Julia Vacanti has denied the past, buried it away in a dark corner of her mind, forbidden to discuss it with her aunt and uncle, her only living relatives. Her job as a State of Florida prosecutor handles the B circuit of charges, such as domestic violence, which keeps her very busy and her mind off other matters.

A prominent family is murdered and one of the top state prosecutors, who has his eye on the State Attorney General position, asks Julia to be second seat in the case. Julia must accompany him to the crime scene. Once there, she sees the horrific evidence and learns they are charging the father, David Marquette, of murdering his wife and three small children and will ask for the death penalty.

As the case against Marquette builds, the defense submits a plea of insanity. While working with expert psychiatrists and learning about Marquette's supposed illness, Julia begins to question whether Marquette is really a cold, calculating murderer or a man who is terribly mentally ill. The ramifications of sending a truly ill man to his death cause Julia to question the lead attorney's intentions; this case will give him major media attention. This case throws Julia into a vortex that will spiral out of control and leave her in threads as her chilling past catches up to her.

PLEA OF INSANITY is very well-written; I became so engrossed in the story, I read it in one sitting. My mind swirled with the subject matter and I could feel how frightened Julia would be given the topic. I applaud Jilliane Hoffman for writing such a well-researched, riveting and quick-paced story that is sure to stimulate and entertain the avid thriller reader.