Another great book from Robert Dugoni. This one is much different than the "Sisters series" and if I may I believe he has another series in mind with these characters. In this crime mystery the reader might think you know what is going on until the plot twist towards the end and it is in a different direction than the reader anticipated. Her Deadly Game is an exciting criminal justice story, following Keera Duggan, an attorney at her father’s law firm, and her first case representing Vince LaRussa, accused of murdering his wife, Anne LaRussa. This case is definitely not a clean cut and simple one, and it only gets trickier with the mysterious emails she’s receives making the holes in this case even larger. Dugoni is an excellent writer and I felt like I was apart of the case every step of the way. Robert Dugoni is a master at character building, apparent in all his books. What happily surprises me is his ability to write female characters so well. He captures the strength and sensitivity of Keira Duggan.

If you enjoy thrillers, mystery and court room drama pick this one up.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher. This one is published March 28, 2023

I have yet to find a book by Robert Dugoni that I didn't enjoy. This one, with a new female attorney protagonist, was another page-turner. This attorney's career has taken some unexpected turns and she is now part of the family law firm, started by her alcoholic father. She's tasked with defending a wealthy investment advisor, charged with murdering his wife. The circumstances of the murder are puzzling, without much hard evidence to convict, but he is definitely the most obvious suspect. And, she's facing a prosecutor who is very motivated to win. You'll want to keep reading to see whether she can get this man acquitted. You'll never expect the outcome.

While the book focuses a lot on the legal aspects of the case, as always, the main characters are described in enough detail for us to really understand their perspectives and motivations. The added complication of an alcoholic father/colleague makes this a complex novel with lots to keep your interest. And, I'm saying all this even though I"m not a fan of chess, which is a game that the main character plays and which often has analogies to the case. The chess references did not distract me from the main plot and would even add interest if the reader were a chess player. Overall, another winner for Robert Dugoni!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer publishers for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Robert Dugoni has crafted an exciting, multi-layered legal thriller with Her Deadly Game. He expertly weaves an important chess game with a murder trial including complex family relationships and intriguing characters. A wonderful “didn’t want to put it down and didn’t want it to end” novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this excellent ARC.

Robert Dugoni is one of my favorite authors, and this book is clearly why. WOW.
When a wealthy, disabled woman is found shot in her kitchen, the prosecutor points all fingers and evidence to the husband, Vince LaRussa. Vince hires Patsy, and his daughter Keera, to represent him. What Keera discovers is that there is missing evidence, the facts just don't add up, but on top of all that her client is not who he claims to be. There is more than one motive, and more than one suspect, but Keera's focus is getting a not guilty verdict for Vince. But is he really innocent? What about Anne's best friend?
Lots of twists and turns, many jar dropping moments, and lots of intrigue that kept me turning the pages all night long. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Robert Dugoni’s new title Her Deadly Game brings us an exciting story that makes you think twice. A game within a game. Keera Dugan joins her family law practice that along with her two sisters includes her well known father who is an uncontrollable alcoholic.. Keera takes on a hugh profile murder case which is her first one ever, in place of her father who was too drunk to commit. Wow! What a treat this book was. Clear your schedule, because you won’t be able to put this story down. I would give it 10 stars if I could. Well Done Mr. Dugoni. You gave us the best story ever, then stepped it up a notch.
I hope there will be more Keera Dugan books to come.

The baby girl in an Irish family comes into her own in this legal thriller. Keera, the third daughter and the youngest of five children, succeeds her father, a defense attorney with the moniker of "The Irish Brawler." Those readers who are familiar with Dugoni's Tracey Crosswaithe series will recognize some of the minor characters in this book. The book has a fairly good pace, but I must admit that when a "mystery" or travesty of justice is solved around chapters 28 to 30, the writing feels less clear. There's a good payoff once you read beyond that, however.

I’m a huge Dugoni fan and am always so impressed by his versatility and talent. He can write historical fiction, a good espionage thriller, a detective series and a good ole legal thriller. This one is a little bit of everything. Part courtroom drama, part police procedural with a bit of family drama mixed in to add an extra interesting layer.

A woman is found dead under a strange set of circumstances. Meet Keera Duggan. Former prosecutor, turned defense attorney now working for the family firm. We watch as Keera finds her feet as a defense attorney and works against the clock to convince a jury her client is innocent. Or is he?

This one has some great courtroom scenes and some tender family moments as well. Robert Dugoni never disappoints!

Big thank you to NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer and Amazon Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just reviewed Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni. #HerDeadlyGame #NetGalley

Thanks to net going and Thomas & Mercer for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published March 28, 2023.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author, the first one being The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell which was a solid 5 stars!

This was a fun legal thriller. It was fast-paced and I was hooked from the start. I enjoyed the play on words with the title; there is a chess game being played in the book that mimics the action in the courtroom.

Robert Dugoni may be the master of thrillers today. His writing is crisp, his plots are complex and involving, and his characters are ones to love or revile.

Keera Duggan has returned to her family’s failing criminal defense law firm to work for her father.. 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. This reader is looking forward to more legal thrillers by Dugoni, especially if Keera leads the way. Highly recommended. #HerDeadlyGame #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthors

Editor's note: This review is subject to editing after final copy and will publish on several newspaper sites March 28, 2023.

All in the family: Robert Dugoni's new legal thriller series starter, 'Her Deadly Game,' keeps the pieces moving around a familiar board

The pieces on a chess board are black and white, but Robert Dugoni grays the game by taking us into the mind and motivation of attorney Keera Duggan in the first of his new legal thriller series, “Her Deadly Game” (Thomas & Mercer).

Duggan is a generational lawyer: Her father, Patsy “the Irish Brawler” Duggan, has made a legendary reputation in Seattle’s criminal defense arena. Here he welcomes his daughter into the family firm after Keera leaves the DA’s office following a disastrous romantic relationship with a senior colleague.

The Duggan firm of today is not the firm of old. Tarnished by Patsy’s alcoholism, the practice now only fields low level criminal cases — something that Keera plans to change. The high profile murder defense of multimillionaire money manager Vince LaRussa presents a chance for the firm — and her father — to rebuild their luster, if Keera can convince the client that she and the Irish Brawler are up to the game. Because that’s a game Keera excels at — as a former child chess prodigy, she has a strategic mind and competitive stubbornness — she’s able earn LaRussa’s trust.

All is not initially well, though, and after an embarrassing court appearance on another case, Keera elicits a promise from Patsy that he’ll give up alcohol for the duration of LaRussa’s trial. That’s a promise he’s made before, so it’s an act of faith of Keera and her sisters, who also work at the family practice, that they take him at his word. That’s harder for Keera than Ella and Maggie because of the close relationship she had with her father growing up. But because she has come to realize that her inherited genes include not only the law, but alcoholism, she’s willing to take a last chance on the person she also sees in herself.

Complicating all of this is the murder case before them. LaRussa is accused of killing his disabled trust-fund wife. Although the evidence seems to indicate that he isn’t the killer, money and an impending divorce is motive enough for the prosecuting attorney — the man who just happens to have been Keera’s misguided love interest — and the DA’s office is determined not only to win, but extract personal revenge on Kerra by doing so.

Shades of gray deepen as the story develops when mysterious and leading emails, a vengeful prosecutor and LaRussa’s questionable past conspire to derail the defense’s case.

Dugoni does the yeoman’s work in keeping the offense two moves ahead of Keera and Patsy — all’s fair in love and the courtroom — but where the story most shines is in the relationship between father and daughter.

At one point, Keera comes to realize the cyclical life she had embraced: “She was alone. Unmarried. No boyfriend. No children. She thought of Ella and Maggie, both also alone, and her two brothers and their divorces. … Kerra didn’t want her life to be like … theirs. She didn’t want to run from intimacy or blame her problems on her father’s drinking. She realize she had been doing just what her father had always done. She had been making excuses for her drinking and making poor choices.”

Working through such familial baggage, in addition to working for the defense after a career in prosecution — “You have that look,” Patsy said. … “That look young defense attorneys get when they realize the person they’re fighting so hard to get off is guilty.” — texture the story in ways remembrance of Dugoni’s popular Tracy Crosswhite series. Bringing in cross-story detectives Vic Fazzio and Del Castigliano — both of whom, like Tracy, Kerra had worked with on the prosecutorial side of the fence — is also a welcome addition to the story, making “Her Deadly Game” not so much a new series starter, but exactly what it is: a family affair.

Robert Dugoni is at it again! Throwing out books for you to be on the edge of your seat and wanting more! I have read every one of his books and this isn’t the last! Loved it and can’t wait for his next!

4.25 – 4.5 STARS

Looking for a riveting legal thriller with plenty of drama in and out of the courtroom? Then look no further than “Her Deadly Game” by Robert Dugoni, one of my favorite “go-to” authors, who never, ever disappoints! He is truly the consummate storyteller, weaving complex and compelling story threads that will have you on the edge of your seat right up until the very last page. And despite a bit of a slow start, I found “Her Deadly Game” to be no exception.

Whether you are already a fan of Robert Dugoni's books as I am or discovering him for the very first time, “Her Deadly Game” is one book that should definitely be added to the top of your TBR list!

A thoroughly enjoyable, fast-moving legal thriller!
A familiar tale of legal battle versus former beau in the midst of a chaotic 'Irish' family environment all of whom happen to be in the family law firm. This trial brings the Duggan law firm and family back to normalcy while obtaining legal justice.
Truthfully, it took me a while to figure it out.....just as I like it.
I hope Robert Dugoni continues with Keera Duggan stories.

I’ve been a big fan of Robert Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite series, and am always happy to see he has a new book coming out. Then, seeing the story features an entirely new set of characters, I think “hmmm…we’ll see.” I received a copy of Her Deadly Game , which was sent to me (in exchange for my honest review) by Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley, and I eagerly dove in!

First off, I still don’t understand how Dugoni writes about women so well. That sounds horribly sexist, and maybe it is, but Keera Duggan is up there with Tracy Crosswhite as a strong female protagonist and a woman to root for as she builds her life as a criminal defense attorney in Seattle. Keera’s back story is that she had built a solid reputation as a prosecutor, until her romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. She bailed on that and joined her family’s failing criminal defense law firm to work for her father (whose alcoholism is apparently the primary reason the firm is in trouble). Keera’s goal is to restore the firm’s (and her father’s) reputation, along with her legal career.

An uber-wealthy financial wizard named Vince LaRussa against charges of murdering his also-wealthy wife. To complicate things, she was confined to a wheelchair, they were just beginning the ordeal of a really nasty divorce, so Vince is facing life in prison. The prosecutor just happens to be Keera’s former lover, who apparently wants to totally destroy her in court – and did I mention this is her first murder case as a defense attorney?

A big plot component is the fact that Keera was a competitive chess player growing up, and an online game with a virtual opponent is a critical piece of the story. The well-crafted legal thriller may have a bit more chess than some readers are in for, but even though I haven’t played chess for 50 years and was never very good at it, I found it fascinating and that it added to the family dynamics as well as the plot. I’m looking forward to more stories featuring Keera and her family – and Rossi, the police detective who I am pretty sure will be a recurring character – I hope so! In the meantime, this book was EXACTLY what I needed to get my mind off the election, the pandemic, and my own trivial worries. Five stars again for Dugoni, who has become one of the reliable writers I love (Crais, Connelly, Harper).

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading Dugoni’s other books and this one did not disappoint! Following Keera as she navigates her case had me sitting on the edge of my seat by the end of the book! Tie in the creepy e-mails and her tumultuous relationship with her family, and you’ve got one heck of a storyline!

Thanks to Netgalley for the early read!

My patience was being put to the test reading this book because I had to always stop reading in order to get on with my everyday work because it was very hard to put down.

This legal thriller has quite a modern outlook and promises to be a really smooth read. Set in 2023, the protagonist is shown to be anything but perfect and hence the whole story reads in a very relatable manner. It’s been a while since I read a book like that. And I’m glad I read this one.

This was a solid legal thriller with a strong female lead. Loved the embedded chess game that mirrored the action in the story. Dugoni does a great job of giving just enough clues to keep you guessing but still couldn’t figure it all out until the end.

This is an excellent legal thriller. Keera is the youngest of three daughters, all of whom work in their father's law practice. But their father is an alcoholic which leads to embarrassing courtroom behavior and tense family dinners. When a very wealthy man is accused of murdering his wheelchair-bound wife, Keera takes the case, a case that appears unwinnable based on the evidence.

The author has crafted a clever tale with unexpected twists and turns. He mixes in a chess game that mirrors the case along with dysfunctional family dynamics. The main characters, Keera and a police detective named Rossi, are likeable and relatable. The courtroom drama is gripping and realistic.

My one quibble has to do with the dad trying to stop drinking for the trial. While that is a lofty goal, I find it hard to believe that a man that has been an alcoholic for decades can quit cold turkey with no DTs.

Overall, an excellent read.

Not family friendly due to profanity and violence described after the fact.

Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni is an absolute must read!

I literally could not stop reading... Dugoni kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't want to put it down.
The characters are well portrayed and the plots are definitely a show stopper.
Keera was an amazing lead character. She kept me hooked and her story had me wanting more.
The detail and the crime was mind blowing. Very vivid descriptions.
The writing is remarkable so now I'm going to have to go through his backlist.
I look forward to reading more from this author.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thomas & Mercer,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

I have read all of Robert Dugoni's books, this one is one of the most intriguing ones. I enjoy his courtroom stories, and this one was interesting. Love Keera as a defender, hope this is the start of a new series! This had some unusual characters with interesting backgrounds. I love the Tracy Crosswhite ones too, so keep them coming too! I highly recommend this book and all his others.