Cover Image: Her Deadly Game

Her Deadly Game

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In Her Deadly Game, Keera Duggan, former chess prodigy, had been building a successful career as a Seattle prosecutor until a romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. She finds that her best move going forward is to return to her family's failing criminal defense law form to work for her father. With the right moves, she hopes to be able to restore the family's reputation and repair her relationship with her father and her career. Keera's big chance comes when she's retained by Vince LaRussa, an investment adviser who has been accused of murdering his wealthy wife. There's little hard evidence against him but it looks like the couple was facing a potentially nasty divorce. LaRussa is facing the possibility of life in prison. The prosecutor makes things even more challenging since he's her ex, and he's eager to destroy her in court. As Keera and her team follow the evidence, they uncover a complicated and and deadly game that could be more than Keera can deal with.

In Keera Duggan, Robert Dugoni has actually written another character that I enjoy as much as I do Tracy Crosswhite. I can also tell that, as usual, he did his research; not just into criminal procedure but, this time, into the world of chess. I literally have no idea how to play chess but I really enjoyed reading about the game she played with her secret opponent and her thought process. I loved the interactions between Keera and her family and her team at work. I loved that there wasn't an immediate romantic partner but there are definitely some possibilities. It definitely didn't hurt that there was a little cameo by Faz and Vic from the Crosswhite series. I genuinely hope that there will be more books featuring Keera because Dugoni has a definite hit here.

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Fans of legal thrillers will love Robert Dugoni’s latest novel Her Deadly Games.

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 alcoholic father is the best shot at redemption that she has. With the right moves, she hopes to restore the family’s reputation, her relationship with her father, and her career.

Her 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 his presence near the crime scene makes him a key suspect. The prosecutor is equally challenging: Miller Ambrose, Keera’s former lover, who is 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 is more than Keera bargained for.

This is a first rate courtroom drama. The basic set-up is well constructed and the courtroom scenes bristle with tension and suspense. The familiar elements of biased judge, damaging evidence and overly ambitious prosecutor playing hard and fast with the rules are well handled, and Dugoni adds some interesting new elements involving a mysterious watcher who keeps sending the defence cryptic messages and an ongoing game of chess with an unknown opponent.

The characters are nuanced and interesting, and the story flows at a really good pace. I guessed the general outcome well in advance of the courtroom finale, Dugoni provides a big clue early on, but there are plenty of unexpected turns to keep it interesting, and the final pages surprised me. Moral legal dilemmas are lightly handled and the motif of the courtroom as a chess game is effective.

A very enjoyable legal thriller!

4.5 - rounded up to 5

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Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni is essentially a courtroom drama and a good one. Keera Duggan was a defense lawyer. She had spent most of her career in the prosecutor’s office until she made the mistake of having an affair with another prosecutor, Miller Ambrose, who turned out to be kind of a sleaze. When she discovered that and thought about it she returned to her father’s law firm (with her tail between her legs). Since then it had been mostly DUIs. Until one night when she answered a call through the service, asking for her father, but got her. Vince LaRussa was at police headquarters, not a suspect, but being questioned in the murder of his wife. It seemed clear he had not done it but there were really no other suspects. Then she started getting emails from Jack Worthy. Each had hints to follow up on. Especially when she discovered who Jack Worthy was. She was right, Ambrose was a sleaze but she had other friends, friends who were not sleazes.

Keera was a terrific character: focused, determined, hard-working. As always Dugoni wrote her well. He father was an interesting old Irish lawyer, a man who drank too much but was known as the Irish Brawler. If he could keep from drinking he would regain his title, if she didn’t take it from him. Her older sister, Ella, managed the firm and was a bulldog. Frank Rossi was a detective that she could have had a relationship with if she so chose. He was straight as an arrow and honest as the day is long. He watched as this whole thing unfolded. It was a complicated and obtuse plot, discovered only by an excellent PI who searched the internet and had a friend who was an engineer. It was an absorbing read and excellent as always.

I was invited to read a free-ARC of Her Deadly Game by Thomas & Mercer, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #ThomasAndMercer #Robert Dugoni #HerDeadlyGame #booktalk

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Keera Duggan was born into a family steeped in litigation, Her father is legendary for his aggressive approach to defending his clients and her sister Ela is now running the family firm. After working as a public defender, she was forced to start over in the family firm. But Keera wants to stand on her own, not assist with the cases her father leads. Especially since his drinking seems to have him spiraling towards destroying the practice he built. One late night call to the firm starts her on a case that is shocking, sensational and potentially beyond her experience to defend. She wants this case badly.

Vince LaRussa is the husband accused of killing his wheelchair-bound wife in their own home. Keera brings in the firm’s highly skilled private investigator to help make sense of the evidence that the police and district attorney believes indisputably proves Vince is guilty. The same district attorney with whom Keera was romantically involved and the reason behind her exit from the DA’s office. For Keera, the evidence doesn’t make sense but she has very little time to unravel the secrets around Vince and his wife. Nothing is as it seems.

Page turning thriller that leaves the reader guessing about the truth right to the end. Loved it!

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Keera is an attorney working for her father’s law firm. When the opportunity presents itself to take on the case of Vince LaRussa who is accused of murdering his wife, she can’t wait to prove herself both to her father and ex-boyfriend, who happens to be the prosecutor in the case. This courtroom drama is both exciting and unpredictable. Keera has to stay on her toes if she is going to figure out what happened to her client’s wife. Not everything is as it seems!

I love Dugoni’s books. His writing style is just wonderful and his chess references tie right into the meaning of life and what is sometimes right in front of your face. This one kept me guessing until the end…a wonderfully woven story!

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Robert Dugoni is an auto-buy author for me. One of those that when you see a title you don't have, you buy it. I follow him on FB, TikTok and twitter. So my review comes from having read most, if not all, of his books. For me, a recommendation that compares a book to one of Dugoni's means I will most likely enjoy it.

Dugoni writes fiction that reads like nonfiction. Believable characters set in believable backgrounds that have believable reactions to the surrounding story. In HER DEADLY GAME, a young woman has begun working at her family's law practice after her personal actions cause her to be fired. She is determined to regain her reputation as a tough lawyer that wins her cases. When her first case as a defense lawyer pits her against a well known prosecutor who has many reasons to want her to lose this case, she must scramble to stay ahead of the surprises that keep coming. There are so many contribution threads to the story that when the twists start coming, you'll have to go back pages to see hwre you missed that clue.

I could tell you more, but that would be cheating. Read HER DEADLY GAME and if it's your first Dugoni title, you have many new titles to add to your TBR pile!

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I don’t tend to read a lot of legal fiction, but this was a first book in a new series by an author who I’d never heard of so thought I’d give it a try. I’m glad I did, I found it a really interesting read with a fascinating and likeable family who were all trying to prove their client innocent.
Keera, the lead character is new to the family business and desperate to prove that she is able. Like many in her family she had issues with alcohol but unlike them hadn’t fallen victim to it. One of her ways of avoiding its lure was online chess and throughout the game she was playing a game against an opponent who was at first unidentified. I did have my own suspicions about who the opponent was but I was completely wrong. The parts concerning the chess game went way over my head but I did enjoy seeing the way that it helped Keera forget about the case.
I had a lot of appreciation for the court room setting. The extremely frosty relationship that Keera had with the prosecuting lawyer Ambrose worked perfectly and I loved the way she tore apart his arguments. Mainly because he was such an awful character but also because it gave insight into how the legal process worked. If more legal thrillers were written this way I’d probably read more.
I would definitely read more books by this author, there are certainly quite a few to choose from.

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Book Review: Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni
Published by Thomas & Mercer, March 28, 2023

★★★★★ (4.5 Stars)

After a police procedural, a spy thriller, and a magnificent human interest story, what would critically-acclaimed bestselling novelist Robert Dugoni have on tap for his readers?

Why, of course, - a legal thriller!

AFTER THE PUBLICATION of police procedural, "What She Found" (Tracy Crosswhite, #9) (2022); spy thriller, "The Silent Sisters" (Charles Jenkins, #3) (2022); and, human interest story, "The World Played Chess" (2021), former civil litigator Dugoni goes back to the genre of his "David Sloane" legal thrillers (circa 2006-2012), penned at the dawn of his illustrious career as an author.

Simply amazing versatility.

And damn good books.

// "HER DEADLY GAME" by Robert Dugoni (2023) //

June 2023
The Emerald City.

A fledgling Seattle, WA defense attorney lands a whale in the dead of night.

Half-asleep, she fields an urgent, unsolicited call from a billionaire. A pillar of the community needs legal advice. Of no small consequence, quite a dish of one promising bonanza of top-dollar fees for the Seattle legal firm of Patrick Duggan and Associates. Duggan and his three associates - daughters Ella, Margaret and Keera.

Little did the lawyers know that there would be much, much more to their client than meets the eye...

------

With a cohesively-spun web of blind corners, twists and courtroom drama, Robert Dugoni crafts one thoroughly enjoyable legal suspense thriller right up there with the best.

The devious plot somewhat brings to mind Kevin Spacey's incomparable "Verbal" character in "The Usual Suspects" (1995). Remember Mr. Kobayashi?

Or, perhaps Ed Norton's "Aaron" in "Primal Fear" (1996).

Seattle PD's Violent Crimes Section Team A members from Mr. Dugoni's best-selling "Tracy Crosswhite" series, Del Castigliano and Fazz Fazzio play cameos. Guess who's just an office away from Del & Fazz, quietly working on cold case files.

Do we see a Keera Duggan /Tracy Crosswhite powerhouse collaboration in the tea leaves?

Robert Dugoni pens another unputdownable winner. And this one with a promise!

Review based on an advance reading copy courtesy of Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley.

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I love Robert Dugoni’s Tracey Crosswhite series so I was excited to read something different from him. I did like the mentions of some the characters from those books in Her Deadly Game too.

Legal thrillers are some of my favourite thrillers. Nothing like a good courtroom showdown and this was a cracker. The lawyers have a history, a relationship that ended baldly so the sparks flew. Our main character, Keera, is working her first murder case and it is a doozy. It is always the husband right? Wealthy businessman, Vince LaRussa is on trial for murdering his wife. She was shot in the back of her head in the couples home. Keera and her family of lawyers will need to use all their resources and tricks for this case.

Thanks so much to Thomas and Mercer for my advanced reading copy of this book.

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The story of the Duggan family, a family of lawyers. The father Patsy is a known drunk and how he’s known in his field and his family. Keera picked up a call to defend Anthony against the charge of murder. Is she up to the challenge? Will her father stay sober long enough to help? Will she get him acquitted but did he do it?

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“Never defend without a plan to attack.”

This is Robert Dugoni’s latest book with the potential to (hopefully) become a series.

It’s a legal thriller/locked room mystery about an Irish family’s struggling law firm, a daughter set out to prove herself, an investment advisor accused of killing his wealthy disabled wife, and a high stakes game of chess.

Dugoni can write a lot of genres very well. When I first started this book it felt a little slow, but once I realized it was more of a legal thriller than a suspense thriller I was able to settle in more and enjoy it properly.


As far as the mystery aspect goes, I didn’t have it completely figured out. I had generalities, but, based on his author’s note, he used a lot of outside help to develop the plot and it shows. There were definitely some complexities to how the wife died.

It was fitting for Dugoni to write around this quote:

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” — Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest


The mystery, the clues, the family dynamics, the legal drama— there is a lot to like in this book!


My only critiques are that I got tired of hearing about how uncharacteristically hot it was in Seattle, there was a little bit of hand-holding in describing some of the legal terms or proceedings, the overuse of the word ‘intimated’, and the fact that we didn’t get much information about the deceased until the end when we didn’t care as much.


Cast of Characters

Because I can see this becoming a series, let’s talk about the characters:

- Keera - main protagonist, former prosecuting attorney, now defense attorney working at her family’s firm in the wake of an ended abusive relationship; was a child chess prodigy; wishes she had a better relationship with her father, the selfish alcoholic she can’t depend on but has a lot of similar characteristics to him
(Also she eats carrots, salami, crackers, and a brick of cheddar cheese for lunch and that resonates with me)

- Patsy (Patrick) - a.k.a. The Irish Brawler, successful defense attorney well-known for his risky antics and out-of-the-box trial strategies; also known for his alcoholism which has hurt his reputation, his firm, and most importantly, his family
"In his day, Patsy had been fearless and unpredictable. Now, Keera feared he was just unpredictable.”

- Ambrose - the prosecutor and former boyfriend of Keera; determined to beat and humiliate Keera in court

- Rossi - detective for the prosecution; interested in Keera (will this relationship develop in future books?); stuck between working for a prosecutor he doesn’t respect and wanting to do the right thing

- Ella & Maggie - Keera’s sisters who also work at the firm; Ella is the smart, business-minded hard-working paperwork queen; Maggie is the self-proclaimed black sheep of the family who is good at playing the victim


Bonus: this crosses over with the Tracy Crosswhite series as two of the detectives put on the case are Vic and Del- The Italian Stallions. We could see some more interaction here in future books as well.

I think if this ends up being a stand-alone book I’ll be a little disappointed and feel like there wasn’t quite enough character resolution. But since I have high hopes for some others, I’ll let that slide!


Playing Chess Not Checkers

All the reality show players who use that phrase would enjoy the chess part of this story. Because we all know chess is a more complicated long game than measly checkers, right?

In his author’s note, Dugoni stated: “I wanted to create a protagonist who came from a dysfunctional family, but who had escaped by becoming a chess prodigy. Why chess? Because I knew very good trial attorneys who were also very good chess players… They told me in law and in chess you strategized not just your next move but for the many moves your opponent might make and how you might combat those moves.”

In this way, the chess aspect was a compelling addition.

Dugoni had Keera playing an ongoing online chess game with an unknown opponent named The Dark Knight. As the chess game progressed, the trial progressed. Keera’s defensive and offensive moves in the chess game represented her strategy in the trial, so we got a bit of foreshadowing as we saw the moves play out.

The downside to including the chess game was that it was a bit technical. It was a ‘pawn to h6,’ ‘knight to h2’ description throughout. Unless you’re very familiar with chess, it won’t make much visual sense to you. I think a lot of readers will skim over those sections and possibly be frustrated by them.

People who know how to play chess will probably enjoy them.

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve played chess. But if the chess game Dugoni included in there is one between two really good chess players, I’m tempted to go back through with an actual chess board in front of me and play the game out myself, maybe learn a few things!


Things I Learned

“Ghost guns were the bane of police officers, made from a kit that could be purchased online or at gun shows without the buyer providing identification and without a background check. They also did not have a traceable serial number.”

This was crazy to learn about! You can 3D print a gun. Technology is nuts. There are lots of opinions about gun control these days. I don’t even know what ‘gun control’ even means anymore. But I am glad that they added some restrictions to these gun kits that weren’t there before. Because the guns were not assembled, they had (prior) not been treated like real guns and thus anyone—even a kid— could order these kits. Definitely a problem.

But according to an NPR article in 2022 they are now treating these ghost guns like real guns: requiring background checks to buy them, requiring serial numbers to be put on in manufacturing and that existing ghost guns get serial numbers added to them, and not allowing criminals to buy them.

I think that is a fantastic rule change and I’m surprised they didn’t see the potential problems with these things when they first arrived on the scene!

And seriously… 3D printing is like magic to me. Can we just 3D print clones by now or something?!


They talk about Rainier Square Tower in the book and how it looks like a long water slide. So obviously I had to know what that looked like. If you Google images of it, you’ll see it does indeed look like a water slide.


There is a move in chess called ‘castling your king’ in which I have never heard of this in my entire life. Which isn’t entirely surprising but still… it blows my mind a little bit that move exists. I looked up more about it and it’s not quite what Dugoni described in the book. It’s not an exact switching of places, but the King moves two spaces and the rook then moves two spaces over the King. However— you can’t do this if the King or the rook has moved already in the game, if the King is in check or if the spaces he moves across would put him in check. Anways. Little fun chess fact that I’ll probably never use correctly in my life.

Another chess move: the fianchetto bishop. This is a thing. But I can’t explain any of it to you.


I have read a lot of legal thrillers. How am I just learning these phrases now?:

SODDI defense: Some Other Dude Did It.

‘voir dire’ which means “a preliminary examination of a witness or a juror by a judge or counsel.”

Omnibus hearing: “An omnibus hearing is a pretrial hearing. It is usually held soon after a defendant's arraignment. The main purpose of the hearing is to determine the evidence, including testimony and evidence seized at the time of arrest.”

Case in Chief: “The portion of a trial whereby the party with the burden of proof in the case presents its evidence. The term differs from a rebuttal, whereby a party seeks to contradict the other party's evidence.”

[definitions from Wikipedia]


Recommendation

If you don’t like legal thrillers, you probably wouldn’t enjoy this book— there is a lot of courtroom drama and trial strategizing throughout the book.

As long as that doesn’t describe you, I think this book is worth reading!

I read it very quickly and was engaged the entire time wondering not only how this deadly game would play out, but would Keera and her father reconcile? Would her father pull through for her when she needed him the most?

Dugoni continues to be one of my favorite authors. He spins a good story, writes well and creatively, AND does it without all the swearing and sexual content other writers use.

Even if you don’t like legal thrillers, check out some of Robert Dugoni’s other books!

[Content Advisory: 2 f-words; 26 s-words; no sexual content]

**Received an ARC via NetGalley**

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4.5 Stars
One Liner: Super entertaining; Love it

Keera Duggan, the daughter of the reputed defense attorney Patsy Duggan, is making a name for herself as a prosecution lawyer in Seattle. However, she is back at her father’s law firm after ending a toxic relationship with her former boss. Things aren’t great with her family either, and Keera finds comfort in playing anonymous online chess and sharpening her skills.
Vince LaRussa, an investment advisor, hires Keera’s family law firm when he is suspected of his wealthy wife’s murder. Keera sees this as a chance to establish herself but soon realizes she has to use all her chess strategies to stay one step ahead and win the case. What’s more, Keera may have to make some tough decisions that could affect her family, the law firm, and her career.
With her former boss and lover as the prosecution attorney, Keera knows the stakes are higher than ever, and there may not be a second chance.

What I Like:
The book takes time to set the stage but does it very well. We already know how Keera’s mind works by the time the actual case is introduced. This makes it easy to read fast and enjoy the developments too.
As a legal thriller, the focus is on courtroom scenes and the backend work lawyers do. The police work complements the case instead of overshadowing it. And I got strong Adaalat vibes (one of the crime shows I binged on telly). Am I right or am I right? ;)
I really like how the author writes women. I was impressed by Tracy Crosswhite’s character though I read only one book in the series. Keera Duggan is also etched to be real and relatable.
The family dynamics also get some importance in the book. Given how the law firm is run by Patsy and his daughter, this move to present them as a dysfunctional yet loving family enriches the plot and characterization.
Chess is an integral part of the book (I skimmed the scenes as my knowledge of the game is the bare minimum) and shows the importance of using one’s mind and wits to fight a case in court. Turns out the author doesn’t even play chess. Very impressive!
Patsy’s alcoholism, its impact on the family, and the subsequent changes in the family dynamics during the case have a natural arc. Patsy isn’t just an alcoholic lawyer. He is a father who loves his children. Never did I expect to like an alcoholic character this much. He made me root for him.
Despite being a legal thriller, it doesn’t get heavy on the jargon. Only the necessary terminology is used, and some of them are explained in a natural flow. There’s even a Powerpoint presentation in one of the scenes. Nothing more fun than reading about a systematic approach to things (I love lists).
Miller Ambrose may seem like a stereotype, but he nails it on the head. He’s a character readers would love to hate. I wish Keera beats him in more cases.
I could guess the murder case and the connection halfway through. However, I enjoy the process of logically revealing the information to readers. I also think the author didn’t try to prevent the reader from connecting the dots b deliberately misleading them or ‘pulling the rug’.

What Could Have Been Better for Me:
Well… nothing much for me to rant about. But I still got a couple of issues to talk about…
While repetition is expected in courtroom scenes, the same seems unnecessary during the climax reveal. The conversation gets a bit too long, with one character repeating information that has been already presented multiple times. Since I figured out almost all of it, I just wanted to get to the ‘how’ and ‘what next’ part of the story.
A certain diagnosis (for the lack of a better word) doesn’t seem to be necessary. The character has already been established. This didn’t add anything to it. In fact, I like it when characters can be who they are without some sort of medical diagnosis to support it (trying hard not to reveal spoilers).

To summarize, Her Deadly Game is easily one of the best legal thrillers. It is entertaining, intriguing, and fun to read. I hope the author turns this into a series. All main characters have the potential to star in multiple books, especially Keera, Rossi, and Patsy.
Oh, the author’s note is one of my favorites. It’s a letter from the author to the readers, and that’s how it is written. Beautiful!
Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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Forced to leave her job as a Seattle prosecutor, Keera Duggan takes a job at her father’s small law office only to find herself instantly thrown into a murder case. While it wasn’t the most original courtroom drama, it sucked me right in. I will definitely be reading Robert Dugoni’s backlist! Thanks to Netgalley for a chance to read and review this book.

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Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni

Keera had just ended a bad relationship with Ambrose Miller at that time she worked in the PA's office. She felt like she needed a change. So, she asked her father for a job working for him at Patrick Duggan & Associates. She swore that she would never work for him. Her father had a drinking problem and needed a lot of help.

Keera is trying to have a better relationship with her Dad. She gets a big case defending Vince Larusso who is an investment advisor and is accused of murdering his wife who is very wealthy. Larusso is facing life in prison. The prosecutor is Ambrose Miller, Keera's former lover, who wants to destroy her. Keera also is an excellent chess player and is playing chess with the Dark Knight when she is not in the court room.

I just love Robert Dugoni's writing and they thrillers he writes. Robert Dugoni has done it again he wrote a great legal thriller. I recommend this book if you like legal thrillers it will keep you flipping the pages. I like the detail and the reality of the courtroom drama. Will Keera get Mr. Larusso off or will he go to prison for the murder? To find out pick up this up and enjoy the well-developed characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a free copy of Her Deadly Game for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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In a Nutshell: A fast-paced and entertaining legal thriller with great characters. Enjoyed it thoroughly.

Story Synopsis:
Keera Duggan was an up-and-coming prosecutor until her romantic relationship with a colleague Miller Ambrose ended badly. Now she is forced to work in her family’s criminal defense law firm, which itself is struggling after her father’s repeated alcohol-induced misbehaviour. For Keera, who has always been an overachiever and a chess prodigy, this is a big comedown.
When wealthy businessman Vince LaRussa, who is arrested on the charge of murdering his wife, approached Duggan’s firm to represent him, Keera knows that this is the chance to get everything – career, family, business – back on track. But there are many challenges as well, not least of which being that the prosecutor handling the case for the state is Ambrose himself.
As Keera handles the defense side while navigating through some tricky leads, she realises that she is in a far more dangerous game than she had bargained for.
The story comes to us in the limited third person perspective of Keera and another key character, Frank Rossi, who is the lead detective on the LaRussa case.

Where the book worked for me:
♛ Let’s be honest. No one reads legal thrillers wondering if the lawyer/character we see will win the case. Of course, they will! What we want is to see a brilliant legal battle unfurling inside and outside court, one that keeps us on our toes and challenges many assumptions. On that count, this book is a big winner. The courtroom scenes were fascinating.
♛ That said, some parts of the ending did take me by surprise. I appreciate how the author didn’t push too hard to ties all ends neatly. A few things are left unsaid, with just enough for us to know what might transpire.
♛ Keera Duggan makes for a compelling lead character. While she does meet the standard portrayal of having a prodigious intelligence and a competitive streak, she is also not shown as a superwoman who can handle everything alone. I love how the author showed her as a team player.
♛ I think this is the first time ever that I have ever counted an alcoholic character as among my favourites. Patrick Duggan, Keera’s dad, is so well-written! He shines not just as a lawyer but also as a dad. His addiction to the bottle is also depicted well in the story. I appreciate how alcoholism is portrayed not as a choice but as an illness.
♛ Through Keera’s big family – two brothers, two sisters and parents, we get a great glimpse of a dysfunctional family’s dynamics. The sibling relationships across the three sisters are especially spot on.
♛ A book with many strong women characters, none of whose portrayals are sexualised and none of whom are perfect role models but *almost* regular humans - this deserves credit, all the more coming from a male writer. A further plus point for not forcing a romantic track into the book.
♛ The story is well-paced, with the action ranging from fast to medium but never slow. Perfect for a legal thriller.
♛ The last time I read a satisfying legal thriller must have been when John Grisham was in his heyday. So to return to this genre after so many years gave me a nice glimpse of modern-day legal proceedings, complete with PowerPoint presentations and videos. The author’s being an ex-lawyer is a huge advantage, because there is a ring of authenticity to all the scenes.
♛ There is plenty of chess in the book, and every reference is used intelligently. I don’t play chess, but I know the pieces and the basic moves. So while I loved the references to the game coming through various characters and situations, I speed-read through the paras detailing an online chess game Keera was playing with an online opponent. What surprised me most was that the author doesn’t play chess, as he reveals in his final note. After the way he incorporated chess seamlessly into the narrative, I sure didn’t see that coming!
♛ On that note, the author’s note – one of the best I’ve read. Well-detailed, and providing the perfect background to the story and the events therein. Loved it!


Where the book left me with mixed feelings:
♞ As an ardent fan of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, I both loved and hated the way the play was used in this story. Also, I beg to differ, Keera, but ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ is NOT similar to Wilde’s play!


Where the book did not work for me:
♟ Sorry, minor spoiler here.
I am a bit tired of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) being brought up in reference to criminals. DID doesn’t automatically indicate psychopathic tendencies. In this story, the mention of DID wasn’t even necessary. Simply portraying the said character as a sociopath or a psychopath was enough to make us understand his motivations. Why was the DID reference shoved in? ASPD would have made far better sense.



All in all, you can see from the skew of my feedback that this was a great read for me. After a long while, I have read a legal thriller that IS a legal thriller and not a dressed-up crime thriller or police procedural.
I hope the author plans to turn this into a series, because I would love to see more of Keera Duggan and Frank Rossi, not necessarily together. Could we please have more of Pan and Ford in the next installment? And do bring back Harrison as well. Oh, and Patrick Duggan too! Heck, just make sure every good key character returns, dear author!!

This was my first Robert Dugoni work, and it won’t be the last!

4.5 stars, happy to round up in the hopes that the author will be convinced to write a sequel!

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the DRC of “Her Deadly Game”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The book is also available on Kindle Unlimited.

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Her Deadly Games by Robert Dugoni is a gripping and intense thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. This is the second book in the series featuring Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite, and it does not disappoint. From the very first page, the tension is high and the stakes are even higher.
The novel centers around a serial killer who is targeting high-profile women in the Seattle area. As Tracy and her team race against the clock to catch the killer, they uncover a web of lies, betrayal, and corruption that threatens to derail the investigation. The plot is full of twists and turns, and Dugoni keeps readers guessing until the very end.
Overall, Her Deadly Games is a fantastic thriller that is sure to satisfy fans of the genre. With a compelling plot, well-drawn characters, and important themes, it is a must-read for anyone looking for a fast-paced

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Keera Duggan is going through a rough patch. She had a romance with a senior colleague that ended badly. Unfortunately, it also tarnished her reputation as a prosecutor, and she left her job and returned to work at her father's law firm. Her father is well-known attorney Patty Dugan, but the firm's reputation has lost some of its shine recently. Keera hopes to improve her own reputation and that of the firm.

An opportunity arrives when a man accused of killing his wife wants them to represent him in his murder case. This will be a tough case as the wife is in poor health, and in a wheelchair. The jurors will naturally be more sympathetic to the frail wife than her healthy, active husband. There is also a great deal of money involved.

The investigation was fascinating as Keera and her team did not rely upon the police reports as fact, but meticulously verified every point. I've always been a fan of police procedurals. This is a legal procedural, and it was fascinating to see how the legal team shaped their defense.

I received an e-arc from the publisher Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

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I'm a big fan of Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series and hoped this book would be as good. I wasn't disappointed. With another strong female protagonist, a thrilling courtroom drama, a brilliant analogy of chess strategy and courtroom strategy, and enough twists and turns to keep me guessing, I read late into the night to finish this book in just over a day. Highly recommended

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The solidly impressive writing skills of Dugoni loom throughout this book, with a smart new female character who is immersed in an intriguing murder mystery. Keera Duggan joined her family's defense law firm when her career as a prosecutor fell apart. Her romantic relationship with a colleague ended terribly. She is called in to defend an investment advisor when his disabled wife is found dead.

Her Deadly Game is set amid the investigative and judicial frameworks in beautiful and bustling Seattle, Washington. It is a first-rate mystery thriller about a tense criminal case. The game of chess, as an element of the book, embeds problem solving and strategic thinking skills within Keera's work as an attorney.

Dugoni ties in the relationships and complexities of his characters to the wholeness of his stories. I had an instant connection with Keera, just I did in Tracy in Dugoni's exceptional Tracy Crosswhite series. It's exciting to know that Keera now has a new book series herself!

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This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

4.5 hearts

I have enjoyed Robert Dugoni's books from the first one I read and now I wouldn't think of not reading all his new ones. Her Deadly Game is the first in a new series, Keera Duggan . The setting is Seattle, as some of his other series. In fact, it is the same world, as we see Del and Faz very briefly. There are also some CSI people I recognized.

Kerra is one of three sisters and a lawyer. Her father is a well-known criminal defense attorney. He played chess with her since she was a child and encouraged her to think ahead. Keera leaves the public defender's office after an affair with her boss goes south and joins her father's firm which has its own issues.

She's on call one night when a big case comes up and she handles it. I loved the legal strategies and how smart Keera is with questioning witnesses. All throughout the case, something feels wrong. She is up against her ex and he is making it as difficult for her as possible.

The evidence on her client is circumstantial. She doesn't think he could have committed the crime. There are a bunch of pieces of evidence which don't fit. Keera and her investigator try to make them work together to explain what happened. Keera also investigates her client as she keeps learning unfavorable things about him.

I liked Keera. It was fascinating to see her make the change from prosecution to defense attorney. Everyone deserves a good defense but how does she feel about the client not murdering his wife, but not being a good guy? I loved all the shades of people with their flaws and strengths. I can't wait for more Keera and her family, and the legal trials.

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