Wishful Sinful

by Tracy Dunham

Book Overview

Escaping her headline-making defeat in a capital murder case she shouldn't have lost, attorney Tal Jefferson leaves her big city law firm and prior life for safe harbor: the small Georgia town where she was raised. For a while she finds solace in memories and booze--until a childhood friend is accused of a brutal murder. Forced to clean up her act, Tal comes to her defense--but finds her own life on the line when small-town secrets lead to big-time...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425198871
• ISBN13: 9780425198872
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 297 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

A wished for sinfully delightful book

Are you looking for an enjoyable read that introduce you to realistic characters while providing mystery? This book meets that criteria. This book provides small-town nuance with an edge. The heroine (Tal Jefferson) returns home to reappraise her career as an attorney. While home, the justice system once more engages her to represent a defendant in a local murder. The reader slowly sees Tal energized as she comes to terms with her case and her past. Engaging characters are introduced in such a manner that I found them not only realistic but so that I wanted to know more about them and their motives. Tal and the other characters become enmeshed in a struggle tainted by small community loyalties and connections. Hidden agendas must be examined to find answers that will help Tal present her case. Ms. Dunham writes with a lively style that begs to be read. We are not burdened by unnecessary details and hollow characters. Does this style work? If my reading this book late into the night is any indication, then yes. I highly recommend this book to mystery readers and any genre reader who wants to be entertained by a well-written intelligent book with soul.

Fabulous first mystery

This is a terrific first book! I loved it! Tal Jefferson has returned home after a terrible loss in a capital murder case. She left her big-city law practice and has returned to the small Georgia town where she was raised. She has been hiding out in the house Miss Ena left to her. Booze has become her best friend. Then she is appointed as the attorney for Crystal in a local murder case. Tal knows the only reason she was chosen is that everyone is sure Crystal is guilty and they want a slam-dunk case. What they didn't count on was Tal getting her act together to give Crystal a proper defense. Her way of making up for her last mistake. Henry, the local coroner and Tal's friend, gets his wife's cousin June to come help Tal out. She takes over Tal's life and office, and soon Tal wonders how she ever survived without her! That's not to say they don't get on each other's nerves. Unfortunately Crystal won't help Tal out with any details of the case. She is very protective of her daughter Desiree. Tal isn't sure what Desiree has to do with this case. Soon Tal finds herself untangling a web of deceit and trying to determine who is the father of whom and who is sleeping with whom! She knows the answers to those questions will help her figure out this case. Ms. Dunham has done a great job with her first in this series. I can't wait to read the next one! Her characters are very well written and she knows the area that she has written about. It feels very authentic. The mystery is hidden well with plenty of red herrings, and I found myself constantly picking the book back up to read another chapter! I highly recommend it!

Wishful Sinful

Wishful Sinful Patricia Cromwell? No. Daniel Steele? No. However, somewhere in between, is a new writer of southern intrigue. Ms. Dunham's staccato dialog matches the pace and the plot. Her protagonist, Talbot Jefferson, a young hardheaded female criminal lawyer reared in the charm of the Old South, returns home to Wynnton, Georgia. There she plans to hide from the world, after failing to keep her innocent client off death row. Once home, she unexpectedly finds herself defending a confessed murderess. As the author opens each new door, she introduces new and real life characters. Some of them lure us with the sweet charm of the South. It is as though we were strolling through a flower garden in the twilight of the day, when the sky is neither day or night and the air is still and laden with the sweet scent of Magnolia blossoms. Others, cloaked in the same mantel of charm, are demonic and their hearts full of evil. Though never quite sure, which is which, Tal digs into their lives, lives that have changed since they were schoolmates twenty years earlier. Her fear of repeated failure, curiosity and determination drive her forward as she uncovers more and more of the sins of Wynnton. Some are small some are large. All are evil acts of those struggling for power, power at any cost. In the end, our heroine joins the cotillion and she too dances with evil masquerading as charm and deceit. Who is the murderer? Will Tal survive? An excellent read! I'm looking forward to the next book. Bill Heath Nags Head, NC

After reading Wishful Sinful...

I can't wait for the next Tal Jefferson novel! Tal Jefferson has come home to Wynnton, GA, running away from her big city past and a mistake she can't forget. She's asked to represent a childhood friend. Being back in a courtroom is the last thing she wants, but Tal pulls herself out of the bottle and starts looking for answers. What she finds is Wynnton is home to a lot of secrets...secrets some people would like to leave uncovered. Secrets somebody is willing to kill for. Tal Jefferson is a fantastic heroine. A woman of integrity who's made mistakes. A three-dimensional character you won't forget.

charming regional mystery

Two years ago Tal Jefferson was a high powered attorney at an influential law firm where she made partner. Her life fell apart when the court appointed her to defend Parnell Moses, but she lost the case because she didn't prepare properly for her day in court. She stands by him through the appeal process but in the end he gave up and eventually was put to death by lethal injection. Unable to live with the guilt she returned to her hometown of Wynnton, Georgia. She drank herself into oblivion and spent her few sober hours fixing up her grandmother's house until the local judge appointed her to represent Crystal Walker who is accused of killing her ex-lover because he stopped paying her utilities and electric bill. Crystal is prepared to go to jail for life as long as her daughter Desiree is safe but Tal is not about to make the same mistake twice and is prepared to give her client a more then even chance of being acquitted. This is Tracy Durham's debut novel and she strikes a home run her first time at bat. The protagonist is endearing and underneath the surface layer of self-pity she is a steel magnolia, leaving no stone unturned in her quest she see her client freed. WISHFUL SINFUL is a charming regional mystery that provides insight into the good ole boy network while showcasing Ms. Dunham's talent. This is a must read for lovers of new and good mystery series. Harriet Klausner