Crucial Judgment
By Al Blanchard

     Crucial Judgment introduces readers to Steve Asher, who is a US History teacher who recently served on a jury. While on the jury, he was the only holdout that stopped the jury from sending a woman to prison for murder. While thinking back about the jury on which he served, Steve could not get the woman's situation out of his mind. Steve, while on his summer hiatus, took off to find Elena and prove to himself and everyone that she was innocent. Little did he know at the time what a difficult situation he was putting himself into.

     The characterization of Steve is a good one and shows readers how determined a person can be once they have their mind set on something. The characterization of Elena shows that a person can really not care about what others feel and attempt to get on with their life once a horrible situation occurs. The mystery of Elena's innocence is only put into more intrigue as the story goes on. The small town arena is a must for this type of mystery to be successful, and Mr. Blanchard accomplishes just that.