Probable Cause

Gideon Page #2

by Grif Stockley

"Entertaining...Fast, fascinating."
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
When the profits of his law firm dip too low, ex-public defender Gideon Page is fired--but not before he steals a case that has all the makings of a media nightmare. Dr. Andrew Chapman, a black psychiatrist, is charged with manslaughter when a severely retarded girl dies in his care during a risky--and some say barbaric--elctro-shock procedure. When it turns out that the doctor and the girl's mother were having an affair, the press is about to have a field day. That is, unless Gideon can unravel the many twisted threads of truth, battle a county steeped in racial strife, and lock horns with a tough, ambitious, female prosecutor in a courtroom set to explode....

Genres: Fiction

10 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Stockley is the author of several books, including Race Relations in the Natural State; Daisy Bates: Civil Rights Crusader from Arkansas, winner of the Ragsdale Award from the Arkansas Historical Association and the Arkansiana Award from the Arkansas Library Association and Blood in Their Eyes: The Elaine Race Massacres of 1919, winner of the Booker Worthen Prize from the Central Arkansas Library System and recipient of a Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History. An attorney who has worked with the Center for Arkansas Legal Services, the Disability Rights Center, and the Arkansas branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, Stockley completed Ruled by Race while serving as a historian and curriculum specialist at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in Little Rock.

Reviews

[John Senner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a book that I "couldn't put down." It dragged. Gideon Page, lawyer out of a job, is asked to defend a black psychologist who experimented with shock treatment and killed a patient. Murder or accident? Along the way we get involved in teen-age daughter attending Governor's School, treatment of patients in an institute for developmentally disabled, a lawyer friend stealing a Twinkee, breast cancer in a friend, white supremacists, white/black love relationship, and probably a few other issues. Too much.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting as I’m from Arkansas and it’s set there. A basic trial book about a black psychologist at a state facility who kills a white teenager daughter of his girl-friend using shock treatment with a cattle prod to change her self-destructive behavior.

[Thart2002 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this style of writing. It reminded me of on of John Gisham's novel. A quirky, down and out small time lawyer defends a black man on a murder charge in a southern, racist town. It was an entertaining read.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

My project of reading a mystery set in each state of the Union continues, and I've recently completed the Arkansas book.

Part of my self-imposed rule was that I'd choose, in each state, an author new to me. So, in the case of Arkansas, I was forbidden from Charlaine Harris (and I've read just about all she's written anyway) and Joan Hess. Since their books are set in small towns, I decided to look for a book set in Little Rock, and my library had this one, the second in Grif Stockley's series about Little Rock lawyer Gideon Page.

As the book opens, Gideon Page is about to be downsized out of an associate's job in a personal injury law firm. He's also just received a phone call from a psychologist accused of murder who wants him as his defense attorney. (Page had previously been a public defender, apparently in the first volume of the series). After Page is let go, he goes to see the new client, even though technically he should have left him to his now-former firm. This is only the first of many episodes in Gideon's life which show us he is not always the man he should be, and knows it. He is continually falling short of his own and others' expectations of him.

The psychologist, who is African-American, has been charged with murder after a mentally retarded girl under his care dies while receiving shock treatment. The treatment, carried out with a cattle prod, is a kind of aversion therapy designed to stop the girl from constantly hitting herself. The psychologist and the girl's mother see it as a last resort to avoid the girl's being kept in restraints for the rest of her life. The county prosecutor, a woman with some similarities to Hillary Clinton, thinks otherwise.

As Gideon shepherds his difficult client through the various hearings on the way to trial, he attempts to do some investigating himself, and comes to some surprising conclusions, which are most unwelcome to his client.

Meanwhile, he is also learning how to be a struggling solo practitioner, raising a bright teenage daughter who worries about him, grieving his several-years-dead wife while sorting out his feelings for his best friend/almost lover Rainey, dating, and dealing with middle-aged ailments. (There's a bit more detail about these than I would have thought necessary; and Stockley has the all-too-common trait of male writers, excessive description of urination.)

Probable Cause wasn't actually what I'd call a mystery. There is some doubt about whether a crime was even committed (hence the title). The case comes to trial, and the trial concludes, but it seems that neither the reader nor the characters are any the wiser at the end. For that reason, I wouldn't rate the plot very highly.

Stockley did much better at characterization. As unappealing as Gideon Page is, he is a very believable character. Even very minor characters come alive in Mr. Stockley's work, which is why I kept reading to the end of the book.

Setting is quite important to my enjoyment of a mystery (or any work of fiction), and indeed, the desire to experience many different settings was the reason I started this A Mystery for Every State project. Sadly, I know very little more of Little Rock now than I did before I began reading the book. It's hellishly hot and humid in summer, there are still some racists to be found in the populace, and, oh yes -- Little Rockians seem to consume an inordinate amount of frozen yogurt. Apart from the yogurt, this was nothing I didn't know before. Mr. Stockley doesn't communicate any particular love for the city or the state, and it's hard to figure out why his protagonist even stays there.

In fairness, I must admit that courtroom dramas or legal thrillers are not my preferred reading fare, and this may have influenced my judgment. Those who do like such books might enjoy this one more than I did, and I did feel that Mr. Stockley's skill at character portrayal made the book much better than it might otherwise have been.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Gideon Page, reluctant hero of Expert Testimony, is fired from his law firm, he doesn't know that the worst is yet to come. Now, in Probable Cause, he takes on the case of a black psychologist accused of manslaughter, and suddenly finds himself on a treacherous path leading to financial scandal, interracial sex, white supremacists, and, ultimately, the explosive racial tensions lurking not so far beneath the surface in Blackwell County, Arkansas. Gideon's client, Dr. Andrew Chapman, is accused of causing the death of a mentally retarded patient during a risky experimental treatment. Now Gideon must prove that Chapman's romantic involvement with the patient's mother and her desire to be free of her retarded daughter do not add up to murder. And he must fight his own client, in the courtroom and out, over defense strategy. Also to be contended with are an ambitious prosecuting attorney with a political agenda; Gideon's former employers, who are threatening to sue him; and a local TV reporter whose interest in Gideon extends beyond the news. And as if all that weren't enough, Gideon must make ends meet by representing the kind of clients no one else will - such as the woman who served her husband a rat muffin for breakfast, and an old lady accused of hanky-panky in a nursing-home closet. Jousting with judges, prosecutors, and clients, while bemused as ever with his adolescent daughter and the opposite sex in general, Gideon Page faces the most complex case of his career in Probable Cause. (cover blurb)

Generic, slightly above average lawyer procedural. Saved from complete mediocrity by the idiosyncracies of its characters. Gideon is a likeable protagonist with a tendency for speaking his mind. Fun especially for me, since I lived in Little Rock for several years.

[Mary JL · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a mid-level courtroom thriller. It was not a fast paced, can't stop reading thriller. Rather, Mr. Stockly builds his story bit by bit, like a slow and careful but competent builder.

Gideon Page, the lawyer, investigates bit by bit to slowly get the information he needs to help his client. Did Olivia and Dr. Chapman plan to kill Pam (Olivia will get lots of money for her death)? Did Olivia manipulate the somewhat naive Dr. Andy Chapman--seducing him to do the shock proceedure?

Or is Olivia an innocent mother, desperate to try this last resort treatment to save her retarded daughter, Pam, from spending her life in restraints? Is Dr. Andy willing to try this proceedure, because he feels it WILL help Pam? Gideon Page must try to find answers.

Characterization IS Stockley's strong suit. Gideon Page is a very believable character, and a flawed one.

I like Gideon BECAUSE he is flawed. When I was a kid, I used to watch the oh-so-perfect, inflappable Raymond Burr as Perry Mason. Perry Mason never was surpirsed at anything in court; he always knew if his clients were lying to him; and he always won. I also cannot image Perry Mason telling a vulgar joke. Gideon Page does all of this.

He is a plain, older average lawyer; in solo practice; and he gets things done by doggedly pressing forward. Unlike the many "super lawyers" you find in some legal thrillers, he is fallible--and that make him interesting. Stockly also does a good job on the supporting characters--we don't learn as much, but waht we do learn is realistic and interesting.

Recommended for fans of legal thrillers. Especially recommended if you prefer character-driven tales rather than slam-bang, actioners with lots of car chases and so on.

[Hermien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and raises some interesting concepts.