Stephen PennerReseñas

Book 2, the story works as a standalone. The story follows Raine's character as he insists the suspicious death of Hailey is murder. This is a descriptive police and judicial procedural story as Raine takes it upon himself to prove the deaths are not suicide.


I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Constant use of names, unlikable main character

Author's guest post at my blog:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2017/07/foodfic-please-welcome-stephen-penner.html

The elements I look for in a legal thriller/novel are competent descriptions of courtroom scenes, an unusual legal tactic/strategy/issue, a moral conundrum, and believable, if not likeable, characters. This book has several of the aforementioned and kept the pages turning as ADA David Brunelle tries to salvage a difficult case.

A young girl is found hanging upside-down from the banister in her home. She has been bled-out, her blood collected for, well you'll find out. The culprits are quickly identified and the novel then focuses on the legal shenanigans needed to try to convict the killer. I liked the legal wrangling. The romance between Brunelle and the ME was forced and one of his actions was legally and ethically reprehensible.

The book could have been stronger on the moral issues. The death penalty was used on a couple of occasions as an element of humor rather than as a quandary for the characters.

Nevertheless, I like the book, a good quick read, perfect for a distraction.

3.3534128 stars rounded to 3

Seattle homicide prosecutor David Brunelle faces a prosecutorial nightmare. A drug addict-turned-police informant is found murdered, his body dumped publicly as a warning to others. The prime suspect is the drug lord the dead man was snitching out. And the only witnesses to the murder were also accomplices to it. Decisions have to be made, and deals have to be cut. Brunelle struggles through a maze of coconspirators and defense attorneys to answer the questions at the core of his dilemma: Who deserves a break? And who deserves the full punishment of the law? Will a collection of scared drug addicts and loyal hangers-on be willing to testify against a man who already killed one police informant? And even if they are, will the jury believe anyone whose testimony was purchased with a plea bargain? Brunelle encounters new friends and past opponents as he tries to hold a killer responsible, both aided and hindered by the doctrine of accomplice liability.

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