The Hanging Judge by Michael Ponsor

443 Pages
Publisher: Open Road Media
Release Date: December 13, 2013

Fiction (Adult), Legal Thriller

The morning Peach Delgado was gunned down was sunny and quiet in Holyoke. Ginger Daley O’Conner was an unexpected casualty as she bent down to pet the puppy tied outside the clinic.

David Norcross, a federal judge just finished overseeing yet another life sentence. He stops to use the ATM kiosk but when he is distracted by his phone ringing, he steps towards his car. The door closes and he realizes his card is still in the machine and his car keys are on the shelf. He waits around until the beautiful Claire Lindermann comes to his rescue.

Clarence “Moon” Hudson and his wife Sandra are in bed across the hall from their six-month-old baby, Grace when the police issued a no-knock warrant. Moon was arrested and taken into custody for the murder of Peach and Ginger. Judge Norcross will preside over the trial.

The story flows well, and the characters are developed. It is written in the third person point of view. This is the first book in the Judge Norcross Novels. If you enjoy legal thrillers and books by John Grisham, you will like this book.

Book of the Week - The Hanging Judge by Michael Ponsor
Ponsor's debut is a welcome addition to the legal thriller genre. Judge David Norcross is thrust into the spotlight when the feds decide to prosecute a death penalty case in western Massachusetts. When a drive by shooting kills not only a Puerto Rican gang member, but also a well liked nurse volunteering at a clinic, the sixteen year old driver of the shooter's car names Moon Hanson, the shooter. Moon, a former gang member, twice jailed, changed his life when he fell in love with Sandra, a middle class young woman earning her masters in library science. Their nice life with their baby girl is ripped apart when the police invade and trash their apartment in the middle of the night. An ambitious Cuban-American prosecutor and old fashioned, chain smoking defense attorney go up against each other in Norcross's courtroom to decide the high stakes fate of Moon. David, who has been widowed for several years finds himself falling for college professor Claire. Many characters, an interesting premise, and historical insights into an early 19th century capital trial in the same area, suck the reader in and keep the pages turning.