The Author
Mary Ann Newton has written a book (Secret Confessions) that purports to be fiction, but upon a deeper look, it seems to be an expose on the citizens of a small town. When an attempt made on her life gets a local reverend instead, Matlock is called in to defend the suspected killer. As the case goes on, Matlock realises that Ms. Newton may not be the right target for the would-be killer.
More from Season 1
Episode 1
Diary of a Perfect Murder
Atlanta lawyer Ben Matlock takes on the high profile case of a television reporter accused of murdering his former wife. The case is complicated when his daughter Charlene develops feelings for the accused killer.
Episode 2
The Judge
Ben Matlock accepts the pro bono case of Kevin Meredith, a young man accused of murdering his lover, whom Ben soon realises had a much more powerful lover.
Episode 3
The Stripper
Years ago, Ben represented Jason Hardiman in his divorce proceedings, and upon his instructions, offered Carla a small fortune to relinquish custody of their son. She refused, and eventually won. Now Carla can only find work as a stripper. Jason goes to her work and again threatens to take their son Jimmy from her. When he is found at the edge of death, Carla is the immediate suspect. He is murdered while in the hospital, and Carla is the prime suspect. Ben's suspicions soon turn to a woman named Helen Shelly, but unfortunately, it's hard to find her. Doug Templitt seems to be the only one who knows where she is.
Episode 4
The Affair
Matlock represents the a maid accused of killing her employer, at the request of the man's widow. The request is a little odd, but it seems Christina Ward wants people to know exactly what kind of man her husband was. Matlock is more than a little uncomfortable when it seems Charlene is developing a tendre for the woman's son Clark, an old college chum of Charlene's.
Episode 5
The Seduction
Matlock is hired to defend Brad Bingham, an aging football star with a reputation as a womanizer who was about to be cut from the team. Charlene is resistant to Ben's choice, as she believes everything the tabloids have to say about Brad...not only that, but years earlier, he'd had a brief relationship with her friend Ellen Hawley, who had tried to kill herself after they broke up. As the case continues, Charlene realises that not everything that's printed in the papers is true and that maybe Ellen wasn't quite honest with her, even though a call girl (Caryn Nelson) hired to make Brad look guilty almost convinces her that he is.
Episode 6
The Don (1)
When Nicholas Baron, a well known mobster, is accused of murdering one of his rivals, he asks Ben Matlock to represent him. Ben initially refuses, but agrees to represent Baron despite threats on his own life. He soon meets the entire family, and realises that despite what Baron has always done for a living, at heart he's a worried father who wants to clear his name.
