"The Key to Justice" by Dennis Carstens

 

Minneapolis attorney Marc Kadella is a good lawyer, but he’s struggling financially. He’s divorced but still connected to his wife through their two children and an IRS investigation and action against her. Every time they think they’ve prevailed, the IRS finds another reason to ignore, delay, and try to bury them. But Kadella is like a terrier, determined to win against what is clearly an unjust government action. And he’s not intimidated by the federal bureaucracy.

 A serial killer is targeting women in Minneapolis. The political heat on the police is increasing, until the governor’s daughter becomes a victim. Then the pressure explodes. A police lieutenant in charge of the investigation is afraid he knows who the killer is, so he decides to take steps to frame a likely candidate – a man who served time for rape and is now free. 

And Marc Kadella finds himself defending the accused. The same qualities he’s applied against the IRS he now focuses on the defense of his client. What he doesn’t know is how the police, the governor, the prosecuting attorney, and even the judge are working together to make sure the accused in convicted. 

Dennis Carstens

The Key to Justice is the first of 17 Marc Kadella legal mysteries by Dennis Carstens. The reader is not only treated to an intriguing story but also receives a fairly thorough education in the workings of the courtroom. And then come the story twists – and they don’t stop even after the resolution of the case. 

Carsens, a Minnesota native, has lived in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area most of his life. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Minnesota and a J.D. degree from William Mitchell, a private law school in St. Paul. An air force veteran, he retired from Law practice and began to write the Cardella mysteries. 

The Key to Justice can be slow-paced at times; we get more about the legal system and how it operates than we probably need for the story. But it holds the reader’s interest and attention, and it becomes a very satisfying story.