In Defense of Good Women - by Marilyn J Zimmerman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This debut novel shines a light on the dark subject of infanticide when a successful female criminal defense lawyer is ordered to defend a seventeen-year-old minister's daughter charged with murder in the drowning death of her newborn child.

In Defense of Good Women is the story of Victoria Stephens, a successful, hard-nosed criminal defense attorney appointed by the court to represent a seventeen-year-old minister's daughter charged with murder in the drowning death of her newborn child. Victoria faces a hostile community, a salivating press, an uncooperative client, but most of all, a nagging intuition that she should not be handling this case. Forced to delve into the psychology of neonaticide as she searches for a defense, Victoria discovers a link between this case and her own past which, once uncovered, leads her beyond the boundaries of not just her profession, but the law.

Review Quotes

"Zimmerman both entertains and educates as she unfolds the tale of Victoria Stephens, an attorney who is defending a teenage girl accused of neonaticide and who faces an array of challenges--including her own haunting past. A powerful exploration of justice, empathy, and the blurred lines between guilt and innocence."--Jude Berman, author of The Vow

"Zimmerman weaves her gripping plot around well-drawn characters and a beautifully evoked coastal community in Michigan, delivering to her readers a convincing case In Defense of Good Women."--Barbara Stark-Nemon, author of Hard Cider

"Like the novel's pervading river, one that aptly embodies risk, freedom, and even death, we are deftly swept between deeply contemplative moments in a cozy cottage and tense courtroom dramas where the stakes are nothing less than the salvation of good women. Expertly drawn characters, vivid settings, escalating suspense, and a profoundly relevant topic merge to create a tour de force. I could not put this book down."--Dorene O'Brien, author of What It Might Feel Like to Hope

"Fiction with a thoughtful point doesn't always kick you in the gut the way In Defense of Good Women does. A page-turning masterpiece!"--Lori B. Duff, attorney and author of Devil's Defense and Broken Things

About the Author

Marilyn J. Zimmerman has always been interested in social issues. She attended law school in Michigan, driving to classes at night while teaching school and working as a court bailiff. Marilyn was a general practitioner, which exposed her to many types of cases and clients. After twenty years, health issues forced her to retire. Marilyn loves to read, garden, and cook, and she has a fascination with labyrinths. In 2019 she studied to become a labyrinth facilitator through Veriditas and now leads walks in both Michigan and California, where she and her husband spend winters.

Marilyn and her husband spend most of each year on a farm in Northport, Michigan, in the Leelanau Peninsula.