It starts with a lawyer trying desperately and with little hope to secure last-minute clemency for his client on death row. Then before you know it, the governor has offered clemency, at the urging of the mother of the victim of the crime. But there are strings attached: the condemned man must admit the crime and reveal where he has buried the body. And therein lies the problem. Because Clayton Burrow, the condemned man has always claimed to be innocent. And even now, in the face of this offer, he still insists on his innocence and claims that the missing girl is not dead but has framed him - although he admits he has no evidence of this. Until this point, Alex Sedaka, Burrow's lawyer, blithely assumed his client to be guilty. But now for the first time he has doubts. This begins a race against time to save Burrow, who is just 15 hours from execution. He is aided in this endeavour not only by his legal secretary Juanita and his legal intern Nat, but also - intriguingly - by the victim's mother, who seems to know more than she is telling. But despite hints and clues, convincing evidence remains elusive... and the clock is ticking. This thriller does triple duty with its twists and turns, ever more spectacular surprises and chapters ending on cliff-hangers. The thing that makes it so good is that every time you think you have been read the last surprise, Kessler serves up another that is amazing on the one hand, yet perfectly plausible in retrospect. And this happens right up until the last LINE. If I were to compare this book with anything on the market today I would say Harlan Coben, but with a touch of John Grisham. The interesting thing is that Kessler is British, but he has set this book in California. Given that the British have no death penalty, this is not altogether surprising. But he really seems to have done his research and probably lived there because he manages to capture the feel of the Bay area perfectly. All in all a first-class, fast-paced thriller that you won't be able to stop reading till the end.