Twenty-five year old Victoria Justice has never really gotten over a near drowning at the hands of a high school bully, but has attempted to build her confidence and career as a court stenographer under the mentorship of The Honorable Frederica Scott Wannamaker, the county's first African-American Superior Court judge.Visit Andrea J. Johnson's website.
But when her old nemesis appears on the court docket, Victoria's carefully crafted world implodes—evidence goes missing, a potential mistrial abounds, and the judge winds up drowned in the courthouse bathroom. Victoria realizes her transcript of the proceedings unlocks everyone's secrets...including the murderer's.
Plagued with guilt for failing to protect her mentor, Victoria teams up with Ashton North, the handsome state trooper accused of mishandling trial evidence, and starts to untangle the conspiracy surrounding the case.
Meanwhile, the deputy attorney general hangs himself during the Post-Election Festival. Everyone is quick to accept his suicide note as a sign of guilt, but Victoria is convinced the truth behind her mentor's death lies in the trial transcript. Can she suppress her fears long enough to crack the code, find her voice, and avoid the crosshairs of the killer?
--Marshal Zeringue