#HerDeadlyGame – Rosepoint Publishing

Rosepoint Reviews – October Recap—And I’ve Gotta Yell Uncle!

Rosepoint Reviews October Recap

October flew by and it would seem my schedule weighs increasingly heavier. I thought I could relax a bit after achieving the 500 review badge for NetGalley but that achievement coincided with harvest and I got embroiled with juicing, walking trails, and the search for a good used bike. We got our much revered Indian Summer and just couldn’t resist getting out of doors. Now, of course, we are looking at the upcoming holidays—all designed to be time sinks. Let’s face it—something has to give. First, I’ll try giving up one post a week.

Together we read or listened to seventeen books in October, most from NetGalley, but also audiobooks, and several author requests.

October reads

Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta (CE review)
How the Wicked Run by Annabelle Lewis
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (audiobook)
The Gods of Sanibel by Brian Cook (CE review)
Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas (CE review)
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano
Beartown (audiobook) vs The Winners by Fredrik Backman (CE review)
A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley (CE review)
Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni (CE review)
Fries and Alibis by Trixie Silvertale
Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops by Allison Hong Merrill (audiobook)
The Last Summer in Ireland by Noelle Harrison (CE review)
The Quadrant Conspiracy by James H Lewis (CE review)
Murder at an Irish Bakery by Carlene O’Connor
Bullet Train (movie) vs Bullet Train (audiobook) by Kotaro Isaka
No Quiet Water by Shirley Miller Kamada
O’Brien’s Law by John McNellis (CE review)

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed Bullet Train, but in a head-to-head which one? Would still have to go with the book. The movie, despite a dead-panning and understated Brad Pitt, was just too much flash bang Hollywood. I preferred the psychological study of the great mix of characters in Isaka’s book.

Did you see the movie or read the book? Both? Did you read any of the others above? I saw many thought The Winners was indeed a winner while the CE could not finish it—and as you know—very unusual for him.

Reading Challenges

My usual battle with trying to catch up the challenges. Lost the battle again, but you’ll see—I’ll eventually catch it up and win the war. My challenges for 2022 are all listed and linked in the widget column on the right. Please check out their progress by clicking the Reading Challenges page. I’m now at 92% of the Goodreads Challenge of 180 books at 166. I’ve already achieved the Audiobook Challenge, Historical Reading Challenge, and the NetGalley Challenge with a 98% Feedback Ratio. Phew! I’m feeling a bit like my granddaughter with our great-grandson—see that face? Yeah…

But speaking of getting older; our little Bichon Frisé, Frosty, will have her seventeenth birthday in January 2023. I’m not sure she’ll make that as she is declining before our eyes. Breaks our hearts and we watch her every day for signs she is suffering. So far, so good; eating and drinking her water, getting me up one to three times during the night to piddle. Maybe it’s not the books and blog that have me exhausted, but we love her too much to give up quite yet.

Thank you for joining me if you are a new follower and as always I appreciate those who continue to read, like, share, and comment—especially comment! Let me know if you saw something above that got your interest.

Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni – #BookReview – #legalthrillers @Thomas&Mercer

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

A defense attorney is prepared to play. But is she a pawn in a master’s deadly match? A twisting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

Keera Duggan was building a solid reputation as a Seattle prosecutor, until her romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. For the competitive former chess prodigy, returning to her family’s failing criminal defense law firm to work for her father is the best shot she has. With the right moves, she hopes to restore the family’s reputation, her relationship with her father, and her career.

Keera’s chance to play in the big leagues comes when she’s retained by Vince LaRussa, an investment adviser accused of murdering his wealthy wife. There’s little hard evidence against him, but considering the couple’s impending and potentially nasty divorce, LaRussa faces life in prison. The prosecutor is equally challenging: Miller Ambrose, Keera’s former lover, who’s eager to destroy her in court on her first homicide defense.

As Keera and her team follow the evidence, they uncover a complicated and deadly game that’s more than Keera bargained for. When shocking information turns the case upside down, Keera must decide between her duty to her client, her family’s legacy, and her own future.

His Review:

Vincent La Russa got home late from his lecture at the Four Seasons in which he was the keynote speaker. Entering the kitchen, he found his wife dead in her wheelchair with broken glass on the floor and the house temperature at 105 degrees. He immediately exited the house and called 911 to get the police department dispatched to the scene. The hole in his wife’s head confirmed there was nothing he could do.

The story is further clouded by a history of Anne La Russa suffering from a car accident and terminal cancer. A prenuptial agreement prior to the La Russa marriage would leave Vincent penniless should he stray during the marriage. Evidence gathered by a private detective indicates that he might be guilty of such an indiscretion. He is arrested for the murder and Keera is hired to defend him.

Keera Duggan is the youngest daughter of Patrick “The Irish Brawler” Duggan. The family business is called Duggan and Sons although none of his sons went into the business. The girls: Ella, Margaret, and Keera, followed in their father’s footsteps. The youngest, Keera, swore she would never work with family but she has become her father’s favorite. The family has a serious alcohol problem.

Vincent La Russa is a very wealthy man charged with his wife’s death. Keera and Patrick are engaged to defend Mr. La Russa. The author develops his characters with careful consideration of the family dynamic. That ability engaged this reader by contrasting the Duggan family with experiences in my own family. Being one of seven siblings, I found myself identifying with the problems faced by Keera and her sisters.

This novel contains a myriad of legal wrangling and would be a good primer for anyone considering law school. The prosecuting attorney, Miller Ambrose, was a former boyfriend of Keera’s and is determined not to lose to his former lover. The family in turn is watching Keera with a jaundiced eye to see if she has a chance of winning.

I found this book to be engaging and entertaining and the twists at the end very satisfying. Read and enjoy this book and see if the ending catches you by surprise as well! 5 stars – CE Williams

[Note: The CE and I have shared a number of Dugoni’s books, including most recently both the Tracy Crosswhite series What She Found Book 9 and the Charles Jenkins series, The Silent Sister Book 3, and loved them all. Around this house we like to say, “Of course it’s good, it’s a Dugoni.” They are consistently fresh, engaging, well-crafted and well-plotted with relatable characters. This is no exception. VW]

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. Currently on pre-order.

Book Details:

Genre: Legal Thrillers, Crime Thrillers, Murder Thrillers
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ASIN: B09V575VRP
Print Length: 396 pages
Publication Date: March 28, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Links: Her Deadly Game [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK

The Author: Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, which has sold more than 8 million books worldwide. He is also the author of The Charles Jenkins espionage series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, and several stand-alone novels including The 7th Canon, Damage Control, and the literary novels, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell – Suspense Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year, for which Dugoni’s narration won an AudioFile Earphones Award and the critically acclaimed, The World Played Chess; as well as the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. Several of his novels have been optioned for movies and television series. Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and a three-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He has also been a finalist for many other awards including the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award.