Genre: Legal Mystery
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When Grady Barrett is accused of date rape, Kali O'Brien wants to run the other way. Grady's wife, attorney Nina Barrett, is Kali's best friend, and she was unaware of her husband's philandering. In fact, Nina recently found out that she has Hodgkin's disease and must put off chemo because of her pregnancy. Kali has temporarily taken over Nina's practice in Berkeley, California and will do anything to help her friend through this stressful time.
While the subject matter of Motion to Dismiss is quite heavy, Jacobs' style is easy to read, and the story flows. The characters are flawed, yet somewhat relatable, and the courtroom scenes are well put together. Jacobs does not burden the reader with the tedious parts of courtroom action, which is a definite plus in a book that is meant to be a quick legal mystery. Her descriptions of characters and settings add to our understanding of the characters and their behaviors. Even her experiences with Bea and Dotty, the two woman who rent her house, had me smiling.
Meanwhile, Grady's rape charges are dropped when the defendant is found dead, fallen or pushed from her balcony window. With Grady's car at the scene during the time of death, the rape trial becomes a murder trial. Although there is no love lost between Kali and Grady, she begins to believe he might be innocent, and she goes to great lengths to save her best friend's husband from a murder conviction. The story is complicated with another murder and Grady's insistence on running things his way, but Kali is determined as the clock keeps running.
I enjoyed the glimpses into the protagonist's personal life, and Jacobs' way of humanizing Kali made me want to get to know her even more. This is the third in a seven book series, and I am looking forward to continuing to follow her adventures as I search out book number four.
- Beverly
Publisher - Amazon Digital Services LLC
Date of Publication - December 23, 2013
While the subject matter of Motion to Dismiss is quite heavy, Jacobs' style is easy to read, and the story flows. The characters are flawed, yet somewhat relatable, and the courtroom scenes are well put together. Jacobs does not burden the reader with the tedious parts of courtroom action, which is a definite plus in a book that is meant to be a quick legal mystery. Her descriptions of characters and settings add to our understanding of the characters and their behaviors. Even her experiences with Bea and Dotty, the two woman who rent her house, had me smiling.
Meanwhile, Grady's rape charges are dropped when the defendant is found dead, fallen or pushed from her balcony window. With Grady's car at the scene during the time of death, the rape trial becomes a murder trial. Although there is no love lost between Kali and Grady, she begins to believe he might be innocent, and she goes to great lengths to save her best friend's husband from a murder conviction. The story is complicated with another murder and Grady's insistence on running things his way, but Kali is determined as the clock keeps running.
I enjoyed the glimpses into the protagonist's personal life, and Jacobs' way of humanizing Kali made me want to get to know her even more. This is the third in a seven book series, and I am looking forward to continuing to follow her adventures as I search out book number four.
- Beverly
Publisher - Amazon Digital Services LLC
Date of Publication - December 23, 2013
