Former Seattle prosecutor Keera Duggan.......
.......left her job after she broke off an affair with her boss, prosecutor Miller Ambrose, who then stalked and harassed her.
Keera now works for her father's law firm, Patrick Duggan & Associates, which has a fine reputation in Seattle.
In addition to Keera, personnel at Patrick Duggan & Associates include Keera's father Patrick (Patsy) - an attorney whose prodigious skills are fading because of his long-term alcoholism;
Keera's sister Ella - an attorney who functions as the firm's managing partner;
Keera's sister Maggie - the office administrator;
and JP Harrison - the firm's private investigator.
Keera gets her first big court case when affluent wealth manager Vincent LaRussa is accused of killing his wheelchair-bound wife Anne LaRussa.
The police, led by Violent Crimes Detective Frank Rossi......
......believe they have a strong case. CCTV footage from the LaRussa mansion show that, on the night of the murder, a lawyer and a friend visited Anne shortly before her husband Vince came home. And the husband is ALWAYS the prime suspect.
Vince CLAIMS he was at a fund raiser and found his wife dead in the kitchen when he entered his house. Vince engages Patrick Duggan & Associates to defend him, and Keera becomes his attorney, with her dad Patsy (who promises to stay sober) as second chair.
When Keera and her investigator JP Harrison examine the crime scene they find a burn mark on the door of the oven, water on the kitchen counter, and a few cotton fibers - evidence the police dismissed as unimportant. However JP, who was a Seattle detective for 25 years before he became a PI, thinks these are significant clues.
In any case, Keera, in consultation with her colleagues, plans a SODDI defense (some other dude did it), and hopes at least one juror will have reasonable doubt.
As it happens, Keera was a chess whiz when she was a youngster, and still plays anonymous opponents online. While Keera is preparing her defense of Vince LaRussa, she's playing a skillful opponent called Darkknight - and Keera's chess strategy helps with her defense strategy.
Keera is also aided by anonymous emails from a mysterious person called Jack Worthing, who points Keera to people who knew Vince in previous years.
Keera knows the trial will be a battle, since prosecuting attorney Ambrose Miller resents Keera for ending their relationship AND has lofty political ambitions. The courtroom scenes are compelling, with 'Perry Mason' moments I enjoyed.
I also liked the family interactions among the Duggans: the alcoholic father; the enabling, protective mother; the sibling rivalry among Keera, Ella, and Maggie - all add interest to the story.
This is a fine legal thriller, recommended to fans of the genre.
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