The Compost Pile

In this multi-layered legal/psychological thriller, the discovery of the body of a fifteen-year-old girl in a compost pile in a posh coastal neighborhood spurs an investigation that challenges traditional notions of guilt and innocence. When a politically-motivated district attorney brings capital murder charges against a man-child, an aging uncle of the accused takes up his defense, recruiting a recovering alcoholic detective and another lawyer with his own demons to find out what really happened at the compost pile. They come to suspect a conspiracy among members of the small community, a conspiracy not to railroad the accused, but to substitute in his place a prominent local personality, one whose past makes him deserving of a finding of guilt. The Compost Pile is a tale of the blinding power of love, which motivates those in its grip to do whatever is necessary to make things right, even if justice be damned. The Compost Pile is the eighth legal thriller by attorney-author Stephen Woodfin. His book Last One Chosen was a finalist in the prestigious Best Indie Books of 2012 Awards, and his work The Warrior with Alzheimer's in 2013 received a coveted starred review on Kirkus Reviews. Woodfin is also a proprietor at Venture Galleries, a popular Internet site which connects readers, writers and books.