Melinda Clayton

Child of Sorrow Melinda Clayton

When fourteen-year-old foster child Johnathan Thomas Woods is suspected of murdering his foster mother, an old letter and a tacky billboard advertisement lead him to the office of attorney Brian Stone.




Unbeknownst to John, Stone is having a bad day. Attacked by an angry client in the midst of trail, drenched from a cold spring rain, his irritation reaches a boiling point when he trips over a bicycle parked on the sidewalk and lands face-first in a puddle. The sight of a defiant-looking boy slouching in his waiting room does little to brighten Stone's mood. Against his better judgement and at the urging of the office manager, Stone invites the boy back to his office where he immediately learns three things: the boy's name is John, he's the owner of the cursed bike, and he's in trouble.




Wise enough to realize he sees his own troubled history in the boy's circumstances, fully aware that professional distance has never been his strong suit, Stone recognizes the sense of hopelessness lurking under John's angry façade. When John offers up his lawn-mowing money as payment, Stone realizes this is a case he can't refuse.




In the face of overwhelming evidence assembled by the prosecution, Stone and his team find themselves in a race against time to save an angry boy who's experienced more than his fair share of betrayal, a boy who more often than not doesn't seem interested in saving himself.