The book centers on Ted's defense of Bobby Jackson who is accused of murdering freelance journalist, Patty Stiles. The "Conflict of Interest" Ted must deal with concerns his past relationship with the murder victim. Despite Ted's history with the deceased, he accepts the case believing its high-profile may boost his career. But Ted faces difficult questions as he advances his defense of Bobby Jackson: Who knows about the relationship? How much do they know? What are the implications of Ted's secret, could the prosecution eventually point a finger toward Ted himself?

An interesting predicament, although a rather idiotic one for Ted to have gotten himself into. Unfortunately, his mistakes don't end with his acceptance of the case, and most readers will become less and less tolerant of the protagonist's blunders.

To put it bluntly, Ted's personal problems consume large portions of the novel. Ted is a alcoholic going through a divorce – not exactly an anomaly among overworked lawyers who appear in novels. The reasons which led Ted's wife to divorce him were his alcoholism and affair with Patty Stiles. However, Ted can not even stay sober for his own divorce trial hearings, and although he claims to want his wife back, he dreams only of Patty Stiles. Ted's pitiful personal life along with his untrustworthy friends give the novel its sad soap opera feel.

Pass on Conflict of Interest if you are looking for something more than a view of someone worse off (and stupider) than yourself. The character development is effective – the reader will feel genuinely sorry for Ted, if he or she can get past his poor judgment. But are readers looking to feel sorry for heroes in mystery/suspense novels? The ending, admittedly, is suspenseful, but it takes 328 pages of Ted's alcoholic struggles to get there. The good plot is bogged down by slow, painful parts concerning Ted's problems and unnecessary logistics of a case which could have been much more exciting.

--Jerad Beltz