Book 1 of Robert Dugoni's Keera Duggan new legal thriller series follows the arrest of a millionaire for the murder of his wheelchair-bound wife. Keera Duggan takes the case with the hope of helping revive her family's law firm. She isn't sure of her client Vince LaRussa's innocence, but her role is to defend him and there are puzzles in the evidence that make her hope to find an alternative to LaRussa for the murder of his wife.
Her Deadly Game introduces several characters (besides Keera's family) that I imagine will appear in future books, both as supporters and as antagonists.
An interesting aspect concerns Keera, who was a chess prodigy in her teens. She learned much about chess, strategy, and law from her father Patsy Duggan, the Irish Brawler and legendary lawyer. Patsy, however, has always had a problem with alcohol which has only gotten worse and threatens the family law firm's reputation.
An anonymous chess game Keera is playing online makes her think about the moves she needs to make in her case. The strategy of chess helps Keera anticipate moves her opponent might make.
* Kerry is receiving emails from "Jack Worthing" that lead her and her team to background on Vince LaRussa. The prosecutor in the case has a personal antagonism toward Keera and does his best to make things difficult. Frank Rossi, detective believes in LaRussa's guilt but has questions about the prosecutors tactics.
Has LaRussa been set up...or is he guilty?
Almost everything in this engrossing novel was excellent. I had quibbles about one thing, but let it go in the end because the rest of the novel was so good. Can't wait for the next installment which is due out in October.
Legal thriller. Thomas & Mercer. Print length: 396 pages.
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One book that I didn't finish last was Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. I wanted to like it, but couldn't maintain interest. If you've read it, what did you think?
