The cast and characters of the O.J. Simpson case were a constant part of the American consciousness for more than a year. We came to know their names and faces as well as we knew our own. As an assistant prosecutor on the case, attorney Christopher Darden's name has become inextricably linked to the Simpson. The trial is over and Christopher Darden is proof that, for some, there is life after O.J.

Darden has since left the L.A. District attorney's office. After the obligatory run on the talk show circuit and the lecture scene, he has done bit parts on television shows. In the interim, Christopher Darden also got married and joined the faculty of Southeastern University Law School. His memoir, In Contempt, spent time on the bestseller lists.

His first novel, The Trials of Nikki Hill, is a collaborative effort with mystery writer Dick Lochte whose works include: Sleeping Dog, Laughing Dog, Blue Bayou, and Neon Smile. The Trials of Nikki Hill, looks at the criminal justice system from the vantage point of Los Angeles prosecutor. The view is not always pretty – from within and without.

As the novel begins, the nude body of tabloid talk show host Madeleine Gray is found in a garbage dumpster in South Central LA. Jamal Deschamps, a young Black man, is found in that same alley with a ring the victim had been wearing in his pocket. This is a potentially high-profile case with racial overtones. Nikki Hill's career takes a dubious turn when she is promoted to special assistant to the district attorney to work on the case.

Nikki and the police attempt to build a case against their suspect and find that there may have been others with the motive, means and opportunity to kill Madeleine Gray. The Trials of Nikki Hill is a police procedural with not as much courtroom drama as one might expect from a mystery by a former prosecutor. It is also the story of the abrogation of justice in favor of the political and personal ambitions of prosecutors and police. It is a tale of sex, drugs, power and violence.

Throughout the mystery, Darden and Lochte play the race card often. There are gender and ethnic slurs and stereotypes. The dialogue is often stilted and cliched. The repetition of established evidence facts holds up the forward motion of the plot. There are also more than a handful of references to the criminal trial of "You Know Who."

"One of the lessons learned from the O.J. Simpson murder case was the impracticality of assembling a team to meet the needs of an ongoing trial. It was much more efficient to keep a full team in place, ready to handle high-profile prosecutions as a functioning unit."

Says one character, "I'm going to make Mark Fuhrman look like `Policeman of the Year."

One of the most interesting elements of the novel is Nikki's relationship with undercover cop, Virgil Sykes.

The Trials of Nikki Hill is a good first start for the Darden-Lochte team.

--Gwendolyn Osborne