Betrayal
Robin Lockwood Book 7
Phillip Margolin
Minotaur Pub
Nov 7th, 2023
Betrayal by Phillip Margolin is the last book in the Robin Lockwood series for now. In this story Margolin explores a death penalty case and the meaning of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
A decade ago, Robin Lockwood was a ranked and rising MMA fighter. Her career came to a quick end when she was knocked out and concussed in the first round by Mandy Kerrigan, a much more talented fighter.
Now the situation couldn’t be more different, with Kerrigan on her last legs, her career nearly over and Robin now a prominent defense attorney in Portland, Oregon. Mandy needs her after being arrested for the quadruple murder of the entire Finch family because she was seen outside their house banging on their door. Now Kerrigan’s is dependent on Robin to defend her and save her from the death penalty.
For Robin, it’s no simple case since a whole family was murdered. Robin must find out who was the intended victim to get to the bottom of who would be the possible killer. She needs to find answers about the Finches’ enemies that would divert blame from Mandy. Those killed include Margaret Finch, a lawyer working for vicious Russian mobsters, and was in the cross-hairs of both the mobsters and the widower of a woman a client killed; her husband Nathan Finch who was deeply in debt to a bookie that threatened his life; her son Ryan was the one who sold Kerrigan illegal performance enhancing drugs and was beaten severely by her when Kerrigan failed her drug test. To complicate matters further, the DA that Robin is facing is the man she’s just started dating, the first person she’s begun seeing seriously after her fiancé was killed.
This is a legal suspense that will keep the readers guessing to the very end. As a bonus there is an intriguing personal side to the protagonist that should remind readers of the classic movie starring Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn titled, “Adam’s Rib.”
Elise Cooper: Why the idea for the story?
Phillip Margolin: I decided to have an entire family murdered. But they are all so awful there are many suspects who each had a different reason to commit the crime. Different people had different motives. The reader along with Robin must figure out who is the intended victim. One person was killed intentionally, and the rest of the family was killed to get rid of the witnesses.
EC: Did you get the name Mandy Kerrigan from the skater of the same last name?
PM: When I was a criminal defense lawyer the two guys who broke the leg of the Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan tried to hire me. My daughter was a competitive ice skater and she skated in the same club as Tonya Harding, the one who planned on hurting Nancy. This name just popped in my head.
EC: How would you describe Mandy?
PM: She has had a hard upbringing. To get out of poverty she chose to fight in the MMA. She eventually became a World Champion but then had several injuries, slowly down. Now she is at the tail end of her career. She is the dependent on the sport for her livelihood and identity. She has nothing to fall back on.
EC: Why the MMA?
PM: I wrestled all through college for about eight years and then did karate for five years. I do watch a lot of boxing. I do not watch MMA because I find it boring.
EC: In your books you explain some law terms. In this book, the meaning of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Why?
PM: This is how I explained to juries. The judicial system was based on a mistrust of government. The system presumed the government made a mistake or was politically motivated when they arrested the person. The entire burden of proving an accusation was put on the government. There was also a high standard of proof. The system presumes the police made a mistake in arresting the individual. If there is one piece of evidence which raises a doubt that makes the jury think the individual did not commit the crime, then they must acquit the person. It is different in a civil case.
EC: How would you describe the prosecutor, Tom McKee?
PM: Ethical, moral, caring, protective, supportive, and has a good sense of humor. He is physically fit. He has a lot in common with Robin, the main character. He is her new love interest but is also on the opposite side of her in this death penalty case. I wanted to set up this moral and ethical dilemma.
EC: Next book?
Phillip Margolin: I like Robin. But for some reason my editor wants me to write the next books as stand alones. It will come out in November. The working title is An Insignificant Case. It was inspired by an actual case of mine in 1972. I represented an artist who sold a painting to a restaurant and then stole it back. A mathematical genius had a breakdown and is a good artist who sells paintings to restaurants. If he does not like where they display the piece, he steals them back. He also steals something else which puts his life at danger.
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