug Armstrong, his new counsel, Hastings insists on testifying, and he cracks under cross examination. The jury brings in a guilty verdict.
However, there emerges a question about the crime lab’s ability to test a tiny amount of DNA that was found under Blaine’s fingernail. A new private lab claims that it has a proven method, based on probability statistics, that exonerates Blaine. Meanwhile, attorney Armstrong has gone missing and his partner Frank Nylander has been killed in their office. Armstrong is found wandering around downtown after a flight back from Seattle, bruised and suffering from short-term amnesia.
This is where the plot gets complicated. Nylander was in New York while Armstrong was in Seattle, and Robin is juggling two other cases in Portland. A number of amateur reviewers on Amazon.com have commented that there is simply too much going on to keep track of the various plots. Others say that there are too many characters, and they have to flip back to previous pages to figure out who’s who.
Another problem is that it’s difficult to see if or how the various plots are connected. One Amazon.com reviewer commented that it seems as if some college students were asked to write a chapter, and then all the chapters were thrown together to make up a book.
I tried to overlook those imperfections because “The Perfect Alibi” is the second installment in the Robin Lockwood series. I really like Margolin’s new protagonist, and I was most interested in the original mystery: Will Blaine Hastings pay for raping Randi Stark?
Phillip Margolin, a veteran story teller and an excellent writer, manages to pull it all together at the end. So, I found the book worth reading and look forward to “A Reasonable Doubt,” the third Robin Lockwood book.
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Puede contactar a Jim Glynn en j_glynn@att.net.