This was my first time reading a book by this author and I was pleasantly surprised that it held my attention. I have read so many murder, mystery, romance, horror books in my life that it seems like it's all the same. And while we all draw inspiration from similar sources, if an author can at least do it in a way that seems and feels different while giving the reader enough entertainment and suspense to keep going - I am sold.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for an honest review.
Lawyer Kate Sullivan is counsel for a huge over up of a big pharmaceutical company. After meeting an informant and the informant is killed private investigator Landon is brought in to protect Kate. as Kate pushes forward to bring those to justice her life is in danger. This was a good legal thriller that kept the reader interested with a dash of romance.

I really enjoyed this legal thriller! Kate was a pleasant character to get to know and I quickly became invested in her effort to stop the bad guys who were knowingly putting bad drugs on the market. There were loads of twists and this case was like peeling back layers of an onion. It kept my brain engaged and the case is well paced.

I loved how layered each other the characters are and how their good and evil impulses are spelled out, so even the side characters are having to make real choices and aren’t completely unrealistic about being all bad/all good.

Now, there are a lot of legal terms and jargon used. I have a coworker who has a law degree and recently explained some about it, so I had a recent explanation of all the terms such as discovery, etc. Knowing that really gave me a greater enjoyment of the story because the legal terms didn’t get in my way.

Thanks to the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

Romantic Suspense, clean; Murder Mystery, crime; Christian
Kate's case the elements that lead to a verdict, and the suspense as the case and the crime becomes known was a fun legal thriller, suspense read with bits of faith mixed in. Landon, her hired PI was a fun character. Their interactions softened the book a little as they got to know each other and formed a relationship.
Strong characters, interesting side characters, and surprise twist at the end to figure out this mystery and crime. Lots of interesting suspenseful moments, a few romantic moments slipped in, and of course, some faith filled discussions and moments. Had not read Rachel Dylan before, but will be reading her again. Can't wait to read her next novel in this series!
I received an advance review copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. My opinions are my own, and in no way influenced by this gift. More of a 3.5 for me as a reader, but rounded up.

Book one in the Atlanta Justice series. It is full of suspense, legal fiction and romance. It is an edge of your seat kind of book. I am excited for book two.

Atlanta lawyer Kate Sullivan is lead counsel on a case against Mason Pharmaceuticals. The Big Pharma company is accused of releasing a drug that they knew caused deadly brain tumors, and Kate is being thorough and serious in getting ready for the trial. When she's contacted by a woman named Ellie Proctor who says she has additional information, Kate is skeptical but willing to meet. Ellie doesn't make the meeting, however - she is mysteriously murdered in a parking garage.

Kate hires private investigator Landon James to look into Ellie's death, and meanwhile confers with the defense attorney Ethan Black, who happens to be a former law school classmate and close friend. She's convinced there is more to this more to this, but Ethan insists that Ellie's death is a random act of violence.

The situation escalates as Kate begins having threats brought against her own safety. Landon becomes increasingly involved in protecting Kate, who wants to keep the police out of things as much as possible. He can't believe she remains grounded, full of faith and purpose, as things keep heating up.

I don't read many suspense novels because it's not my favorite genre, but I enjoyed this one a lot. The legal side of things did not feel over my head, the pacing was good, and the characters were never predictable. I would definitely read more from this author in the future!

I received my copy of the book from LitFuse Publicity. All opinions in this review are my own.

“Deadly Proof” was an awesome, fast paced, legal Christian thriller. I really enjoyed reading it! The characters were great, the story was well written-not predictable at all.

Because of my legal background, I understand alot of the emotional stress that the attorneys and associates were under and the choices they have to make daily between right and wrong while fighting on behalf of their clients.

I liked the relationship development between Landon and Kate. Even though this story was a legal thriller, there were also some great Christian aspects in it like forgiveness and grace.

I highly recommend this book! Easy to read and understand even if you don’t have a legal background. Just don’t read this book before bed because you won’t want to put it down. I can’t wait for book 2!

I received a copy of this book complimentary for blog and social media review. All opinions are my own.

At over 300 pages this book is something you can really get stuck into.
This is the first book I have read by Rachel Dylan, and it happens to be book 1 in what now seems to be 3 books, so although I was annoyed with myself for only just getting around to reading this book, I can now read the other 2 as soon as I wish.

Great, thrilling, uplifting read. I loved Deadly Proof and highly recommend! It's fascinating, with some great twists and turns.

While Rachel Dylan’s first book, Deadly Proof, in the Atlanta Justice series a good story, this one just wasn’t my favorite.

More often than not I felt as if I was being “told” things rather than “shown” (I know this is a hard line to follow). The romance between our two main characters felt a little rushed—which probably wouldn’t have been terrible (it is fiction, and there is only so many pages to fill in a good romance), but I didn’t really connect with any of the characters.

All that being said, I did like the story. I’m always a fan for a good law drama (Suits anyone?)

FINALLY:
I had the privilege of reading an ARC of Deadly Proof by Rachel Dylan.
FANTASTIC read. Fast paced and a fast read ( except for me who was on slow LOL) .
Kate Sullivan is an attorney working for a firm that is representing a class action suit against a pharmaceutical company. She represents many people who have been injured or the estates of people who have died from side effects from a drug developed for migraine headaches. After meeting with an employee from the drug company and scheduling a meeting with that employee for further discussion of the info she has, she is mysteriously killed. At that point she hires a PI named Landon James to have him investigate areas of the drug company that she is unable to inquire about herself.
Landon James is former military and now working in the private sector. He is still feeling the effects of the experience he had when overseas. His interest is piqued with Kate and the case she is asking him to come in on.
After a few more incidents including an attack on Kate, Landon steps up security for Kate. As the weeks go on they realize that they are falling for one another. But can they move out of God's way to allow Him to work in their lives?
Rachel Dylan has done it again!! Get ready for the ride people!!!

Deadly Proof is an interesting book that offers legal suspense with a romantic twist. It is first of a series of books and I want to read the other books as they come out. I am glad I picked #DeadlyProof as it had a good legal backstory with the romance and friends added to the mix.

The author has piqued my interest with well-etched characters with flaws, feelings, and friendships. She has introduced Kate and her friends who while supporting Kate have their own stories, which were hinted at. A good start for a series where friends feel like family.

The hero is a handsome, troubled, kind hunk and I was totally hooked. J Landon is ex-army and is out protecting Kate from the people who are hell-bent on stopping her from being the honest lawyer she is. He made for such a strong, supportive partner that the need to learn his story kept me flipping pages faster than the mystery the two were facing.

It is a new genre for me since I have not read a legal suspense before especially one with the attorney as the main lead. The law trial and legal angle made it very interesting and different. The back-stories and the other characters introduced and brought alive made it easy to connect and want to know more about the characters.

It was a bit slow when I was waiting for the case to start or murders to go on nonstop but luckily for me, the author set a steady pace and small incidents rolled up to a big climax. The main culprit being someone I really did not have my eye on.

Overall, #DeadlyProof covered the pharmaceutical companies and how they are not above board. The legal and medical/health angle was explored and laid bare for us to introspect. Various incidents that occur made me realise how much we take our medicines and health for granted. It also reminded me of the movie Erin Brockovich with Julia Roberts. Kate certainly had her tenacity. Another aspect I enjoyed in the book was the legal process and the method of collection the evidence and the loopholes around it. The book is well laid out and well researched, with the legal trivia making it interesting.

I recommend this book to people who enjoy legal thrillers or are looking for a change in genre. It is a light read without the gore and murkiness of too much blood. It has a solid storyline and kept me engaged in the lives of Kate, Landon and the people for whom she was fighting the case.

https://inderpreetuppal.com/2018/03/01/deadly-proof-litfuse/

I love this new series by Rachel Dylan! I enjoy stories where characters are included who will be the main characters in the next book, and can't wait to read the next book in this series! I was hooked from the first chapter!

Rachel Dylan is a new author to me and the genre of legal suspense is also something I haven't read much of, so this book was a very different read for me. I enjoyed the book and will be looking for the second book of this series.

This was a starred review on Library Journal. Loved this and looking forward to the next book in the series!

Rachel Dylan, a new to me author, took me through the lengthy legal process of a corporate cover-up that involved a pharmaceutical company.

Kate Sullivan has become the lead counsel for a case against a large pharmaceutical company. In what is believed to be a corporate cover up that lead to the death of individuals taking one of the company’s drugs, things take a turn for the worse as the whistleblower dies.

This case is big for Kate as she is taking on a huge corporation. As the story progresses, the stakes get higher and the reader gets more involved in the legal process.

There were aspects of this story that I liked, particularly the overall premise of a large corporate cover-up. It was interesting seeing how far they were willing to go to hide their mistake.

While the author seemed to have a good understanding of the legal process (I’m not a lawyer, but the story was believable) I feel the process moved slowly at times. That said, it was interesting following Kate through this process and the mock trials.

Overall this was an interesting read. The storyline was interesting, although it didn’t keep me glued to the pages as much as I had hoped. I felt like I was on the journey with Kate.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34020189-deadly-proof" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Deadly Proof (Atlanta Justice #1)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1486872173m/34020189.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34020189-deadly-proof">Deadly Proof</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7913140.Rachel_Dylan">Rachel Dylan</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2135291338">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Thank you to Rachel Dylan, Bethany House, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.<br /><br />So this is the first legal thriller I've read that has a spiritual angle. The attorney, Kate, goes to church, and talks about her relationship with God to her PI, Landon, who is a battle hardened Iraqi veteran. She's straightlaced, positive, a team player, but racked with depressive episodes and guilt over self-destructive behaviors as a young adult. <br />Her case is against Big Pharma, something I think we can all stand by. It's also against one of her best friends since her college days, Ethan, who is being twisted by the CEO to play dirty. <br />I had no idea this genre existed. How refreshing to read about a blossoming love affair that keeps its innocence. The story also reminds the reader about the importance of friendship and forgiveness. Life and love matter. True connections between people are hard to find, and in this book those chains are tested, but the characters show healthy coping skills and talk about their issues. There is basically a happy ending , which also doesn't often happen in legal thrillers. Okay so it's not exactly a "thriller" per se; it's really its own category. <br />I really enjoyed this book. I felt like a little spark was lit within me as I turned the pages. Thanks, Dylan, for introducing me to this style of writing.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6595648-bam-the-bibliomaniac">View all my reviews</a>

by Andrea Renee Cox

When I saw the endorsement on the front cover of this book, I knew I wanted to read it. How could I not when it’s touted to “rival a John Grisham novel”?

I wish I had a bunch of positive things to say about this book, but I cannot pretend I enjoyed it. This is an extremely difficult review to write, because I dislike being negative about any author’s hard work. I know how many hours and emotions and commitment go into writing a novel, and I appreciate the passion and effort and time that go into every book I read, even those that weren’t a good fit for my reading taste.

Warning: There are plot spoilers ahead.

Not two chapters in, I was disappointed by the predictability of this story. That trend continued throughout, only truly surprising me twice in over 300 pages. The plot, which had great potential, seemed simplistic with not much suspense or action driving it.

The inconsistencies in three of the four POV characters made them difficult to root for. I wasn’t sure if Kate was a rookie lawyer or seasoned. She seemed to have earned a respectable and accomplished reputation, yet she was so naïve, unpracticed, and emotional that it seemed like this was her first case. She also claimed to have depression, but there were no signs in her thoughts or actions to prove it. Ethan claimed to be leveraging his friendship with Kate to win the case, but he waffled on remaining her friend or using her throughout the entire book. Landon claimed to be most concerned about Kate’s safety, but he was quick to relent on his normal security protocols when she asked him to. That behavior made me question whether or not he was actually an Army Ranger in his past. Those guys have to be decisive and in control, but the Landon I got to know throughout the story was weak and confused and not able to stand up to his client to do what was in her best interest where her safety was concerned.

Nicole was the strongest of the four POV characters, and I don’t have much complaint about her, except that she was barely given any page time for how strong a character she was. Were she the lead, I would have enjoyed this story much better, because she was a gal I could get behind and cheer for. She had strength and a great moral code, yet still had doubts about her abilities that she fought to overcome. Nicole was my favorite part of this book and the only completely positive aspect of it for me.

Since this book has been compared to John Grisham’s, his were what I weighed it against. This story fell flat for me, after having read over a dozen of Grisham’s. Deadly Proof was predictable and had major inconsistencies. About half of the book was repeated information. For example, Landon had a conversation about security with Cooper, then in the very next scene, Landon conveyed the same information (nearly word for word) to Kate. This type of thing happened over and over again. Another thing that really bothered me was how slow the legal side of the story was. Eighty percent was focused on the discovery phase and the junk documents that were handed over. There were inconsistencies on who the client was. Most of the time, it was a class-action suit. On several occasions, though, Kate suddenly began talking about how her client was a single woman rather than the earlier stated masses. I understand they were beginning the bellwether trials with only one case in order to see if they could further pursue a class-action suit, but even after that was decided, Kate talked about her clients being both the entire group affected by the medication and the widow whose case was up first. Shouldn’t she know which client or clients she was fighting for?

Why didn’t Kate ever include any of the other lawyers on the committee for which she wanted to be named lead counselor? I didn’t understand why this committee was even necessary if Kate never intended to be a team player. That made her seem hypocritical, by the way, considering she demanded all her associates to be team players when she, in fact, was not one herself. What happened to the trial? There never was one. I still don’t understand that, after having finished the book. Also, why was the bad guy willing to kill in the early chapters, then chose to use petty harassment throughout the rest of the book? It seemed like two different MOs to me, which made it appear like there were two different “enforcers,” which I knew from the beginning was incorrect due to the predictability I already mentioned. It turned out to merely be another inconsistency.

Due to all of the above, plus more, this book was hard for me to invest my emotions or time into. When compared to a Grisham novel, this book was significantly less complex and the characters drastically less developed. The overall presentation was belittling to the reader. An example is that several times supposedly intelligent characters asked really dumb questions simply to allow the lead to explain legal terms that anyone who had been on a jury, read a Grisham novel, or seen an episode of Law and Order would already know. Other times, legal terminology was used ad nauseam, which only served to make me feel talked down to rather than invited into the story. Why should I, the reader, be held at arm’s length or even looked down upon simply because I haven’t gone to law school? I’ve read enough legal thrillers and seen enough courtroom dramas to know what litigation, discovery, and bellwether trials are.

Even the faith thread was weak to me. It seemed to only be drawn upon when characters were desperate, yet the characters were then able to solve their own problems without relying on God. I really struggled to understand how the faith was intertwined with the core of who the characters were or the problems they faced.

As you can imagine, this book was a complete miss for me. I won’t be continuing the series, and I’m not eager to attempt another Dylan book. I think I’ll reread a few of my favorites of John Grisham’s instead.

That being said, I am more disappointed than anything about this book. It had an interesting back cover copy, an intriguing cover, and great endorsements. I was really looking forward to it and was hopeful about finding a new favorite legal suspense writer to follow. I’m always on the lookout for good quality books in that genre, because it is one I’ve enjoyed and been fascinated with since I was about twelve years old. That’s why I wanted to give this one a try. I had no idea that I would come away from it feeling like I’d wasted my time. I guess I’m back on the hunt for more quality legal thrillers.

I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, authors, and sites like Netgalley, Litfuse Publicity Group, and Blogging for Books. They do not require me to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

A whirlwind of danger and romance! This is a great read, that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

*Received this book from NetGalley for my honest review*