The Third Victim By Phillip Margolin

A woman stumbles onto a dark road in rural Oregon–battered, and bound. She tells a horrific story about being kidnapped and tortured until she finally managed to escape. She was the lucky one–two other women with similar burns and bruises were found dead.

The surviving victim identifies the cabin where she was held captive and the owner, Alex Mason–a prominent local attorney–is arrested. Although he loudly insists upon his innocence, his wife’s statements about his sexual sadism and the physical evidence found at the summer home is damning.

Regina Barrister is a legendary criminal defense attorney, known as “The Sorceress” for her courtroom victories. But she’s got a secret, one that threatens her skill, her reputation, and, most of all, her clients. She agrees to take on the seemingly impossible task of defending Alex Mason.

Robin Lockwood, a young lawyer and former MMA fighter, has just left a clerkship at the Oregon Supreme Court to work for Barrister. The Mason trial is her first big one, a likely death penalty case, and she’s second chair to Regina. Increasingly, she’s worried about two things, her boss’s behavior and the details in the case against their client don’t quite add up.