When former child chess prodigy and attorney Keera Duggan agrees to work at her father’s flailing criminal defense firm, she is not expecting to be handed the golden ticket that could resuscitate her career overnight… a chance to defend Seattle’s reputable wealth manager, Vince La Russa, who stands accused of murdering his disabled wife. Keera must follow in her father Patsy’s (the infamous ‘Irish Brawler’) footsteps, and go toe to toe with ruthless prosecutor Ambrose, her former flame, in a fierce battle of wits.
Complicating matters is the strange sequence of emails Keera receives, inviting her down memory lane, prompting her to unearth Vince’s past and a side of him he may rather keep hidden. One thing’s for sure, this case is surrounded by a feverish media frenzy and it’s anything but cut and dry.
I don’t read many legal thrillers- and that’s something I may need to rectify, stat- because Her Deadly Game was astonishingly entertaining! I am new to Dugoni’s work and it took me a little time to become accustomed to his spare, methodical prose which I wasn’t especially fond of at first. I was not at all surprised to learn that Dugoni is a former lawyer. Once the story started heating up, I grew to appreciate his unique technical style which I’m now convinced lends itself exceedingly well to the detail-oriented nature of legal thrillers.
The plot of Her Deadly Game managed to claw its way under my skin and once I hit Part II I could not put it down. I had a lot of fun discussing the case with my husband whose interest was similarly piqued. Gutsy, relentless Keera, the extraordinarily bright PI Harrison and principled Detective Rossi were all remarkable characters.
I’m disappointed that this book is a stand-alone because I’d love to spend more time in their company. I noticed that some reviewers took issue with the chess aspect of the novel, but despite being a massive chess ignoramus myself, I felt it added intrigue and nuance to Keera’s character and the overall story arc.
I can’t really draw comparisons when it comes to Her Deadly Game- it’s unlike anything I’ve read before. But I have a feeling it would appeal to fans of Michael Connelly as well as readers who enjoy smart, snappy, edge-of-your-seat suspense.
My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
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