Jin is assigned to prosecute a rape case of a thirteen-year-old girl, a case he's sure to lose. There's no physical evidence that the rape ever occurred. The girl, traumatized, doesn't report the rape and only the intervention of an astute school counselor brings the attack to light. With such a lapse between the rape and its reporting, there are no hair, fiber or semen samples. There's no reason to scrape under her fingernails and no clothes from the attack. There is nothing to prove that the rape ever happened. Except . . . and it's the except that makes the trial so exciting.

What makes the situation so untenable is that Rachel Farr won't even talk about the rape. It takes a long time for Jin to secure Rachel's trust. One of the many things that's puzzling to him about Rachel's case is that her accused rapist, ex-con Chico Moody, is being represented by one of the city's top-flight defense attorney, Stacy August, whose services don't come cheap. Why is Chico able to afford her services?

Lee has done a great job developing the characters. They're entertaining and intriguing, with foibles and failings. Josh Jin is an extremely credible protagonist. His personal integrity is always there, sometimes causing him problems. Jin is forced to work with a cop who doesn't mind messing up witnesses...with his fists. At one point, Jin tells him, "Working with you is like a hallucinogenic flashback to the Spanish Inquisition. You make me want to join the ACLU."

This story really is explosive when it's in the courtroom. Alas, those chapters are too few in this sometimes overwritten and over plotted story. Near the end, facts are being uncovered that seemingly come from nowhere. The complexities have no build up and as such, are unanticipated and unappreciated.

The author's pleading for the protection of children, those abused for any reason, rings loud and clear. There are details about pedophilia that range from upsetting to repugnant. No Physical Evidence would have benefitted from some fine-tuning, but overall it is an engrossing legal drama. It's much more gritty than the glitzy courtroom dramas that seem to make the bestseller list every week.

Bottom line: No Physical Evidence is a compelling story, but with too many unexpected complexities and convolutions.

--Linda Mowery