Above the Law
By J. F. Freedman
Reviewed by Ina R. Bort
From the New York Law Journal
February 25, 2000
Here is a little quiz for the women in the audience. Which would you rather be: (a) a brainless creature whose sole purpose in life is to bathe the baby, (b) a hardened divorcee without a shred of moral consciousness or (c) a middle-aged widow needy enough to sacrifice all dignity for a brief moment of physical intimacy?
What is that you say? "None of the above?" Sorry, not an option. At least not if you're a woman in the world of J. F. Freedman.
Consider the leading ladies in Above the Law, the author's latest crime thriller. Exhibit A is Riva Garrison, babe wife of Luke Garrison, the ace attorney who has just been asked to investigate the suspicious murder of Raymond Juarez, the most powerful drug kingpin in the country. Riva's most striking qualities? Her long legs, longer nails and abilities in the bedroom that make Luke the happiest man in California. You won't hear a peep out of Riva when she learns of Luke's assignment, which will take him away from her and Buck, their 2-year-old son, for five days every week. Instead, she throws her support behind him and assumes her maternal duties in saintly fashion. Better yet, she never fails to have a gourmet dinner on the table on the few nights when she is lucky enough to have Luke at home.
Exhibit B is Nora Sherman Ray, Luke's fellow Yale Law School alumna. Nora, now the District Attorney in remote Muir County, needs Luke's help in solving the Juarez murder. It is a complicated case, the murder having occurred during a Drug Enforcement Agency raid on Juarez's multi-million-dollar compound. A mother lode of information on the illegal drug trade, Juarez was supposed to have been taken alive. Instead, he is found in the woods with a neat bullet hole in his right temple. One suspect is Sterling Jerome, head of the DEA Western States Task Force, who led the raid and who has been relentlessly pursuing Juarez for over a decade. But just as possible is that one of Juarez's own men killed him, for fear of Juarez leaking all to his captors.
Nora calls on Luke to leave his comfy life as a solo practitioner in southern California temporarily and to perform an independent investigation of the messy crime. As it turns out, Luke's job description also includes tending to Nora's multiple emotional needs. Luke quickly learns that Nora's life has been on a swift decline since their halcyon days in New Haven. Her husband's suicide brought a seemingly wonderful marriage to a rather abrupt halt. Her convoluted career track has landed her in the California outback. And, worst of all, while once a "thin, athletic woman" during law school, "now she was heavier, mostly from the waist down."
And boy is she on the prowl. As if solving a murder is not enough stress, Luke has to devote as much effort to fending off Nora's advances. One night when he goes to Nora's home for dinner to discuss the case, or so he thinks, she makes clear that Luke's sharpshooter mind is not necessarily the body part of greatest interest to her. As the two sip cognac on Nora's sofa, Luke muses: "Obviously, I wasn't going to get involved with her sexually, but I didn't want an emotional attachment of any kind. It would be an easy trap to fall into, because she was lonely; I had to resist falling into that emotion, which can be draining."
Poor, poor Luke. And Nora's sexual and emotional aggressiveness is not even her worst quality. In the course of investigating the murder, Luke finds that Nora has a nasty habit of abusing the power she has as the District Attorney. Her capacity for corruption and evil, Luke discovers, is limitless.
But not unmatched. Exhibit C is Louisa Bearpaw, leading figure of the White Horse Nation, the Native American tribe with a reservation abutting the lands where Juarez was killed. Of all the women in the book, Louisa comes closest to being independent. She is the only female leader of the tribe and is spearheading the effort to annex the Juarez properties to the White Horse reservation. Freeman depicts her as a tough negotiator, able to win important concessions in her dealings with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Like Nora, however, Louisa has a weakness for malfeasance. She, too, exploits her position to engage in misconduct of staggering proportion, and without an ounce of regret. Her main concern when about to be carted off to jail is that she be given enough time to freshen her makeup.
Freedman makes little attempt to mask his feelings that a woman with any authority is bound to abuse it. Far preferable is the woman kept at home. After all, when there are loads of laundry to be done, it is hard to find the time to launder money.
So, for you women readers who are looking for role models, Above the Law might not be the best source. If you're looking for a vaguely entertaining thriller, however, you might want to give this book a try.
