She Said ~ A Crime Novel by Mitchell D. King

When 17 year old honours student Mia Kennedy heads downtown with her friends for a night of drinking she notices a rather attractive Robert Harris seated at the bar.  The 38 year old divorced trucker is unwinding after a stint on the road when Mia befriends him under the pretence that she is 24, not 17. Soon enough a relationship ensues and after four steamy encounters Robert finds himself accused of sexual assault by the bright, athletic teen. The charges are brought to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador where every detail of this forbidden liaison is publicly dissected, exposed for the world to see. Which way will the scales of justice tip?

She Said ~ A Crime Novel is Mitchell D. King's first foray into the world of crime writing. A practicing lawyer with a prestigious firm in St. John's, Newfoundland, King draws on his legal experience in crafting a captivating story that exposes bias, stereotyping and the ever present flaws of the judicial system.

Mia walked with her friends to their usual corner table and, on the way, noticed a familiar face out of the corner of her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks as Amber and Ashley took their seats. Under the neon lights flashing above sat the man who Mia had met some months before. He wore a dark leather jacket over a black hoodie. As he had last time, he wore black jeans that were rolled up and paired with black combat boots. His beard was as grizzly as she remembered. Mia noticed that he didn't have a hat on his head this time, and she thought his hair looked nice. It was combed over to the side in a haphazard way, but it was a healthy head of hair. A warm feeling crept into her stomach and flowed down her legs, sinking like an anchor. 

King's narrative is expertly organized and well written. The fast-paced easy to follow storyline is told from the viewpoint of many different people including jurors, attorney's, family members and the main characters themselves, Mia and Robert.  As each person's perspective is presented, the reader gains new insight into the case and the sometimes complicated backstory of the individuals. This technique creates, within the reader, an acute awareness of the biases that affect decisions and judgements, challenging one's perception of innocence or guilt. The fact that the story takes place in familiar St. John's settings throughout the capital city and outlying areas is a nice touch. King's decision to also include the courtroom as a story backdrop is quite effective in authenticating the tale but also at providing disturbing insight to some of the workings of the criminal justice system. Readers will become part of the jury, immersed in the arguments presented for both sides but will also experience some inner conflict by knowing what has truly occurred.

She Said is a great first crime novel for Mitchell D. King. Wonderfully analytical and psychologically insightful, the story propelled me to just keep turning the pages. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger and it did sadden me but perhaps there's more to come from author Mitchell King, or at least I hope so. She Said ~ A Crime Novel is a Flanker Press publication.