Jon Cowan brings readers PROOF, a taut legal thriller, drawing on his cinematic skills he honed as a writer for the hit television series “Suits.” It starts off with a bang and ratchets up the tension from there.

As the partner of a prestigious law firm, one holds a great deal of power in Los Angeles. But beware the power struggles within; they have a way of revealing secrets best left buried. It’s a cutthroat world at Thompson & West.

"PROOF will knock your socks off if you’re a fan of John Grisham, Scott Turow, David Baldacci or Michael Connelly. Jon Cowan is a new sensation in the legal thriller genre and even kicks it up a notch."

When the story opens, Jake West is presenting a closing argument. Sure, he’s had a few drinks. He’s not drunk, though; just ask him. He’s only having a little fun, playing lawyer...which he’s well suited for because, well, he’s a lawyer. But he’s arguing in front of a nonexistent jury. At night, in a closed courtroom. All because he wants to impress a lady. This, of course, is a problem. Jake’s dad, Norman West --- of Thompson & West --- sends Rich Kaplan, one of the firm’s associates and Jake’s one-time friend, to rescue him from getting himself in a heap of trouble.

Jake gets into Rich’s car, and they’re about to pull away from the courthouse curb when a bullet blows Rich’s head off. What happens after that is a blur to Jake, although he does remember picking up the gun that just killed Rich and seeing a man in a hoodie running away. He tells the police all of this, but the detective on the case, Sioban McFadden, finds his story totally lacking in credibility and entirely unbelievable. Jake understands. It looks bad. Worse, his position at the law firm is shaky at best. He blew a case last year, which led to a censure. His drinking caught him up in a brief affair, which led to his wife leaving him. And now he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, which led to him being accused of murder. Frankly, Jake’s life is a mess.

In what may be a rash move --- when did he not make a rash move? --- Jake insists that he take over Rich’s caseload. His demand is begrudgingly granted, but not without heavy pushback. When he sees the first case, he only has time to rush to court immediately. They’ve told him it’s a slam dunk --- a simple plea deal. Everything has been worked out. Just show up and sign off. Except Jake doesn’t work like that. And he smells something rotten. The deal is too good, the DA is too eager, and even the judge seems to want this case to disappear fast. So Jake drags his feet, which makes everyone unhappy --- so unhappy, in fact, that it begins to smell even more. And when he barely digs under the surface, he uncovers more than a few reasons to be suspicious. That’s when things turn deadly.

By now, Jake’s new client trusts him, at least sort of. And Detective McFadden is beginning to like him, sort of. His dad, though, would rather sever ties --- and does. Why is that? Norman West has never been a warm and fuzzy father, but his recent behavior makes Jake believe he’s really on to something. Something worth killing for.

PROOF will knock your socks off if you’re a fan of John Grisham, Scott Turow, David Baldacci or Michael Connelly. Jon Cowan is a new sensation in the legal thriller genre and even kicks it up a notch. And Jake West is a brilliant screw-up but so totally likable that one can only hope there’s a series in the making here.