Book ReviewAmanda DuBois Delivers Once Again
By Rachel Luke, Friedman | Rubin, PLLP
This article was reposted from the June 2024 issue of Trial News, the monthly newspaper of the Washington State Association for Justice.
https://www.trialnewsonline.org/trialnews/june_2024
Deliver Them From Evil: A Camille Delaney Mystery
By Amanda DuBois
Girl Friday Books, 2023
Paperback $16.95
In Deliver Them From Evil,Camille Delaney is back as a personal injury attorney struggling in her solo practice. Thankfully, she has a brilliant team consisting of her paralegal, Amy, investigator, Trish, and her supportive family. Against her better judgment, Camille takes on a medical malpractice case involving the death of a baby during delivery. Camille had determined that it was a “low value” case: the client had fired the attorney who was handling the case before and he had a lien on any award, and to make matters worse, the doctor who committed the malpractice was known and loved by everyone in the Seattle obstetrics community. Her reason for ignoring the red flags? Justice.
Deliver Them From Evilwould make an excellent outline for an ethics course. Camille makes one bad decision after another, finding herself in impossible situations that risk everything that she stands for as well as her own safety. She pushes boundaries and crosses the line more than once. Camille is an impulsive risk taker. Will this case be worth it, or should she play it safe?
Unfortunately for Camille, things start unraveling for her as soon as she takes this case. Camille has some unexpected staffing issues in her team. She cannot afford to hire an expert, and it will be near impossible to find anyone to testify against the beloved defendant doctor. Camille is spread thin and missing out on time with her family while her opposing counsel is burying her in motions and discovery requests. At the same time, she is thrust into awkward situations such as finding out that a good friend of hers is the father of the defendant doctor. She has some client control issues. Camille is dealing with pressure from all areas of her life due to taking on this case. Can she get a quick settlement and move on? Should she?
Deliver Them From Evilis pure entertainment. Similar to The Complication,the first book in the Camille Delaney mystery series, you will be required to give some grace as the litigation portrayed in this book is not entirely based in reality. If you can let that go, this is a thrilling mystery with many twists to keep you turning the pages. And while our own cases may not be quite as suspenseful as this mystery, I think that the Camille Delaney mystery series will appeal to litigators. Each case we take is a mystery and we are required to reveal the unknown. Even when we have our initial theories when we accept a case, we never have the full story, and it is our job to pull the thread and unravel the truth in discovery and at trial.
Camille makes several questionable choices in this book, but she gains ground and new friends along the way. In addition to Amy and Trish, who make reappearances in this second mystery, Camille befriends a legal messenger, Lucia, and a consulting psychologist, Larabelle. This dynamic group of women, their relationships, and character stories help add depth to this legal mystery that would otherwise read as a typical mystery. Throughout the two books, author Amanda DuBois reveals the stories behind these powerful characters that provide the humanity we look for in our protagonists, flaws and all.
Like Amanda DuBois’s first book, all proceeds from the sales of Deliver Them From Evil are donated to the Full Circle Scholarship and social justice organizations listed on her website.1 The Seattle University School of Law Full Circle Scholarship provides $5,000 each year for a student whose life has been directly impacted by the criminal justice system, with a preference for students who have been incarcerated.2 The third book in the series is expected to be published in 2025. I will be looking forward to that title and cheering for Camille’s legal successes in the future!
1 https://amandadubois.com/#Proceeds
2 “New scholarship helps formerly incarcerated students come full circle.” Seattle University School of Law. Oct. 6, 2021, New scholarship helps formerly incarcerated students come full circle.” Seattle University School of Law. Oct. 6, 2021, https://law.seattleu.edu/about/newscenter/2021/new-scholarship-helps-formerly-incarcerated-students-come-full-circle.html.
Rachel Lukeis an attorney at Friedman Rubin PLLP in Seattle, Washington. Rachel represents clients in aviation, personal injury, product liability, and wrongful death cases. She previously served as cochair for WSAJ’s Diversity Committee and is an EAGLE member.
