Clear My Name by Paula Daly
This novel is set around Tess Gilroy, up to now the only employee of Innocence UK, a charity that helps people wrongly convicted of crimes. They have just wrapped up a successful case as the book starts and the board is meeting to decide what case they will tackle next. They've narrowed it to three options. They've also hired a new employee, Avril Hughes, who will be shadowing Tess as she prepares to be a second investigator for the organization. The board consists of Tom Robinson, a solicitor who sifts through the many cases sent their way and decides which ones have merit; Tess, who was a probation officer before she took this job; Vanessa Waring, a Home Office pathologist; Chris Pownall, a forensic scientist with an interest in fibre analysis; Fran Adler, a forensic scientist with an interest in blood; and Clive Earle, an ex-DI.
The case they end up going with is that of Carrie Kamara, who was convicted of killing her husband's lover. She is three years into a fifteen-year sentence. It was her own barrister that pushed the case to Innocence UK. As Tess and Avril dig into the evidence and begin interviewing witnesses and others, they find some of the evidence questionable, some police work lazy, and some things that truly puzzle them.
Tess is also having a casual sexual relationship with Clive, who is married and pushing for more than Tess wants to give. We also are given clues to a personal complication to this case for Tess. The town where Carrie lived is the same town that Tess grew up in. She left years before, for reasons we only gradually learn of, and is wary of spending time there now. She is a diligent researcher though and follows up on all lines of the case despite her personal issues.
I found this story intriguing, both in the way of evidence and for the personal life of Tess.
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