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	Jackie Fleming is a mother of two, grandmother of three. She works as a 'Public Service Specialist' for the county Coroner. Before that she was in the Air Force (Non-Destruction Inspection Specialist and Personnel Technician). She's held numerous part time jobs (she's currently at a funeral home, before that she worked at Block Buster. She's also been a mystery shopper, information operator, and worked fast food. "I know that's not your normal bio, but it is me," says Jackie.   Jackie is a member of the Romance Writers of American and the following RWA chapters: SFA RWA, SV RWA, FTHRW, and RomVet's. She can be reached at jackiesf@yahoo.com.

PROOF EVIDENT
John Dicke, Psy.D., J.D.
Synergy Books, February 2006, $21.95
366 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0-9764981-5-5

Avery Jackson is an ex-judge, not by choice or by performing a criminal act and thus debarment, but because the voters of Montgomery County didn’t agree with his ruling on a case involving a convicted rapist. Due to this, his life, family, and finances have fallen apart.

As Avery adjusts to how his life style has changed, the unthinkable happens. As if waking from sleep and coming to his senses, he finds himself in front of over 150 civic leaders of Dayton, Ohio, eye witnesses to his crime. He has murdered the newly elected sheriff, Sheriff Gene Hardacre.

On the bench, Avery would have condemned a criminal using his same defense: he doesn’t remember the event. Burt Porter, director of the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office aggressively asserts himself as Avery’s attorney, bringing with him Jack Maine as his co-defense. It’ll be difficult to prove Avery’s innocence with the damaging evidence against him, and the District Attorney, Alec Hunter is using this case as his stepping stone to run for Senator. Expert witnesses are called upon for the defense and the prosecution. Clues and evidence are studied.

Jack Maine is worried. Starting his own practice, even if the outcome of this case is favorable to Avery, he may not succeed on the civilian side. Just who is pulling the strings, he wonders, when he finds his office bugged. He receives threats as he comes closer to the truth.

The evidence the defense discovers is not as clear cut as the facts show. As their suspicions arise, both sides call in their specialists. Avery’s behavior is studied and inconsistencies are document. The death tally increases as they get closer to the truth. Burt Porter is murdered, and Jack is left to wonder if there are any good guys in this court room suspense thriller.

One of the main reasons why I liked PROOF EVIDENT is because the author, John Dicke, starts the novel with a scene from the sheriff’s point of view. He’s at home making love to his wife. Knowing who the sheriff was and what he stood for when he was murdered created an immediate bond with this reader. I cared that justice would be dealt to the suspect, but for the victim also. As the clues continued to mount, I could understand the reason defense attorneys remain unbiased in the defense of their clients. I also enjoyed that there was sufficient legal jargon that the story kept my interest, but not enough that I became lost without a translator.

Jackie Fleming

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