Serve and Protect

It starts as a routine traffic stop. Moments later, a young man is dead, a rookie police officer is charged with murder, and San Francisco is engulfed in chaos. In the ninth installment of New York Times bestselling author Sheldon Siegel’s iconic San Francisco series, ex-spouses Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez have come a long way from their days as small-time defense attorneys. No longer working in a converted martial arts studio above a Chinese restaurant on the earthy side of Mission Street. Rosie is now San Francisco’s Public Defender, and Mike is the head of the Felony Division. Their daughter is in college. Their son is in middle school. For the first time in years, there is a semblance of order in their lives. It doesn’t last long. Johnny Bacigalupi is a rookie police officer and fourth-generation cop who graduated at the top of his class at St. Ignatius High, USF, and the Police Academy. His father is an assistant chief. He’s also Mike’s godson. On a rainy night, Johnny and his partner pull over a Honda with a broken tail light. Juwon Jones has an outstanding probation violation. When Johnny asks Jones to exit his car, Jones bangs the door into Johnny and flees. Johnny corners Jones in a parking lot, where Jones raises his hands. When Johnny orders Jones to lie down, Jones reaches for a gun—or does he? Johnny shoots Jones in self-defense—or is it? Johnny’s partner finds a handgun under the body—or was it planted? Jones’s mother says her son was unarmed. No weapon is visible in footage from Johnny’s body cam or video taken by other officers. Johnny and three other cops insist that Johnny acted in self-defense. The evidence suggests otherwise. The D.A. charges Johnny with first-degree murder. Local TV, cable news, Twitter, and social media explode. Police supporters clash with Black Lives Matter. White supremacists come to San Francisco looking for trouble—and find it. Mike and Rosie avoid the fray until Johnny’s father and uncle ask Mike to represent his godson. Despite Rosie’s reservations, Mike takes a leave of absence and represents Johnny, with help from his former-cop-turned-private-investigator brother, Pete. Mike, Rosie, and Pete face their biggest challenge yet in a high-stakes case where San Francisco’s streets turn violent. An intricate plot, likeable characters, powerful suspense, and a touch of humor are Sheldon Siegel’s hallmarks.