Proof by Beverley McLachlin

Reviewed by Gail M. Murray

Author Beverly McLachlin, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, continues to fight for justice in her latest novel Proof.

Jilly Truitt is a rising young attorney in McLachlin’s bold debut novel, Full Disclosure, a top criminal defence lawyer embroiled in a high stakes murder trial in Denial. In Proof, Jilly is now a widow and new mother emerging from maternity leave on the insistence of crown prosecutor Cy Kenge—her one-time mentor.

McLachlin’s memoir, Truth Be Told, winner of the prestigious Writer’s Trust Shaughnesy Cohen Prize for political writing, chronicles her own life as a lawyer and chief justice. They say write what you know.

In this gripping legal thriller, Tess, the biracial daughter of pop star Trist Jones, is missing. Was she kidnapped as Trist slept in his deck chair while vacationing at Bowen Island, B.C? There’s no ransom request, but there’s a wrecked boat, a shoe, a swimsuit and eyewitness Dante Bocci’s hazy photo of a dark-haired woman with a child on a boat. The prosecutor’s case is all circumstantial evidence against her adoptive mother, Kate, Trist’s ex-wife, now charged with kidnapping and murder. And there’s no body. Jilly experiences empathy for the emotional Kate, as the theme of motherhood runs throughout the story.

Kate’s instability and reputation after the divorce and custody battle is in question, leading the reader to ask how fair is a trial surrounded by negative media buzz? The best chance Jilly, our defence lawyer, has is to find the missing child. As time passes, the police lessen the search, presuming the child is no longer alive.

This character-driven novel, with fluid prose and urgency to find the child or real kidnapper, is a page turner. “One woman in the boat, three candidates” (p168). They are: Trist’s girlfriend Las Vegas showgirl Lena, Selma the devoted nanny and Kate, the anxious mother. Add in Dante Bocci’s portrait of Tess and his preference for child porn. Has Tess been abducted by a pedophile? Gruesome or a red herring? Jilly and her investigator Richard pull out all the stops. All of chapter 62 is their extensive preparations and courtroom strategy. McLachlin’s expertise is evident in the way she points out the challenges and flaws in the justice system. The final courtroom chapters tie up loose ends and reveal the guilty perpetrator.

Proof is published by Simon & Schuster.