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Gordon Seegerman is the least ambitious lawyer you're ever likely to run across. He is perfectly happy as 'the misdemeanor man' in the Public Defender's office, content to "do deuces and petty grabs and possessions for fun. I do frat boys shooting guns at no one in particular, and drunks pummeling each other because they've nothing better to do after last call. And I do wankers." This lack of ambition frees him up for his role as Barry X, the lead singer for a Barry Manilow cover band, and care-giver for his father, who has early onset familial Alzheimer's disease. Today, Seegerman has been assigned to wanker (indecent exposer) Harold Dunn. Harold Dunn has an ten-year-old prior in Oregon, when he was a practising alcoholic. He's cleaned up his act, been sober for years, and is working for Giving-Out-Dinner (aka G-O-D) as an accountant. He swears he didn't expose himself to anyone. Seegerman can't figure out why Dunn has been placed in High Power (where they put the rapist and murderers), why the deputy district attorney is asking for no bail and an amazingly severe sentence, or why the judge is going along with any of this. Dunn refuses to even consider a deal, much less the complete lack of a deal the DDA is offering. Seegerman's mental skills are slightly muddled because he is still carrying a small torch for Silvie Hernandez, the DDA. He is also far more focussed on a upcoming gig his band, Barry X and the Mandys, is playing for G-O-D very shortly. It is rumored that Mr Barry Manilow might make an appearance at this gig. Dunn is bailed out by a friend, and promptly starts mucking up his case by chasing down the witnesses who ID'd him on the indecent exposure. His life gets very complicated when one of those witnesses is murdered. Seegerman wishes that this case would stay simple, but it refuses to do that. Seegerman's life gets complicated, not just because of Dunn's case. His father is getting harder to handle. The house they live in, the house his mother died in, will probably have to be sold to pay for the care his father is going to require in the very near future. Seegerman finds that almost more than he can bear. Plus there's a new woman in his life, a woman who "just wants to be friends". Gotta love that line. I thoroughly enjoyed MISDEMEANOR MAN. Gordon Seegerman is a man with whom I can empathize, for a number of reasons. His band, the Mandys, is truly a group of weirdo people, but these are people who really care about Gordon and about Barry Manilow. The frustration and stress, with occasional moments of hysteria, that comprise Gordon's home life are very real -- anyone who has ever been the primary carer for another person will know that Schaffer has done his homework in this area. The plot seems pretty straightforward, but Schaffer has a surprise or three that I never saw coming. There were moments when I laughed out loud, either at the situation being described or at the way Schaffer described it. At the same time, Schaffer kept me reading, kept the level of suspense high enough that I didn't want to put the book down. MISDEMEANOR MAN is a refreshing change from the super-charged lawyers as seen on Law & Order and in many of the legal mysteries or thrillers currently available. Seegerman is a believable character, with endearing as well as frustrating qualities. The next book in the series is I RIGHT THE WRONGS; I am sorely tempted not to wait until it's out in paperback but spring for the hardcover copy. I am passing MISDEMEANOR MAN along to my friends locally, and recommending it to my friends out-of-town. I recommend it to you.
Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, September 2005
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