MCBRIDE 1: MURDER PAST MIDNIGHT

The murky moral climate of the rich and privileged provides a wealth of evidence in a high-profile criminal trial for a lawyer determined to free a woman from a murder charge…

It’s California defence attorney McBride’s (Emmy winner John Larroquette, The John Larroquette Show) opportunity to see the workings of the system from the other side when he is summoned for jury duty in a case of attempted murder prosecuted by a skilled old rival, Brad Leyton. The comatose victim is millionaire Craig Harriman, poisoned in his Pacific Palisades mansion, now a silent witness. The accused is his young and beautiful bride, Claire, who had everything to gain from the old man’s death. Working against her is the testimony of their maid Marta who saw Claire creeping into her husband’s bedroom with a glass of milk on the night in question. With only an inexperienced public defender on her side, McBride knows that Claire doesn’t stand a chance. Outnumbered in the jury pool, McBride watches as a mistrial is judged in the case against this fascinating and strangely seductive woman.

Believing the state didn’t prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, McBride offers to defend Claire in the new trial. Setting bail, he ensconces his client in a Santa Monica motel. But when Harriman is murdered in his hospital bed, the charge against Claire is upgraded to murder. Now McBride is more determined than ever to find the real killer in the nest of Harriman vipers: Craig’s adult son and daughter, each with their own private addictions; the maid whose story seems to unravel with each new telling; and Harriman’s executive secretary who may be harbouring secrets of her own. But when McBride hears rumours that Claire has taken a lover, the resolute attorney wonders if he too is being victimised by the lethal charms of a cold-blooded killer.

Raising the stakes of the classic whodunit, and joining the ranks of great screen detectives, McBride: Murder Past Midnight is tough, gritty, and unpredictably entertaining.