Bree Winston-Beaufort, lawyer for the dead, has landed a case in the mortal coil, defending a rich teen with an attitude problem. Lindsey Chandler has been caught on tape stealing cookie money from a Girl Scout. Bree has her work cut out for her, since Lindsey shows no signs of remorse for her crime, instead milking it for all the publicity she can get. As if dealing with the problem teen isn't enough, Lindsey's recently deceased father, Probert Chandler, materializes, hinting there's more to his death than meets the eye and provides Bree and her team of "otherworldly" associates one of their most intriguing cases.

While there's no doubt of Lindsey's guilt, Bree's investigation suggests there's more troubling the teen than the possibility of jail time. Delving into what motivates the young woman's self-destructive bent provides Bree some insight into her father's unexpected demise in a car accident. Both investigations lead Bree to the pharmaceutical company run by Probert Chandler and a couple of his associates. There's more going on with the drugstore than discount pharmaceuticals, and young Lindsey is involved, whether she knows it or not. Bree must discover the connection before more people die and Lindsey ends up doing jail time -- or worse.

ANGEL'S ADVOCATE by Mary Stanton is a brilliantly plotted whodunit with marvelous twists and turns to keep the reader guessing until the final page is turned. Readers are given more insight into Bree's Southern upbringing, her family and what brought her to her unusual avocation. Lindsey Chandler is a wonderfully self-absorbed character, made sympathetic as more of her home life is revealed in the investigation. Bree's crack team of associates are hard at work on this case, and thoroughly entertaining, as they use their talents in ways mortal associates cannot, getting answers and using sources unavailable to most. Quite satisfying was the resolution to the story, which I didn't see coming. ANGEL'S ADVOCATE is the second of the Beaufort and Company mystery series, and like the first, I couldn't put it down!