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A Question of Proof
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From Joseph Amiel, best-selling author of Birthright, Deeds, and Star Time, comes his most compelling work yet. A Question of Proof is a spell-binding and profoundly moving courtroom drama in which a lawyer struggles to defend the woman he loves against the accusation that she murdered her husband. Tough and street-smart, a principled rebel against an establishment he has always scorned, Dan Lazar has risen from the working class to become one of Philadelphia's top criminal defenders. But now divorced and badly missing his young son, disillusioned by years of representing vicious criminals, humiliated by the politically ambitious DA's charge that he bribed a witness in a brutal rape-homicide case, Dan is burned out, depressed, and ready to call it quits.
On the surface he would seem to have nothing in common with Susan Boelter, the beautiful and patrician wife of Peter Boelter, who runs the city's dominant newspaper and heads one of its most powerful families. But when Peter deserts her and files for divorce, moving to seize everything that is precious to her, including custody of their thirteen-year-old daughter, Susan turns to a reluctant Dan for help. Suddenly, Peter is found dead. Susan becomes the prime suspect in his murder. Driven by his love for her and by an inner need to defend someone in whose innocence he can truly believe, Dan starts to investigate. He soon discovers a maze of conflicting evidence and of growing doubts and mystery about the woman he thought he knew and loved. And he realizes that the truth he desperately seeks - especially about Peter Boelter's death - depends on finding the answer to a question of proof.
From Philadelphia's courtrooms in City Center to the mansions in its moneyed suburbs, A Question of Proof is the gripping story of one man's internal battle between love and justice and the lengths to which a wealthy family will go to hide its secrets.
From Joseph Amiel, best-selling author of Birthright, Deeds, and Star Time, comes his most compelling work yet. A Question of Proof is a spell-binding and profoundly moving courtroom drama in which a lawyer struggles to defend the woman he loves against the accusation that she murdered her husband. Tough and street-smart, a principled rebel against an establishment he has always scorned, Dan Lazar has risen from the working class to become one of Philadelphia's top criminal defenders. But now divorced and badly missing his young son, disillusioned by years of representing vicious criminals, humiliated by the politically ambitious DA's charge that he bribed a witness in a brutal rape-homicide case, Dan is burned out, depressed, and ready to call it quits.
On the surface he would seem to have nothing in common with Susan Boelter, the beautiful and patrician wife of Peter Boelter, who runs the city's dominant newspaper and heads one of its most powerful families. But when Peter deserts her and files for divorce, moving to seize everything that is precious to her, including custody of their thirteen-year-old daughter, Susan turns to a reluctant Dan for help. Suddenly, Peter is found dead. Susan becomes the prime suspect in his murder. Driven by his love for her and by an inner need to defend someone in whose innocence he can truly believe, Dan starts to investigate. He soon discovers a maze of conflicting evidence and of growing doubts and mystery about the woman he thought he knew and loved. And he realizes that the truth he desperately seeks - especially about Peter Boelter's death - depends on finding the answer to a question of proof.
From Philadelphia's courtrooms in City Center to the mansions in its moneyed suburbs, A Question of Proof is the gripping story of one man's internal battle between love and justice and the lengths to which a wealthy family will go to hide its secrets.
- GenresFiction
351 pages, Hardcover
First published May 18, 1993
22 people are currently reading
307 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Amiel
27 books8 followersJoseph Amiel is an internationally best-selling novelist, screenwriter, web series creator, and lawyer. His most recent fiction is a small collection of short stories entitled Death Can Delight: A Trio of Mysteries. He is the author of the novels Stalking the Sky, Birthright, Deeds, Star Time, and A Question of Proof. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages. He wrote the cult horror-film classic Daughters of Darkness. His comedy screenplay "Games" has been honored at film festivals, as has his comedy-mystery web series "Ain't That Life." A graduate of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Amherst College and Yale Law School, he is married and lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 19, 2025
There are many times when donations are provided to my Little Free Library Shed that I will pass on reading them. It might be because I haven’t heard of the author, or that the premise doesn’t appear compelling. But in this case, even if I didn’t know of the author, it advertised itself as being a courtroom thriller, and that is one of my favorite genres. So, I decided to read it.
This story was published in 1993. Amiel is marketed as an American attorney and screenwriter of the cult horror-film classic ‘Daughters of Darkness’ which premiered in 1971. Which to be honest, because I am not a horror fan, I have not seen.
With this story, we have a defense attorney named Dan who seems to get himself in a lot of trouble, because of the clients he chooses to defend. Now, granted everyone deserves a defense, but could Dan’s defense strategies be so good that criminals are set free to do more harm? Is there a moral dilemma here?
This becomes a continuing saga within the story, as police track a serial rapist. Which leads characters to the question of proof. Which when translated leads to…the burden of proof. The job of the defense or prosecution to present sufficient evidence to convince a jury of the person’s guilt or innocence.
So, what happens when they do?
This becomes even more of a question when Dan finds himself in the midst of defending someone he loves when she is accused of murdering her soon to be ex-husband. Is he the best objective attorney for her? Is she guilty or innocent as she proclaims? What price will Dan pay for his defense of her? And, what happens when he learns the truth? (Please don’t presume anything by this last question.)
Readers will be taken inside the courtroom, as well as inside the minds of those characters who work the cases. As pages turn, readers have the opportunity to make their own decision about the big reveal. Does Dan make the right decision in the end? (No spoilers from me.)
Still, it truly is the end that stymied me. As much as I appreciated the tension and build-up to the final reveal, it was hard for me to accept the ending. Was it believable, convoluted, or possible? I leave it to readers to decide.
This story was published in 1993. Amiel is marketed as an American attorney and screenwriter of the cult horror-film classic ‘Daughters of Darkness’ which premiered in 1971. Which to be honest, because I am not a horror fan, I have not seen.
With this story, we have a defense attorney named Dan who seems to get himself in a lot of trouble, because of the clients he chooses to defend. Now, granted everyone deserves a defense, but could Dan’s defense strategies be so good that criminals are set free to do more harm? Is there a moral dilemma here?
This becomes a continuing saga within the story, as police track a serial rapist. Which leads characters to the question of proof. Which when translated leads to…the burden of proof. The job of the defense or prosecution to present sufficient evidence to convince a jury of the person’s guilt or innocence.
So, what happens when they do?
This becomes even more of a question when Dan finds himself in the midst of defending someone he loves when she is accused of murdering her soon to be ex-husband. Is he the best objective attorney for her? Is she guilty or innocent as she proclaims? What price will Dan pay for his defense of her? And, what happens when he learns the truth? (Please don’t presume anything by this last question.)
Readers will be taken inside the courtroom, as well as inside the minds of those characters who work the cases. As pages turn, readers have the opportunity to make their own decision about the big reveal. Does Dan make the right decision in the end? (No spoilers from me.)
Still, it truly is the end that stymied me. As much as I appreciated the tension and build-up to the final reveal, it was hard for me to accept the ending. Was it believable, convoluted, or possible? I leave it to readers to decide.
December 11, 2017
Two and a half stars really but I rounded it up because parts of it are quintessentially English and amusing.
August 13, 2013
It is not all that past faced but it is a good solid read. Plenty of greed, sex, old money and family secrets. A classic who dunnut murder mystery and you can´t beat those.
It took a while to get into, there are loads of characters that I found confusing at first. I really needed to concentrate at the beginning of the book, so make sure you can get some time out or you will need to re-read pages. And as the chapters are rather long you might find it difficult to get into. But get over that little hiccup and you have a good solid read. Not as much court room drama as I thought and a rather interesting love story in it also that the author spent plenty of time on elaborating.
This book was originally published in 1993, but has since been republished, it hasn´t outdated. I am not sure if the cover is the original or new for this edition, but it seems a little antiquated and could be better.
This is a good court room drama but it takes a long time getting there covering the background of the main characters and the lead up to the trial takes up the majority of the book and if you are looking for a longer court room drama this might not be the books for you. Although having said this the ending is spectacular, I never saw it coming and I loved it.
Dan was a good character, with a past that seems to be more and more common, an ex-wife and son living the other side of the country. He was my favourite character of the lot. And by far my favourite part was the trial. Highly recommended for those lovers of courtroom dramas, with a little extra twist in the tale.
3 ½ stars out of five.
At the page 314 of the epub edition (not sure if this is the correct location though) there is a mistake. Close to the end of the page it says:
His first guess was correct: to entertain Jamie, Susan and Ron were staying at Circus Circus.
It should say Hannah and Ron.
It took a while to get into, there are loads of characters that I found confusing at first. I really needed to concentrate at the beginning of the book, so make sure you can get some time out or you will need to re-read pages. And as the chapters are rather long you might find it difficult to get into. But get over that little hiccup and you have a good solid read. Not as much court room drama as I thought and a rather interesting love story in it also that the author spent plenty of time on elaborating.
This book was originally published in 1993, but has since been republished, it hasn´t outdated. I am not sure if the cover is the original or new for this edition, but it seems a little antiquated and could be better.
This is a good court room drama but it takes a long time getting there covering the background of the main characters and the lead up to the trial takes up the majority of the book and if you are looking for a longer court room drama this might not be the books for you. Although having said this the ending is spectacular, I never saw it coming and I loved it.
Dan was a good character, with a past that seems to be more and more common, an ex-wife and son living the other side of the country. He was my favourite character of the lot. And by far my favourite part was the trial. Highly recommended for those lovers of courtroom dramas, with a little extra twist in the tale.
3 ½ stars out of five.
At the page 314 of the epub edition (not sure if this is the correct location though) there is a mistake. Close to the end of the page it says:
His first guess was correct: to entertain Jamie, Susan and Ron were staying at Circus Circus.
It should say Hannah and Ron.
August 14, 2013
Amiel takes what he knows and writes a crime classic. A seasoned attorney and gifted author, he crafts a who-done-it steeped in courtroom credibility. His characters round out the upper-crust of newspaper publishing. The prosecutor’s legal hi-jinks betray questionable motives. The plot seizes your imagination and you ride the mind of the best defense attorney in Philadelphia until the last page. Now that’s a thrilling read.
We become defense attorney Dan Lazar. We run scenarios to make the evidence fit. Then Amiel twists the motivations once again. His writing shines until the story sweeps us up. Every building block of the perfect alibi gets crushed by a more plausible scenario. We sit like jurors reshaping the truth until we suspect them all.
The slippery slope of truth is a difficult dance. In Amiel’s hands, we are putty. He spins evidence, motives and opportunity into a lethal injection. This is the kind of novel that shows how flat-screen most crime dramas are. As a reader, I praise a story that held me to the last page
We become defense attorney Dan Lazar. We run scenarios to make the evidence fit. Then Amiel twists the motivations once again. His writing shines until the story sweeps us up. Every building block of the perfect alibi gets crushed by a more plausible scenario. We sit like jurors reshaping the truth until we suspect them all.
The slippery slope of truth is a difficult dance. In Amiel’s hands, we are putty. He spins evidence, motives and opportunity into a lethal injection. This is the kind of novel that shows how flat-screen most crime dramas are. As a reader, I praise a story that held me to the last page
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August 3, 2012I enjoyed this reboot (I actually read the Kindle version). Mr. Amiel comes across as an excellent cross of John Grisham and Nelson DeMille, which is excellent as they are two favorites of mine.
Nicely updated with all of the classic things that go into an Amiel book, intrigue, plot twists, courtroom drama, and humor. As always, Mr. Amiel plugs a Jersey Shore restaurant that I've been a fan of for years. You'll have to read the book to find out the new fave!
Only weird thing about the book is that in the ebook edition at least, the word earbuds is italicized, and I'm not quite sure why.
Nicely updated with all of the classic things that go into an Amiel book, intrigue, plot twists, courtroom drama, and humor. As always, Mr. Amiel plugs a Jersey Shore restaurant that I've been a fan of for years. You'll have to read the book to find out the new fave!
Only weird thing about the book is that in the ebook edition at least, the word earbuds is italicized, and I'm not quite sure why.
July 12, 2012
nice book. got really hooked. book in Italian.
November 26, 2013
Dan Lazar is a lawyer with a reputation of defending Philadelphia’s more questionable criminal element, and it is during his high profile defense of a low-level pimp against charges of being a notorious serial rapist-murderer that he is introduced to Peter Boelter, the owner and publisher of the major newspaper, the Philadelphia Herald, and his beautiful socialist wife, Susan. After successfully defending his client by breaking down a key witness, Dan suddenly finds himself the target of a baseless accusation of witness tampering and bribery that threatens his career. Meanwhile, when Susan defies Peter on a stock vote regarding the paper, she is suddenly faced with a devastating divorce suit designed to strip her of any money, child custody or dignity. Susan reaches out to Dan for help and the two become lovers. But after Peter is found dead and evidence begins to point to Susan, Dan faces a conflict of interest in defending a woman he is having an affair with. For the most part, the story is well-written, deeply complex and keeps the reader’s interest in the mystery. There are some unlikely coincidences that are designed to extend the suspense, and at times, the scales of justice are pushed a little too off-balance to create more pressure than necessary, but the main characters’ conflict over truth, justice and desire are well-explored.
May 22, 2014
I won this on Goodreads. It was an interesting mystery - however I felt it was a bit too much of a soap opera for my taste. That being said, there were still elements I liked, such as the twists and turns.
May 31, 2014
I won A Question of Proof by Joseph Amiel from goodreads arc. It is an excellent legal drama. The characters are interesting and the plot development kept me glued to the pages. The book is well researched and there are some excellent tips on courtroom tactics.
February 6, 2015
I like the protagonist and I liked the story. It was a really good read!
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December 1, 2012good
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews