Synopsis
"There is no life without a double life. And yet one grows weary. . ." Recently promoted to the position of Crown Court judge-jealous colleagues suggest it might be because he is black-Daniel Savage decides at midlife that it's finally time to settle down, foreswear philandering, and rededicate himself to his family. His career demands the most responsible behavior-he must be above suspicion. But Savage has been leading a double life for far too long, and a young woman from his past-who holds a secret that could ruin his career and marriage-begins making mysterious calls to his house. As tangled lies are solemnly ironed out in his court, Judge Savage finds his own existence suddenly descending into a mess of violence and confusion, and attempts desperately to get a grip on his world in the face of increasingly certain disaster.
The New York Times
Parks is ever smart, and funny, about the automatic hypocrisy of middle-class manners, their governing concern for calmness and order...Judge Savage is...a fireworks display of a contemporary novel, pulling off the brilliant and possibly illegal trick of being clever and gripping at once.—Sophie Harrison