In a city consumed by violence and injustice, an attorney finds himself at the center of a legal storm, forced to question his own beliefs and fight for justice against all odds…
It’s a record year for violent crime in Milwaukee.
For hard-charging criminal defense attorney Mason Mitchell, that means business is booming.
Every day, he defends drug dealers, gangbangers, and killers. Every night, he tries to wash it all away with vodka. Now, two new cases will shake the city and Mason’s faith in the system.
When his world becomes a volatile cocktail of bad cops, racial tension, and murder, where will Mason turn for real justice?
Prepare for a thrilling ride through the gritty streets of Milwaukee, where attorney Mason Mitchell's pursuit of justice brings him face-to-face with corrupt cops, dangerous criminals, and a fight for his own survival in this electrifying courtroom thriller.
In a city consumed by violence and injustice, an attorney finds himself at the center of a legal storm, forced to question his own beliefs and fight for justice against all odds…
It’s a record year for violent crime in Milwaukee.
For hard-charging criminal defense attorney Mason Mitchell, that means business is booming.
Every day, he defends drug dealers, gangbangers, and killers. Every night, he tries to wash it all away with vodka. Now, two new cases will shake the city and Mason’s faith in the system.
When his world becomes a volatile cocktail of bad cops, racial tension, and murder, where will Mason turn for real justice?
Prepare for a thrilling ride through the gritty streets of Milwaukee, where attorney Mason Mitchell's pursuit of justice brings him face-to-face with corrupt cops, dangerous criminals, and a fight for his own survival in this electrifying courtroom thriller.
Robin Key gripped the steering wheel tight to keep from shaking. She drove on autopilot, barely aware of her surroundings. Her pulse raced, breaths coming fast and shallow. No tears, she was still too frazzled for that. Now, finally alone on the drive home, she unraveled.
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Holy shit! What the hell was all that?
She had seen that Michael wasn’t himself from the minute he showed up at the barbeque. He was so touchy, spoiling for an argument. She knew she shouldn’t have taken the bait, overreacted, but then everything got so out of control.
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Who called the cops? Some curtain-twitching neighbor across the street?
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Everyone at the park, her colleagues and neighbors, had watched the entire scene. Robin was still too worked up to feel embarrassed.
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Her day had not gone as planned. Tiptoeing around at work, almost impossible to stay focused on the classes. Seemed like every bad decision was coming back to haunt her. Maybe once her heart stopped racing and she had a chance to shower and get into her sweats, she’d call Michael, try to talk to him, try to be civil. He was so insecure and suspicious these days. So insistent with his questions. She wasn’t surprised. They had been trending in the wrong direction for so long.
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She wasn’t sure Michael was ready to hear what she had to tell him, but she could deal with that. At least, she thought she could. Hopefully the whole drama at the park had scared some sense into him. Both of them, really. Robin really wanted a big glass of wine but that wasn’t in the cards tonight.
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Shit. What a mess. I just need him to hear me out and go from there. That’s all.
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She almost missed her turn, hit the brakes and jerked the vehicle to the right. Too many thoughts swirling in her head. For Robin, the one saving grace of the whole incident was that it happened at the park rather than in front of their house. Everyone on the block already had notions about what kind of people Michael and Robin Key were.
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Her body still hummed with anxiety as she rounded the last corner onto their street and pulled into the driveway. They had bought this house less than a year ago. Michael said this newer, bigger home would give them the stability and space they needed to get things back on track. She had reluctantly agreed.
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Robin didn’t care about the house anymore, or her job for that matter. She could find new ones. Maybe she would finally carry out her threat to move back to Philadelphia.
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Can’t start fresh here. I’m so tired of this fucking city.
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First, Robin would answer Michaels questions and tell him exactly what was going on. She wouldn’t be surprised if he had already figured it out himself. Then, even with all the fallout she would go on and handle the rest of life on her own. She was confident of that.
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Robin switched off the ignition and closed her eyes. She took several long, deep breaths to slow her manic rhythm.
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Ok. It’s ok. You’ve got this, Robo. You’ve got this.
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She realized her left hand still held the wheel in a vice grip and laughed at her false bravado.
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Robin got out of the car and looked up and down her street. She saw tidy middle-class houses with well-manicured lawns. She heard a dog barking and the voices of children somewhere in the near distance but there was no one to be seen on such a pleasant night.
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Decent citizens in their nice little homes, with their nice little opinions about me and Michael. Fuck them. You’ve got this.
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She rummaged through her purse for the house keys as she approached the front door. The porch light was already on. A broad willow hedge that shielded their porch from the street and the property next door was home to a family of raccoons that were always setting off the light’s motion sensor. When she reached the foot of the steps Robin heard twigs cracking.
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Yikes, those raccoons must be getting fat.
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A dark figure burst from the hedge and rushed in behind her. A gloved hand clamped over her mouth and she smelled old leather. Pain exploded in her right side, setting Robin’s mind on fire. She felt the full weight of a man leaning into her back, then looked down and saw a blood-slicked knife blade before it swung again, disappearing into the flesh under her ribcage. She screamed behind the gloved hand as a fresh surge of adrenaline coursed through her. Robin set her foot against the middle step and pushed her attacker sideways into the railing. She turned her body away from him, ignoring the searing tendrils shooting through her abdomen, but his hand stayed in place, stifling her howls of agony. He was so strong.
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Keep fighting! Oh my god fuck fuck fuck keep fighting! Don’t let him do this!
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She kicked and stomped behind her, searching for his feet, his knees, anything. She became conscious of warmth spreading over her blouse and jeans. Blood. Her blood. Lots of it. Robin twisted against his grip and reached back with both hands, her fingers curled like talons clawing at his face.
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She raked the skin under his eye and down his neck and he grunted in pain but steadied himself and sent the knife into the middle of her back. With that her wind was gone and her legs failed. He fell on top of her, pinning her to the steps. Robin drove her thigh into his groin and he shifted briefly, but she remained trapped under him. He leaned onto her chest, driving the edge of the top step into her spine, sending fresh waves of agony to every corner of her body. Held in place, she could do nothing as he slid the blade into her throat. He paused there, his panting face just inches from hers, and looked into her dimming eyes.
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“Now it’s over, Robin,” he said before withdrawing the knife from her neck. He wiped the dripping blade on her jacket and scrambled back into the shadowy wall of willows, his footsteps fading into the night.
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Robin’s head fell to one side, and she coughed. Blood spattered onto the boards next to her face. There was so much blood. On the steps. On her clothes. Running free in her abdomen. She couldn’t feel her legs. Robin let out a low croaking moan that was cut short by the blood filling her throat.
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She lay there, alone with the sounds of suburban dusk; barking dogs, kids laughing in someone’s backyard, chirping crickets, the far-off rumble of a freight truck. With a gurgling effort, she drew air into her lungs.
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You’re not done. You’ve got this, Robo.
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Using her last reserve of ebbing strength she dragged herself up onto the porch landing. Through her tunnel vision the front door seemed so far away. The pain receded into a different section of her consciousness and now she felt heavy and so tired. Her keys and phone were all the way down at the bottom of the steps. She was cold now. Her voice would not come and there was no one on the street to hear her faint moans. Robin Key lay in a widening pool of her own blood, her left hand resting on the doormat that proclaimed YOU ARE WELCOME. Her heart slowed to a standstill as the porch light ticked away its sixty second countdown and then went dark.Â
When the story begins our first introduction to Mason is giving a speech to a high school. He advocates if they are arrested to refuse to talk to the police. This sets the tone for Mouse in the Box.
The story begins with Robin Key's murder. Her husband Michael admits to her murder under police interrogation and intimidation; the subject gains nationwide attention and racial tension is brewing.
You can tell Mitchell has lost his moral compass. He is used to questions on why he defends drug dealers and murderers.
For his typical client the criminal justice sytem was just the latest in a series of social structures to fail them. And while some commited grim and horrifying crimes others were trying to survive in an unfortunate zip code.
One of his clients, Lori, is accused of stabbing her husband at a party. She doesn't remember it. While working on the case he finds out that she is a victim of domestic abuse. Her husband is a despicable person who won't garner sympathy from the jury. Lori hasn't been in trouble before, and Mitchell wants to fight to get her probation. She is sentenced to three years in jail.
Then he's assigned the Michael Key case. By the time these two cases emerge, they round out the storytelling. Both consume Mason's life. He realizes he has two clients that are innocent.
I suspected that the system is biased against POC and is eager to imprison them. This is more than a great book. Mouse in the Box discloses the drama and the reality of the American justice system.
Mason's character develops as he is placed in this legal storm.
I liked that there was diversity. It was a bold move to use a case similar to OJ Simpson. I think it was a take that needed exploring. I was confident in every scene that Lewis Allan was doing what he set out to do. The author did an excellent job of showing how systemic racism affects lives. I'm glad Allan used his creative powers to acknowledge this issue.
Readers who enjoy legal thrillers, you'll learn about the law and will be engaged in courtroom drama.