Cover Image: Lethal Intent

Lethal Intent

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Member Reviews

Cara Putnam has such a wonderful way of writing her novels. She draws you in, and everything seems so new and fascinating. In the real world, the legal life can seem so blah - but not in a Putnam novel. She puts her own twists in, brings vivid characters, and really provides such an intriguing storyline that you cannot break away.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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I enjoyed this story and the nail biting suspense! The characters are well written and the story was top notch! I highly recommend picking it up.

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This is the latest novel in the authoress Cara Putman´s series about young female lawyers and it covers Caroline Bragg´s romance with Brandon Lancaster as well as her works as a legal counsel for research lab Praecursoria. Praecursoria´s work in the field of genetic therapies is very inspirative and can bring much needed hope into the lives of the cancer patients and their families - but might there be some darkness lurking in these new scientific waters? Caroline Bragg seems to be the only one asking the questions...and she can not even talk about them with Brandon, who is one of the investors in Praecursoria, as this would be the breach of the professional ethics. Brandon has his own issues as the state regulations are afflicting his work as a founder of the group foster care home for children.

Ah...while I loved the previous installments, here I have mixed feelings. While I sure do not understand the medicine ethics and rules, I find the whole setup of figuring what goes on here really speculative. So the medical professionals have questions, they start to die and no one (other than a lawyer of all people) would bat an eyelash? How about the police investigating - I´d say that the deaths around one institution would make somebody start to ask questions...Also the perpetrator here is quite unconvincingly written, as I am missing believable psychology behind his behaviour.
As for the romantic line - it is very strong here. The story is quite sweet! Yet - the base of trust here is problematic. I believe that the issue between them is a small thing - but if it can cause such an emotional distress, how can they manage a life together when much more serious issues will emerge (and they will)?

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This is promoted as a legal thriller but it is heavily focused on medical and ethical issues, too, making it an interesting read which will appeal to people who like those genres. Plenty of heart string pulling here with the foster children, too.

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Caroline Bragg has her life where she wants it. She has her dream job and great boyfriend. When she notices weird things at the genetics lab where she works, she begins to question everything. Can she save a girl's life who is living at the foster home her boyfriend runs? Will the secrets she know destroy everything?

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FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.

This one ran a little too close to home for me. There hasn’t been enough distance from WuVi yet, as it’s still ongoing in late 2021, so I’m not yet comfortable reading about similar things such as medical research trials in fictional stories – I get enough of that in the news, thanks. I did appreciate that this story was about finding a cure for cancer rather than a pandemic-type illness.

However, some of the medical research was similar to what I’ve been reading about WuVi treatments. The science of it was interesting, despite my not being fully comfortable with it. There was one comment about mouse DNA being included in a medicine within the story. That was disgusting, sure, but it made me wonder what other gross, mystery ingredients might be involved in creating modern-day medications. (I don’t really want to know, but it was interesting to think about for a few minutes. Sometimes, innocence really is bliss.)

The urgency, tension, and complex plot were rich throughout. The twists just kept coming! That, of course, kept me pretty riveted.

One thing I especially enjoyed was that the faith thread was well integrated into the story. It felt like an organic part of the events and leading character’s reactions and motivations.

The group foster homes for sibling groups were fantastic to feature. I loved Brandon’s heart for orphans and displaced youths. His compassion was well displayed in every chapter.

Something that confused me: If several of the characters (including the leading lady) were in the Hidden Justice series as well as Flight Risk, AND the author’s note specifically linked all five books as having been related… why would these books NOT be assigned and marketed as a five-book series instead of as a trilogy and two stand-alone books? The books do not stand alone. I’ve read all five, and they’re definitely thickly related to each other. I’m very glad I read them in order, and I would recommend they be read in order. I would have felt like I missed lots of good stuff about the recurring characters if I had not read them in order.

Content: unwed pregnancy

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Another Cara C Putman suspenseful legal thriller. Authentic, Full of twists and turns. Multi-layered. Well crafted. Five stars.

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This was a book that I just couldn't get into. I think it just wasn't the right time for me to read this with the pandemic going on. I think the author's writing style is good. I would like to go back to this at a later date to try it again.

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My thoughts: Kara Putman is well known for her legal thrillers and this one had a touch of medical drama included. There is an already in place romance, lots of girl time, and plenty of suspense. There were some untied threads that I would like to know the answer to, but all in all this was a satisfactory legal suspense and medical drama. If you like a more serious book, this is one to consider. I was given a copy free. All opinions are my own.

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Cara Putman keeps giving us well-written, amazing storylines with wonderful characters. I always look forward to her books, and I was not disappointed in this one! The characters in this one are very well-defined and help draw the reader completely in the book. The author’s research makes this a story that seems to be from today’s news. There’s mystery, suspense, and a law set romance that blends well all throughout the story. Highly recommend this one.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

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Lethal Intent
Cara C. Putnam
Publishing Date: January 12, 2021

As the librarian in a conservative small town, I am thankful for Christian writers like Cara Putnam who keep writing excellent books that keep our patrons happy! Great book! Thanks to her publisher and Netgalley for providing the ARC so I can read it before my patrons do!

5star

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I really enjoyed this book and it was the perfect Summer read :) I always find when I read Cara's books I learn so much as she herself is a lawyer so you know that it will be accurate. I really liked Caroline and loved seeing her interact with her friends (whose stories you can read about in Cara's previous novels) and seeing their stories continue. It's so nice to see women supporting each other in their careers and personal lives and having this close bond. Brandon complimented Caroline really well and I loved learning about his past and why he does what he does and how would do anything for his foster kids. The medical theme was really interesting especially as this research is happening right now and it will most likely be the future of cancer treatments. I will say that this book is full of twists and turns and it kept me on my toes. My only complaint is that I wish there was a epilogue so you could see if everything turns out happily ever after, so I'm hoping we will revisit Brandon and Caroline's story in another novel. This is a great novel and one that I couldn't put down, I highly recommend it if you're after a new book to read.

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Lethal Intent
Informative, suspenseful, and kept me reading! A story to be re-read; I'd like to read more by this author.

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I loved the first three books in this series but I had a harder time getting into this one. I think that the medical research parts were too slow for me. I did love Brandon's heart for sibling groups of foster kids. I actually wish that had been the main focus of the book.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

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Lethal Intent is part of the Hidden Justice series, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel. Caroline Bragg takes a job as in-house counsel for a large pharmaceutical company, but she discovers the company has its own secrets that are costing the lives of its employees and trial participants at the same time. Can she find the truth before it is too late? Putnam masterfully blends a legal thriller with a romance and the struggles of the foster system.

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Medical and legal jargon are plentiful though backed up with clear explanations of it, and makes this book a delightful read. Caroline joins a medical research startup as their legal counsel and has to decide between the ethical and legal consequences of your her company wants to conduct their research on human patients. A thoroughly interesting read.
I received a copy of the book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review

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Okay, so I read this for @madlitbookclub with @jaimejowright

It was the first Cara Putman novel I’ve ever read, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, outside of ‘legal thriller’.

And as it turns out, I probably should have looked into it more before starting, because as I read, I was slowly getting a little lost and confused... My brain was going ‘why is she talking about these people as if I already know them? I know nothing about them?!’

It was at this point that I did the research I should have done previously, and discovered that although Lethal Intent is a standalone, all of the characters have been previously introduced in the Hidden Justice series! All the MCs’ friends are the main characters from that series... Oops! My bad! 🙈 No wonder I felt like I didn’t know characters that I felt like I should! 😂

So all that to say, it took me a while to get into it because of that - entirely my fault, obviously! But I did think that the plot was solid and unique, and she writes well. I also thought Brandon and Caroline were lovely characters once I got to know them.

So, I’m going to give one of the Hidden Justice series that’s sitting on my shelf a read and get back to you about what I think of this new-to-me author, because look, for reasons entirely of my own making, I don’t think this book was a fair analysis - lol!

But I will say, I do think that if you are a fan of legal dramas and thrillers, this book will be right up your alley!

Thank you @tnzfiction @thomasnelson ands @netgalley for the review copy, I was only required to provide an honest review in exchange.

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Caroline has joined a company as their attorney. The company is doing great things with cells to help with cancer. When 1 of Brandon’s kids agrees to join the trial of the new treatment, something goes wrong. When the people involved begin having accidents it makes Caroline suspicious. Will she be the next victim?


I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley.the opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

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Review Title: Legal/Medical/Romantic Suspense (Review of Lethal Intent by Cara C. Putnam

Reviewer: Janice Garey

**** 4 Stars

This book has all the elements to draw in the reader: great characterizations; a mix of legal and medical components; a foster child in dire need of a medical cure; the issue of integrity in trials of advances in medicine; and, a conflicted budding romance. The storyline grabs the reader on page one.

The leading lady character is a new lawyer hired by a startup firm developing new treatments for disease. The leading male, and love interest, came from a background which made him sensitive to the needs of foster children. He became the owner of group homes with house parents, and one of the girls from his site is in the hospital. Time is running out to save her life. To add another complication he has monetary interests in the startup company his favorite gal lawyer works for. Their hearts desire to pursue love, but she is afraid to say much about her work so as to not put any suspicion on their relationship in the arena of insider trading. Truly, it is an awesome setup for a perfect story.

For the most part I felt highly engaged and found it to be a page turner. There were, however, a few times when I felt lost in too much information about the medical field. I admit to my lack of knowledge of the field of medicine which influenced my waning interest at a few points. Overall, it is a well told story with a satisfying conclusion sans loose ends.

I found the discussion of how changing regulations make for difficult situations for group homes to add a realistic sideline to the story. This made the tug on the heartstrings even stronger. The engaged reader wants everything to work out well for the characters and all those for whom they are responsible.

This was my first book to read from the author. I expect to be reading more of her books. I received a complimentary ebook for review purposes from netgalley. I have given my honest review after having read the book.

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Cara Putman always tells a great story. She does a lot of research and I always learn something new about a timely topic. This story is about Carolyn Bragg, an attorney, who has recently changed jobs and now works for a medical research firm who is doing cancer research. Her boyfriend, Brandon Lancaster is a former pro football player who owns a group home where he provides a home for foster-to-adopt sibling groups. One of his foster children is in the hospital with leukemia and she is receiving the experimental treatment.

Complications arise when the experimental treatment begins to fail and Carolyn can’t tell Brandon about what she has learned at her workplace because he is a stockholder in the firm she works for. This causes tension between the couple and also is a problem for Carolyn because her research into the problem is causing danger since she is getting too close to the truth.

There is a lot of suspense in this story and it is the right mix of love story, suspense and human interest. I highly recommend this book and all of Cara’s other books to anyone who likes a good read.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

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