A Woman's Turn rips from beginning to end. It opens with our heroine, Jessy Browner, attending law school just as women and minorities began trickling into these ivy-covered halls and quickly leaps ahead two years where Jessy is still trying to secure employment as a lawyer.  At one of her job interviews, where she usually received dates and even marriage proposals, but no job offers, she runs into her old friend Henry Nelson, who was the sole black student in her law school.  He sends her to the public defender’s office where he works to inquire about a possible job. 

 

The recalcitrant boss, Jack Mason, refuses to hire a woman, but Jessy finagles one chance to prove herself capable. He gives her three difficult cases to defend, one of which is a high-profile rape case, hoping to prove that no woman is capable of doing the job.  Each of these three cases is a story itself; each is carefully crafted to highlight and deepen characterization, while adding dramatic suspense.   

Never imagining Jessy will last longer than a week, Jack Mason and his colleagues watch with amusement and a good deal of condescension as Jessy struggles to learn the ropes.  Only Henry Nelson extends his help.   As Jessy tackles her first two cases, her determination, intelligence and competency surprises everyone; her new colleagues begin to realize Jessy is a good deal better than just proficient and able.  As Jessy uncovers a dangerous conspiracy against her defendant in the rape case, one that leads back to the DA's office, her colleagues begin not just rooting for her, but risking much to help Jessy eventually reveal the unexpected truth.   

Interwoven into the suspenseful plot, Jack and Jessy struggle against their growing feelings for each other. Jack is married to Susan, who suffers with an increasingly severe mental illness. Susan's mental illness serves as a well-drawn metaphor for the restrictions placed on women at the time. Jack and Jessy's deepening love affair is tender and passionate, and its eventual resolution comes as a satisfying surprise.

The characters here are rich, well drawn and multilayered. The original setting lends itself to endless possibilities and the feminist theme reminds us of how far we've come, what hasn't changed and how far there is to go. This could be a crazily successful series.