Donald E. McInnis, defense attorney in the Stephanie Crowe murder investigation, has moved from true crime to legal thrillers
In Return of the Sphynx: An A. J. Hawke Legal Thriller, San Diego’s district attorney proclaims the police have the notorious Sphynx rapist in custody and they have the DNA to prove it.
Upstart attorney A. J. Hawke takes on the seemingly unwinnable case, claiming the man in jail is the true rapist’s identical twin, and he will rely on a rare genetic trait to defend his client in court.
Meanwhile, San Diego’s Presiding Judge tries to manipulate Hawke’s personal and professional life in an effort to discourage the young attorney from uncovering corruption at city hall.
“Editor’s Pick” by Publisher’s Weekly Booklife Reviews: “Nail-biting legal thriller. . . . A scrappy lawyer must use sophisticated science, and his fists, to aid a client. . . . Great for fans of Scott Turow, Phillip Margolin.”
Return of the Sphynx is the sequel to The Sphynx Murder Case, released in March 2022. The third book in the series is set for release in 2023.
“I enjoy writing fiction because I can offer my readers an accurate
portrayal of the justice system and the realities of the courtroom that they rarely see on television or in movies, while drawing from actual court cases,” Donald McInnis says. “In the first two books of the A. J. Hawke series, I show how confessions can be coerced and DNA evidence is not always black-and-white.”
The author’s true-crime book She’s So Cold: The Stephanie Crowe Murder Investigation — A Defense Attorney’s Inside Story (second edition) — was released in February 2021 and featured in The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Return of the Sphynx Details
- Release Date: Sept. 26, 2022 ~ publisher: J&E Publications
- Trade paperback ISBN-13: 979-8-9865516-0-9; distributor: Amazon
- Kindle ebook ISBN 13: 979-8-9865516-1-6; distributor: Amazon
- Epub ebook ISBN: 979-8-9865516-2-3; distributor: Smashwords
- Legal Thriller
- Courtroom Drama
The ebook version of Return of the Sphynx is available online at Amazon and Smashwords.
About the Author
Donald E. McInnis is a California criminal defense attorney and the author of three books as well as three law review publications pertaining to juvenile law and children’s legal rights. He has served as a Deputy District Attorney, Deputy Public Defender, and Superior Court Judge Pro Tem. Mr. McInnis lives in San Diego, California, and presses for reforms within the criminal justice system.