The Color of Justice, by Ace Collins

Ace Collins takes us back to a bitterly divided South in The Color of Justice, a novel about a young black man accused of murdering the teenage daughter of a prominent white family.  When the young man's mother tearfully seeks the assistance of Coop Lindsay, a young white attorney whose family has deep roots in their small Mississippi town, Coop is just intrigued enough to consider representing Martin.  It doesn't take long for Coop to figure out that the evidence against Martin is fishy.

Nevertheless, the whole town, at least all the white people in town, are convinced that Martin is guilty.  As word gets around that Coop will be defending him, the town turns against him, even burning a cross in his yard.  Coop finds an unlikely ally in a local millionaire, whose old money runs the town. 

The Color of Justice takes a jarring turn about two-thirds of the way through.  The trial concludes, but Collins jumps forward from 1964 to 2014, when Coop's grandson, also named Coop, comes to town.  His purpose is to look into the 1964 murder case, but he gets drafted to assist with a new murder mystery.  We learn that the first Coop, along with Martin, disappeared as soon as the trial ended.  That mystery and the new mystery end up mingling, and young Coop has to use his insight, just as his grandfather did, to come to unpopular conclusions in the name of justice.

By linking these two stories, a half century apart, Collins adds a level of interest to The Color of Justice, which otherwise would have been a pretty straightforward murder mystery.  I enjoyed it, with some reservations.  The whole culture of the South theme seemed artificial, for some reason.  I felt like Collins may have cribbed a bit too much from To Kill a Mockingbird and the like.  I don't know if a story about justice in the South in the 1960s can avoid stereotypes and easy categorization.  Also, I'm not a lawyer, but it seemed like Collins played fast and loose with court procedures, especially in the 2014 trial.

Overall, The Color of Justice is entertaining.  Coop is easy to cheer for, and Martin and his mother are well-written as the justice-seeking minorities with all the odds against them. 


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!