DYLAN SCHAFFER – Misdemeanor Man. Bloomsbury, trade paperback original; first printing, June 2004.

   Public defender Gordon Seegerman sticks to defending misdemeanors, sings lead in a Barry Manilow tribute band, and worries about getting early-onset Alzheimer’s like his ex-cop dad.

   An indecent exposure case leads to something bigger, and things get busy and dangerous at the same time that the band is preparing for a gig that “MBM” (Mr. Barry Manilow) himself might attend.

   If this sounds gimmicky, it is. Most of Gordon’s wacky bandmates also work in his office, he lives with his father and grandfather in a wacky old house, and he can’t keep a girl friend because he’s haunted by the possibility of clinical wackiness.

   Countering all the wackiness, the trial procedure is quite realistic, according to my sources. (The author is a criminal-defense attorney.)

   Verdict: gimmicky but enjoyable.

      The Gordon Seegerman “Misdemeanor Man” series:

    1. Misdemeanor Man. 2004.
    2. I Right the Wrongs. 2005.