Craftsman solves courtroom mystery

John Lescroart has written a terrific courtroom mystery as the main series characters take a backseat to defense attorney Rebecca Hardy, daughter of regular Dismas, who takes on a case involving Greg Treadway, a middle school teacher who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Treadway volunteers as an advocate for foster children, and he's had success with Anlya Paulson, a pretty 17-year-old who lives at a group home. One night, she falls from an overpass, and an eyewitness claims he saw Treadway leaving the scene.

Treadway says he had dinner with her, but she left to go shopping. Owners of the restaurant say they saw Treadway and Paulson holding hands, and evidence in Paulson's room reveals a photo signed by Treadway with the words "all my love".

Investigators find other suspects, but the more they discover, the more Treadway's alibi falls apart.

Lescroart is a master craftsman. He knows how to juggle story elements to keep readers guessing up to the last chapter.