Introduction

A young Harvard law student falls under the spell of a charismatic judge in this timely and thrilling novel about class, ambition, family and murder.

Madison Rivera lands the internship of a lifetime working for Judge Kathryn Conroy. But Madison has a secret that could destroy her career. Her troubled younger brother Danny has been arrested, and Conroy is the judge on his case.

When Danny goes missing after accusing the judge of corruption, Madison’s quest for answers brings her deep into the judge’s glamorous world. Is Kathryn Conroy a mentor, a victim, or a criminal? Is she trying to help Madison or use her as a pawn? And why is somebody trying to kill her?

As the two women circle each other in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game, will they save each other, or will betrayal leave one of them dead?

Editorial Review

No Editorial Review Currently Available

Excerpt

Part One

Madison

1

November

Cambridge, Massachusetts

She loved the way her professor moved. The swish of auburn hair. The grace of her gestures. The nervous energy as she paced behind the podium. Madison had admired Kathryn Conroy since she’d heard her speak at a high school career day years before. A thousand times, she’d imagined herself following in Conroy’s footsteps. Having a career like hers. Starting out as a crusading prosecutor, taking on the mob, the drug cartels. Holding press conferences, appearing on TV, looking amazing doing it. Then getting appointed to the bench, presiding over high-profile cases, writing opinions that were read across the land. Becoming so renowned that she’d be invited back to teach, with students hanging spellbound on her every word the way she did with Conroy now. Such a future was within the realm of possibility for Madison. She was one of the stars of her year. Top grades. Law review. A summer clerkship at one of the most prestigious law firms in Boston. On top of that, the special sparkle that came from her looks, her way with words, her confidence in the face of a challenge. Call it charisma, whatever—she had it. Coming out of Harvard Law, her opportunities were limitless.

Correction. Should be limitless. But there was a crack in the perfect facade, which came from her past. The fault lines were threatening everything she’d built. She worried that …

“Miss Rivera.”

Shit. She’d tuned out for a split second, and now Conroy was staring at her from the lectern with a finger on the seating chart. She had no idea what the question was. There was nothing for it but to admit that and brazen it out.

“I apologize, Professor, but could you repeat the question?” she said, sitting up straight, her voice ringing out across the staggered rows of the classroom.

People turned to take notice when Madison spoke, just as they did with Conroy. If she flubbed now, it would be with all eyes on her, including those of the professor she idolized. Judge Conroy crooked a delicate eyebrow, making a note before replying. That was class participation points lost, but she was positive she could recoup them once she knew the question.

“How did the Gates case change the search warrant process?”

Madison could answer that. She could answer anything, really. It wasn’t just talent, but hard, slogging work. She did the reading every night, briefed the cases, wrote out answers to every possible question. She met the judge’s eyes like they were equals and launched into a detailed reply. From there, the class devolved into a Madison-and-Conroy show. They parried hypotheticals back and forth, refined the principle, even made a couple of nerdy law jokes. By the time the judge glanced at her watch and called time, she’d redeemed herself in Conroy’s eyes and cemented her position as the whiz kid who never missed. Classmates on either side high-fived her as they got up to leave.

Now the race was on for face time with Conroy. Madison was in the middle of a row, locked in as her classmates took their time shutting their laptops, putting on coats, gathering their things. Frustrating. She wanted to capitalize on her ace performance by doing a little networking. Thanking Conroy for the great class, asking a few follow-ups. That was just smart. Maybe she could parlay today’s exchange in class to an invitation to office hours, even coffee. She got on the end of the line, rehearsing in her mind what she’d say, feeling more nervous than she should. Since the beginning of the semester, she’d been meaning to bring up the fact that they’d attended the same high school, that she’d heard Conroy speak years before, that it had influenced her path. She just couldn’t figure out how to drop that into a conversation around the lectern without seeming gushy. It was so personal.

The minutes ticked by as the students ahead of her monopolized the judge’s attention, just as she’d monopolized it in class. This was Harvard Law, and fair was fair. You had to fight for every inch of turf. The prof for the next class showed up and everybody scattered. Judge Conroy was pulling on her plaid trench coat, about to depart. Then she looked at Madison and smiled.

“Miss Rivera. Wait a minute. I hope I didn’t embarrass you, cold-calling you before.”

“Not at all. You have to keep us on our toes, right?”

“Exactly. And you recovered admirably. I was impressed.”

Madison blushed. “Thank you.”

The judge hesitated, then seemed to decide something.

“I don’t know if this would fit your schedule, but I just had an internship position open up in my chambers unexpectedly. Normally, you have to apply a year in advance, but I need someone right away. I’d like you to apply.”

“For an internship—with you?”

“Yes. Are you interested?”

Of course she was. An internship with Conroy would be a dream come true, not to mention a gold star on her résumé. And Madison adored gold stars. The timing was tricky, though. What were the chances that, if she went through an application process right now, Conroy would find out about her younger brother’s legal troubles? That would be embarrassing. And definitely something she’d prefer Conroy not know about her.

The pause as she considered the question lasted longer than she’d intended.

“Well,” Conroy prompted. “Yes or no?”

The opportunity was just too good to pass up.

“I’m flattered to be asked, Judge Conroy. I would love to apply.”

“Good. Get in touch with my chambers, and they’ll give you the specifics. I look forward to interviewing you.”

As Conroy walked out the door, Madison’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and her smile faded. There were several missed calls from her mother. And one text. More bad news, it read.

2

She was gathering her things when Ty Evans came up to her. They’d been the power couple of their year until she broke things off last spring. He was a former Stanford tight end, handsome and charismatic, reigning moot court champ, on the short list for law review president. A job she wanted for herself and planned to get. Trouble was, everything Ty did, Madison did, too, just as well if not better. And that didn’t make for a smooth relationship. Harvard Law was the sort of place where people would knock down their grandmother to get ahead. Was it any wonder that competition broke them up?

She shoved the phone in her coat pocket so he wouldn’t see her mother’s text, forcing a smile.

“Sucking up to the prof, I see,” he teased.

“Jealous much, Ty?”

“What do I have to be jealous of? She loves me best.”

“Right. Who doesn’t?”

He laughed. “You know it. What were you two talking about just now?”

“A follow-up about the Gates case.”

She didn’t want news getting out about the internship, especially not to Ty. He’d apply, and out of the entire second-year class, he was her biggest competition.

“Huh. It looked like more than that.”

Madison shrugged, dropping the subject. Ty blocked for her as they fought the tide of remaining students flooding through the doors for the next class. Crossing the atrium, he started talking about the latest political battle on law review, but she could barely pay attention. Her hand was sweaty in her pocket, clutching her phone. She had to get rid of him and call Mom, to find out the latest in the saga of her troubled younger brother, Danny. A week earlier, Danny got swept up in a narcotics dragnet, arrested along with a dozen hard-core drug dealers from the old neighborhood, even though, as far as Madison knew, he wasn’t involved in anything remotely like that. Danny was now in federal custody awaiting trial. Nobody at school knew about it, not even Ty. Especially not Ty. He was a decent enough human being beneath his bravado that, if he found out she had family problems, he’d start asking questions that she didn’t want to answer. And probably end up getting the truth out of her, which she couldn’t afford. Appearances mattered too much here. You kept your game face on at all times. She didn’t want people finding out about Danny until she had a better handle on things.

“Pit stop,” she said, nodding toward the restrooms.

“I can wait. You want to grab a coffee or something?”

“Can’t. I have stuff to do.”

“All right. But hey, come out tomorrow? It’s my birthday. I’d love to see you.”

“Right. Chloe told me. I’ll be there.”

“She told you. Good. I’m glad,” he said.

From his tone, she could tell that inviting her had been a bone of contention. Chloe was Ty’s new girlfriend, and she kept a close eye on his interactions with Madison.

Ty left. Madison looked for a quiet place to make her call. But the atrium was buzzing with students coming and going. She caught snippets of conversation. Grades. Exams. Recruiting. Weekend plans. Mere days ago, her life had been that simple, that carefree. But the past, her family, her background always reared their ugly heads. They just wouldn’t let her go.

She made her way outside to the law quad. New England fall was winding down. There were still patches of vivid color in the trees, but you could smell winter in the sharp, cold wind. The forecast was for heavy rain later, which would suit her mood. She found a sheltered spot in the lee of the building and placed the call with shaking fingers. Her mother picked up on the first ring.

“Maddy, thank God. Where were you?”

“In class. What’s wrong?”

“Danny pled guilty.”

“How can that be? He swore to you he was innocent.”

“He still says that, and I believe him. I know it in my heart.”

“Why plead guilty if you’re not?”

“They made him.”

“Who made him?”

“I don’t know. He won’t say. It was, like, a thirty-second phone call from the jail, then he said he had to go and hung up. Maddy, he sounded scared.”

“Honestly, that doesn’t make sense. I studied criminal law, Mom. There are supposed to be negotiations for a plea. He was just arrested, what, a week ago? It’s too fast.”

“I thought so too.”

“What does his lawyer say?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I don’t trust that guy. He’s the one who forced Danny to take the plea.”

“Forced him how?”

“What do you think? He threatened him.”

“That sounds like an excuse. Did Danny say that or is he—”

“Is he what? Making it up? You don’t believe your brother?”

“Don’t make this about me and him, okay? I’m just trying to understand the facts.”

“The facts are, this lawyer shows up in court. We didn’t hire him. And then he starts telling Danny what to do.”

“You not hiring him is not unusual. The court appoints lawyers for defendants who can’t afford them.”

“That’s not what happened. Something’s off, I’m telling you. He’s this old guy with dandruff who looks like he hits the bottle.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s not qualified.”

“Why are you taking the lawyer’s side? If you’d been in court, you’d understand what I’m talking about.”

“I already apologized for not being there. I told you, by the time I got your call that Danny had been arrested—”

“Right. I know how busy you are.”

The edge in her tone got Madison’s back up.

“I wasn’t too busy to come to my brother’s arraignment. My phone was off. If I knew, I would have dropped everything and—”

“Maddy, I don’t want to fight.”

“Then say you understand that I had my phone off. I can’t keep it on all the time on the off chance Danny gets arrested for drugs.”

Most people get to assume that won’t happen to their brother, she thought, but held her tongue. Danny had a long and checkered history for someone who was only twenty-one years old. Her mother didn’t understand how detrimental this was to Madison’s own plans, her future. How draining it was worrying about him all the time. But you couldn’t choose your family, and she loved him no matter what. He was her brother, after all.

“I don’t blame you, Maddy. Really.”

“I hope not. But thank you for saying that.”

“It’s a question of what we do now. We’re a family. Families stick together in tough times.”

Too bad that had not always been the case in her family. Their past was fraught, and never far enough from their present. Madison sighed, wishing things could be different. But they weren’t. She needed to suck it up and deal with reality.

“Tell me how I can help, Mom. You want me to call the lawyer and find out what happened?”

“No, I told you. That lawyer’s trouble. We need to go see your brother.”

“You mean visit him in prison?”

“Yes. Something’s wrong. I need to look him in the eye and get the truth.”

Would visiting get her name on a list? Her relationship to an indicted drug dealer could come out just as she applied for an internship with a federal judge. But what choice did she have? Danny was her brother, and he needed her right now, inconvenient as that was.

“Fine, I’ll go with you. I can do it Saturday.”

“No. Tomorrow morning, first thing.”

The prison was far away. It would be a long drive there, a long wait to get in, a long drive back. She’d miss her morning class, with finals coming up. Argh, what else was new? Danny’s problems had been screwing up her life since she was a kid.

“Please,” Mom said. “He’s in serious trouble this time, and I don’t know how to help him. I work in a nursing home. You’re a student at Harvard Law. I need your help.”

“Of course, Mom. Just tell me what time. I’ll be waiting outside my dorm.”

?THE INTERN. Copyright © 2023 by Michele Rebecca Martinez Campbell. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

From the publisher:

1. Kathryn grew up in difficult circumstances, not just financially, but emotionally. What scars does she carry from her dysfunctional childhood? How does her past influence her actions in the present?

2. The novel opens with Madison describing her admiration for Judge Conroy. How do you think this admiration affected her relationship with the judge? How did it change throughout the novel??
3. What did you think of Ray as a character? Did he have a moral compass, or was he motivated solely by power and greed? What was the source of his
appeal to Kathryn? To her mother? Did you like him? Did your view of him change over the course of the novel?

4. The theme of trust is explored throughout the novel. Why do you think Madison ultimately trusted Kathryn? What do you think was the pivotal moment that secured her trust? How do you decide who you can trust? What does it take for you to trust someone?

5. The theme of family, both found and blood-related, is discussed throughout the novel. What makes someone family? Is it simply blood relation or more than that? What do you think someone’s responsibility to their family is?

6. Discuss Madison’s role in her family as the older daughter and as a first-generation college student. How do you think this impacted her decisions?

7. Madison’s responsibility to her family at times conflicts with her law school responsibilities. Similarly, Kathryn’s responsibilities to Ray and Charlie affect her ability to fulfill her duties as a federal judge. Think about a time your personal and professional life conflicted. How did you handle it?

8. Discuss Kathryn and Sylvia’s relationship. Do you think Sylvia was a good mother? How do you think it will affect Kathryn’s relationship with her own daughter?

9. The novel explores the tension between law and justice. For example, Danny was arrested over drugs that weren’t his even though he was found with them. Do you believe there are cases where the law gets it wrong?

10. Did you see the ending coming? If yes, when did you start to figure it out? If not, what did you think was going to happen?

Weblinks

»	Author's website
»	Publisher's book info

Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 0 of 0 members.

Member Reviews

There are no user reviews at this time.
Rate this book