Beneath the Gavel

by Stephen M. Murphy

Rating: ****

When Judge Ferdinand “Ferd” Pitt realizes the disheveled defendant standing in front of him is the father who abandoned Ferd and his twin sister, Claire, over thirty years ago, he immediately recuses himself from the case. 

Dwight Pitt is accused of murder, and the victim is Patrick Brady, founder and Chief Technology Officer of a software development company. Brady also happened to be Ferd’s son, Josh’s boss. When evidence not only places Dwight at the scene of the murder but also Josh, Ferd starts to conduct his own investigation, an investigation that will threaten his marriage, career, and health, and uncover more truths than Ferd expected…

Beneath the Gavel opens straight into the San Francisco criminal courthouse and Ferd’s stunned recognition that the accused is his estranged father. It’s a brilliant opener, tightly controlled, impactful, and perfectly credible.

Murphy’s prose is straightforward yet elegant, and he writes with confidence and polish, ensuring his bombshell beginning not only hooks the reader but maintains focus. Through Ferd’s responses, internal and external, to the sight of Dwight and his subsequent dialogues explaining the situation, Murphy deftly provides backstory while also shedding a few hints that cast doubt on Dwight’s involvement in Patrick Brady’s murder.

Ferd is well-depicted, Murphy strikes a convincing balance between the Judge’s professional, logical demeanor and the emotional turmoil within. Ferd’s enquiries and actions are entirely believable as Murphy serves up the forty-six-year-old a series of twists, involving both the murder and the reappearance of Dwight in Ferd’s life.

Murphy does not overcomplicate the stabbing of Patrick Brady, but packs in enough light complexity to keep the reader guessing. It’s relatively obvious that Dwight did not stab Brady. Clues and conjecture swirl around the victim’s widow and members of his team at his IT company, with suspicion falling on Josh Pitt, Ferd’s son.

Josh certainly does not help himself, aside from some unexplained, incriminating evidence, his attitude toward his parents, particularly Ferd, is distant to the point of rudeness.

Nonetheless, Murphy provides plenty of ambiguity to Josh’s behavior and a few half-reveals regarding the conduct of other characters on the night of the murder to puzzle the reader.

However, as the title suggests, another narrative runs beneath the main plot, that of the familial drama unfolding in Ferd’s life, and this plotline takes prominence in the last quarter of the novel. Dwight’s return prompts as many questions as answers and has a significant effect on Ferd’s marriage, his judicial standing, and his relationships with Claire and Josh.

Additionally, it’s obvious Ferd’s mother, Melinda, is hiding something. When this is disclosed shortly after three-quarters, it’s an unexpected revelation that changes the emotional landscape. It could have proved anticlimactic or had a destabilizing influence on the story's integrity, but Murphy controls momentum and handles the aftermath with smooth dexterity.

As the conclusion nears, the murder retakes center stage, complicated by Ferd’s upcoming judicial election and domestic tension. It’s nail-biting stuff, and Murphy’s understandably assured handling of legal procedures and courtroom rhetoric makes for compelling reading.

The ending feels a touch hurried, although it’s satisfactory, and Sonya fails to convince in places. She is a detached, slightly aloof character who seems to inhabit the edges of the narrative, and her dynamic with Ferd occasionally feels awkward.

Notwithstanding, Beneath the Gavel is a sharply written, well-plotted, and thoroughly gripping legal thriller. Highly recommended.

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