On a dark road through the forest in rural Oregon, a woman stumbles onto the pavement and is rescued by Caleb White. He takes her to the hospital where her battered body can heal. She was kidnapped, tortured and beaten. Once she is on the mend, Meredith Fenner is able to take the police to the house where she was held captive. But she is not the only woman to be a hostage there. Two prostitutes were tortured and murdered before the authorities were able to arrest anyone. Their wounds were the same as Meredith's.

Attorney Alex Mason is charged with capital murder and kidnapping. He hires Regina Barrister, known as "The Sorceress" of the courtroom. She has a stellar reputation and wins most of her cases. Sitting second chair is a young attorney named Robin Lockwood. This is her first case, and she is very invested in her work. Robin was an MMA fighter and clerked for a Supreme Court judge in Oregon before taking the job Regina offered her.

"The narrative is fast-moving and rife with red herrings and legitimate clues. THE THIRD VICTIM is one book you will not be able to put down."

These characters are finely drawn, and you will have an interesting time keeping up with them. You will meet dirty policemen, a pimp, a very good detective, attorneys and a judge --- and as the story unfolds, author Phillip Margolin connects all the dots. You will learn that Regina has a secret she dare not share. Not even with Robin, who knows that something is amiss with her boss but feels uncomfortable bringing up the subject. Jeff, the investigator in the small office, is taken into Robin's confidence, but is not sure that anything is really off-kilter with Regina.

When the trial gets underway, one of the first witnesses called by the prosecutor is Allison Mason, the defendant's wife. She testifies that she and her husband partook in S&M; he burned her with cigarettes, tied her to the bedposts and beat her. Mason is charged with doing those same things to the two dead prostitutes and to Meredith, who also testified to these facts. Her escape was miraculous.

Another character, Mordessa, plays a part in the trial. She is a prostitute who was beaten by Officer Arnold Prater and given a chance to leave town. She did so in a hurry. Her pimp, Poe, is also part of Prater's nasty schemes.

Phillip Margolin was an attorney before becoming a bestselling author, and he uses his legal expertise to supreme effect here. The narrative is fast-moving and rife with red herrings and legitimate clues. THE THIRD VICTIM is one book you will not be able to put down.