Following FOUND, Longboat Key Detective J.D. Duncan is called in to investigate the homicide of wealthy Linda Favereaux, whose 39th birthday was last week. Linda’s husband Jim, who is much older, seems to have dropped off the earth. Moreover, his computer has a highly encrypted access code, a quandary for the police department’s hacker.

During that investigation, another commences in Sarasota. It seems someone shot Nate Bannister, a shady real estate developer who has a slew of people who would want to off him. But Sarasota PD can’t investigate. Police Chief Bill Lester’s wife, Abby, is charged for the murder, her fingerprints found on a wine glass in the victim’s condo. The respected couple are Matt Royal’s friends, and Matt, though retired, is asked to put on his attorney hat to defend her. Matt is “an icon of the Bar, a lawyer of impeccable standing, the epitome of all that’s right and good.”

"The courtroom drama rivals 'Matlock' and 'Perry Mason,' with the cunning of Atticus Finch tossing a glass to Tom Robinson. Matt portrays himself as a beach bum attorney, but his investigation techniques and demeanor resemble those of 'Columbo.'"

Adding intrigue, Florida Department of Law Enforcement sends Agent Wesley Lucas as a special investigator and egotistical prosecutor George Swann. What, an egoistical attorney? Matt, however, “could turn him into a raving lunatic before this trial was over.”

University professors Julie and Mark Erickson “share a chair that Jim Favereaux endowed to the tune of a million dollars.” But the Ericksons can’t offer J.D. or Matt any information; they’ve not heard from the Favereauxes since a shared dinner the previous week.

A background search of one victim leads J.D. and Matt to New Orleans --- and a ragtag neo-Nazi group. The plot experiences more twists than a bowl of pretzels served at the Haye Loft bar. Even “Jock Algren, my lifelong best friend” makes a bone-crunching appearance.

Matt has become jaded by the legal system, thinking “Lawyers spent more time chasing the dollar than they did justice.” Ultimately justice prevails, “and a lawyer can ask for no better result than that.”

Bestselling author H. Terrell Griffin’s novels lean heavily to the action side, but CHASING JUSTICE is a rocket-ride legal thriller with shrewd investigative acumen. The courtroom drama rivals “Matlock” and “Perry Mason,” with the cunning of Atticus Finch tossing a glass to Tom Robinson. Matt portrays himself as a beach bum attorney, but his investigation techniques and demeanor resemble those of “Columbo.”