The Court Reporter Tell-All
In Las Vegas, Nevada, during the last days of the pre-digital world, Justin Castle, a 16-year old boy, loses all hope of compassion and shoots Cheyenne Connors, his feisty, beautiful girlfriend. His prosecution is nearly foiled by the mishandling of the gun at the murder scene. During a pretrial motion, the court reporter, Charley Savage’s eyes are opened to the sorcery of the practice of law and to her unraveling marriage. By means of unique formatting, Charley engages the reader as an alternate juror, an alternate who not only has the information the jury has, but the entire breakdown of all things excluded from jurors’ eyes and ears. Charley breaks every oath of silence she has taken, both personal and professional, in order to at last make, “a full, true and accurate transcript of the proceedings.” In so doing, Charley and the reader ultimately discover together by and through the trial of Justin Castle, the meaning and the strength of the words: Truth; Loss; Compassion; Justice; and Love.
