At The Edge of Reason

About the Book

Malibu, CA, 1968. Denny Martel, a twenty-seven-year-old trial lawyer wunderkind in the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s office, becomes deeply involved in the hunt for a serial killer. He soon realizes he’s the target of a secret LAPD unit, and his Malibu beach cottage is no refuge. In the gritty LA trial courts, on the Venice Beach testosterone-charged “A” basketball court, in the “wilds” of Malibu, and among an amazing cadre of beautiful and complicated women, Denny seeks justice and his true self. In the summer of 1968, a serial killer is loose in Los Angeles. The press calls him the Night Slayer, and he robs “mom-and-pop” businesses in South Central LA, leaving no witnesses. As the Slayer’s body count increases, the city begins to destabilize and a repeat of the Watts Riots is brewing. Denny’s high school pal, Jack Hansen, is the lead LAPD homicide detective charged with catching the Slayer. As the Public Defender for many of the suspects arrested, Denny begins to formulate a profile of the Slayer. As the search continues, Denny wins and loses trials and women. He’s an emerging star in the criminal justice system and is realizing the significance and vulnerability of that role. Then, using Denny’s insight to the Slayer, Jack makes the arrest, and Denny will now represent the Slayer at the lineup.

About the Author

  David Lafaille, the author, was a Public Defender for nine years in the ’60s and ’70s and founded the firm Lafaille, Chaleff and English, which was one of the preeminent criminal law practices in California. His criminal law experience includes numerous felony trials and over three hundred homicide cases. In 1969, the Los Angeles Public Defender’s office was the “firm” of choice for the best and the brightest trial lawyers, and many legendary trial lawyers trained there. At the Edge of Reason is an answer to the perennial question asked of criminal defense lawyers, “How can you defend someone that you know is guilty?” This is a look into a fascinating and impenetrable world filled with characters and events drawn from the recollections and life of a true insider.