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Beyond Reasonable Doubt–amazing legal mind
Beyond Reasonable Doubt
by Robert Dugoni
Although many want to classify Beyond Reasonable Doubt as a “legal thriller,” I want to call it a novel that is a cross between a legal mystery and a police procedural. This fascinating book is very suspenseful, but won’t keep you up at night with psychological shudders. Keera Duggan worked as a prosecutor, but was forced to quit. She returned to the family law firm as a defense lawyer at just the right time. The patriarch of the family, Patsy (a.k.a. The Irish Brawler) has taken another in a series of dives into alcoholism just as a big case comes up. Fortunately, Patsy, with an excellent reputation among lawyers, has trained Keera well, first in chess and then in trial law. Unfortunately, this case is representing Jenna Bernstein, Keera’s longtime nemesis, a sociopath, and a liar par excellence.
This case gets very involved as Jenna is not the only one involved who lies. Keera has to dig deeply to get to the truth and then present her client with some hard choices.
Keera is a strong woman who realizes taking this case will help her grow and test herself. She is countered by several professionals from her past. They all respect her and wish she still worked for the state. Keera doesn’t have much time for a personal life, but she is very likable. If you like a book that includes what the characters eat at every meal (ad nauseam), then this is not the book for you. It reads like a complicated mind puzzle because Keera has to not only figure out who killed whom and why, but also how to present the information in the court for the benefit of her client. Just as difficult perhaps is sorting out the jumble of lies and the motivations for them.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #2 in the Keera Duggan series, but can be read as a standalone
Publication: October 22, 2024—Thomas & Mercer
Memorable Lines:
“I found that it was defending the difficult cases that I learned the most about myself—who I was as an attorney and as a person.”
For once Jenna wouldn’t be in charge. Keera would run this show. And, maybe, a part of Keera wanted Jenna to know that while her life was once again spiraling down the toilet, Keera’s was succeeding, quite well, thank you. Ego? Sure. Retribution? No doubt.”
“My mother always said about Jenna, ‘Trouble always seems to follow that girl,’ and those of us who were around her suffered for it.”
The Ghost Orchid–so many questions
The Ghost Orchid
By Jonathan Kellerman
When you want to read a hard core mystery (i.e. not the cozy mysteries I enjoy so much with predictable characters and happy endings), The Ghost Orchid is a good choice. The protagonist of the series is a PhD. psychologist. He has a home office where he specializes in working with judges and divorcing parents when there are issues involving children. He also consults on special cases for the police, especially Milo, a detective with the rank of lieutenant.
I really like Alex as a character. He is both smart and wise and can withhold judgement until everything he needs to see comes to light. I especially like that although he is extremely talented at both detecting in the criminal realm and helping others with psychological issues, he is a humble man.
In The Ghost Orchid, the major plot line is the murder of a man and a woman, both shot while relaxing at a private swimming pool. Just determining their identities, addresses, and family connections is a major puzzling challenge. Whose home are they in and what are their occupations? The usual channels of text messages and social media don’t reveal much, but Milo and Alex keep picking at the pieces until they get some leads. When interviewing subjects, Milo takes the lead as the officer in charge of the case, but sometimes Alex’s perceptive insights are more effective and soften the interviewee. The duo is good at sharing the questioning depending on the situation.
Another plot line involves a young teenager who was adopted out of bad circumstances in Ukraine when he was five. Now, his rich adoptive parents are divorcing. The judge views this situation with compassion for the boy and asks Alex to evaluate, recommend, and treat. This minor plot line does not intersect the main one, but as a reader I found it important for understanding more about Alex. It also allowed me to come up for air after reading the tense and surprising conclusion to the major plot. Hint: when a book begins with two dead people, the ending will not be one of cupcakes and confetti. The journey through the lives of the protagonists as clues are discovered and revealed is a difficult one.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery & Suspense
Notes: 1. #39 in the Alex Delaware Mystery series, but could be read as a standalone. I have only read a few in the series, but I enjoyed all of them and had no problem needing further background information.
2. There is a lot of swearing.
3. The author has a PhD. In psychology, but that in no way turns the novel into something pedantic.
Publication: February 6, 2024—Random House/Ballentine
Memorable Lines:
“Unknown suspect from an unknown place murdering a mystery woman? Gee, thanks for clarifying.”
Rooney’s nomadic life offered an additional fringe benefit: law enforcement tends to think locally so by shifting locales criminals avoid piling up too much iniquity in any one jurisdiction.
Time was nearly up and there’s no point in opening up worm cans unless you’re going to be sitting for a while and fishing.
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels–strange mystery
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
By Janice Hallett
This work of fiction is about a true crime writer investigating a closed case that she thinks worth exploring as does her publisher. It turns out to be a complicated story that did not appeal to me for several reasons.
First, it appears to be a twenty-first version of epistolary text. Instead of traditional letters, it bounces back and forth between, text messages, transcribed interviews and phone calls, and pages torn from fictional books purportedly written about the “Alperton Angels.” This is a cult that weirdly seems to want to protect a certain baby to later sacrifice it because it is the antichrist. As I am not fond of epistolary writing, I found that aspect particularly unappealing. At 25% I almost didn’t finish, but I plugged on thinking it would get better. It didn’t.
Second, there was not a single character that I liked in The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels. They were all lying and deceptive people. Full of mixed motivations, none of them were people I wanted to know, root for, or care about in any way. Perhaps for the right reader this would be appealing, but it just didn’t work for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Thriller, Crime, Fiction
Notes: Epistolary
Publication: January 23, 2024—Simon & Schuster
Memorable Lines:
“Take away talk of angels and demons and you’re left with a very depressing but nonetheless run-of-the-mill story.”
“Electrical and magnetic energy are invisible but we know they exist, right? They can be stored and released at will. Could the force of evil, of negativity, generate an energy that is similarly controlled?”
“He was a lifelong fraudster but needed someone young, pliable, and with no police record to take all the risks.”
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