Kennedy for the Defense

I love the character of Jerry Kennedy, a criminal defense attorney who features in four books by George V. Higgins. Kennedy is described by his wife as “the classiest sleazy criminal lawyer in Boston,” but he does his job well and his cases bring him into contact with some of the more entertaining members of the Boston underclass. However, this first book in the series (Kennedy for the Defense) is too plot-heavy and features a number of poorly-structured scenes — e.g., the sixteen pages of conversation with a client that could have been told directly, but instead are recounted by Kennedy in a conversation with his wife.