"Abiding Conviction" by Stephen M. Murphy is a gripping legal thriller that skillfully weaves together the complexities of a high-profile murder trial and the personal anguish of a defense attorney, Dutch Francis, whose wife goes missing under mysterious circumstances. The author brilliantly captures the intense pressure faced by Dutch as he confronts an impossible choice—searching for his missing wife or defending his high-profile client, a judge accused of killing his own spouse.

The novel excels in portraying Dutch's struggle to balance the demands of the murder trial with the desperate search for his wife, Ginnie Turner, a TV news broadcaster. Murphy adeptly explores the emotional toll on Dutch as he faces an uncooperative police department and suspicions that he may be involved in his wife's disappearance. The tension escalates as Dutch receives disturbing reminders of Ginnie's captivity, adding a layer of psychological torment to the narrative.

The plot is masterfully crafted, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with unexpected twists and turns. The author skillfully navigates through the intricacies of legal proceedings, making the courtroom scenes both realistic and riveting. The suspenseful atmosphere is heightened by the constant threat to Dutch's personal life, raising questions about the true motives behind Ginnie's abduction.

Murphy's character development is commendable, particularly in portraying Dutch Francis as a multidimensional protagonist facing moral dilemmas and personal sacrifices. The internal conflict within Dutch adds depth to the narrative, making him a relatable and compelling character.

The theme of justice, both in the courtroom and in personal relationships, is expertly explored throughout the book. The exploration of corruption, scandal, and the lengths one would go to protect their convictions adds layers of complexity to the overarching storyline.

While "Abiding Conviction" delivers a riveting and suspenseful narrative, it also prompts readers to reflect on the ethical and moral challenges faced by those in the legal profession. Overall, Stephen M. Murphy's novel is a well-crafted legal thriller that earns its four-star rating through its engaging plot, well-developed characters, and thought-provoking themes.

Great introduction to a new author for me, and a wonderful addition to our collection for our patrons. I look forward to more! THANK you!

An excellent storyline

Lawyer Dutch Francis is defending a judge, Carlos Carcia, accused of killing his wife. After a long day in court, he expects to arrive home to find his wife, Ginnie Turner, a broadcaster for Channel 9 to be at home. After a few hours, he calls the television station, friends, and the police to report her missing. It soon turns out that she’s been kidnapped.

Dutch Francis must concentrate on the client he’s representing and try to figure out who kidnapped his wife.

A brilliantly authored novel with fascinating characters and a very believable kidnapping plot.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

*4.5 Stars*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.

A very interesting read and great characters. Dutch had a lot to contend with. Luckily he has good friends like Hedges & Delahunty to help him out. Not sure about what happened in the court case, but liked the ending and was happy for it for him and Ginnie.

A scintillating legal thriller. Protagonist Dutch has just become the defense attorney in a high profile murder case, when his wife is kidnapped. Can he successfully defend his client while also using all his resources to locate his wife? I was intrigued from the start, and on the edge of my seat, trying to guess who had taken Ginnie. This novel was quite thrilling, and not at all dry, like some courtroom dramas. Very enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

This is an interesting novel about an attorney (Dutch Francis), who is not only working on a courtroom case but also on the kidnapping of his wife (Ginnie), who suddenly goes missing during the trial.

I read this book unaware that it was part of a series, but from reading this, it did not bother me, and in my opinion, previous books did not need to be read.

Dutch finds himself also facing those who believe that he is the one responsible for his wife's disappearance, particularly from one of the detectives working the case, who also manages to convince his mother-in-law of this, leaving Dutch with no choice but to find her, with only the assistance of his private investigator.

While the overall story was a little slow for me, I still enjoyed reading this.

This is an interesting novel about an attorney trying to survive under the pressure of a high profile case while attempting to find his kidnapped wife. Because he was preoccupied with his wife's condition, the courtroom scenes were not as compelling as in other novels I have read. Dutch was reluctantly invested in the case and did not give it his all.

He's an attorney and knows the law yet he trespasses and does other acts that jeopardizes the investigation. I did like his tenacious attitude, however, as it seems the police are moving ever so slowly. I sometimes wondered if it was realistic for a person such as Dutch would do some of the things he did in his attempt to find his wife.

In the end there was an interesting parallel of husband wife relationships between the attorney and his wife and the accused and his wife. I liked this novel, a combination of legal procedure and suspense. While it is the third in a series, it is the first I've read and I felt it was fine on its own.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Abiding Conviction by Stephen M. Murphy is the third legal thriller in the Dutch Francis series but it also reads well as a stand-alone. Francis is an attorney whose services have been retained by an important judge accused of murdering his wife. Just as the trial is due to begin, the attorney’s wife is kidnapped. Why was she taken? She is a news broadcaster and may have upset a viewer to the point of doing her harm. Or could this be retaliation for one of Francis’ cases gone wrong. This is where the story begins to depart from the believable. Although I understand that this is a work of fiction, there should still be a modicum of reality. The accused judge will not release the attorney from defending his case. Francis then finds himself balancing an important case while investigating the disappearance of his wife. The story becomes difficult to follow and the action is hyper-active. Either of these storylines would have been interesting but both together is confusing at best. The characters are strong and well-drawn and there is a lot of potential here. I would like to read other Stephen M. Murphy novels because this could be strictly my own opinion. Thank you to Oceanview Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A bit predictable plot but interesting cross-cutting between the protagonist's work as attorney as he also tries to find his wife who has been kidnapped. Interesting perspective of how new anchors can be targeted. Pleasant read, particularly to pass the time on plane or train ride.

This is book 3 of the Dutch Francis Series. Dutch Francis is defending a Judge accused of killing his wife. Just as the trail begins, his own wife goes missing. As the trial continues and his wife is till missing, he is pushed to the edge of everything he knows as he tries to find his wife and continue with the trial.

We meet lawyer Dutch Francis as he prepares for a new trial, defending a former Judge accused of killing his wife. An already difficult case becomes much harder when Dutch’s own wife gets kidnapped, leaving him torn between defending his client to the best of his abilities and trying to work out what happened to his wife, and why.

I hadn’t read the earlier titles in this series, but this didn’t hamper my enjoyment of the story. Written by a lawyer, the courtroom scenes are the strongest element of the book, and filled with interesting details. While the plot and dialogue aren’t completely convincing, it licks along at a good pace and has some entertaining twists and turns along the way.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

I do love legal thrillers so I enjoyed coming across the book about court dramas. The court case of the judge being accused of murdering his wife was quite fun to read and his defending lawyer Dutch is an interesting character. I couldn't wait to find out what happened. The writing style is easy to follow and can pull one in.

But there were too many things that bothered me about this book:
- There is a lot of tell instead of show so many scenes fall flat.
- There is no development of the main character's wife, Ginnie, so when she disappears within 5 minutes of the book, it is difficult to feel sorry for her. There is no reflections and the feelings by Dutch do not come across sincere. I almost thought that Ginnie did a runner on him or will not appear.
- A lot of focus on the superficial appearances so it doesn't pain either Dutch nor the author in a good light. To be honest, I do not know why anyone finds Dutch attractive in his personality or appearances as the book does not warrant it.
- The author brings politics into his book and his political views become very quickly obvious. As a non American, I found this very distasteful especially how extreme these views were.
- The end lacks some twist. The best character and the case remain with the judge and his dead wife. Ginne's kidnapping case is quite weak and the ending is not satisfying

Having said that I did go back and read the book #1 and book #2 as this one is #3 and learned the background about Ginne and other characters. Although court cases were not bad, the same comments apply to the previous books and Dutch is such a superficial person, often mixing the outward appearances or physical fitness with the inner character. A lot of women are supposed to be obsessed with Dutch but I just don't see it. so overall, it is a weak series. I would only recommend it if there is nothing else to read and a reader sets low expectations.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy of "Abiding Conviction" in exchange of the honest review. I paid for reading the previous books in the series, so the author achieved what he hoped for.

Attorney Francis has two cases to cope with: a judge who is undergoing trial for the death of his wife and the disappearance of his own wife.
This was a quick read on how the attorney copes with the prosecutor, his own client and police looking for his wife.
At the end, it was “hmmmm, makes sense.”

Okay, we will start with what I liked, I like the premise of the story, I could see some vile person kidnapping an on air personality who is young and pretty. I could kinda understand a lawyer having to follow through on a trial in progress, but not really, I have a lawyer in the family, and a Judge, believe me, that is where credulity could not be expeneded any further. No police force on earth would put a Judge in jail without overwhelming evidence, and the Judge would not be sitting in jail until every t was crossed, and every i dotted! Also the FBI would have been called in as soon as the first envelope came in the mail. I consider this to be the editors problem, these particular problems should have been caught. The other problem is the amount of profanity used by the lawyer, Dutch Francis, really? Where was he brought up? No man I know speaks like that, not my husband, an Engineer, certainly not my sisters husbands, nor my brother-in-law, or any of my friends husbands. The last biggest problem is the money, if I understand this correctly, the lawyer is forty at least, and he cannot come up with three hundred thousand dollars? Please! I also knew exactly who did it, I was not fooled by the numerous red herrings, as Agatha Christie said in an interview, "It is always the last person that you would suspect."
However, I do think this author will progress, and get better, and I look forward to that. I tried to give it a 3 1/2 ☆☆☆
carolintallahassee.blogspot.com

This book is two stories into one, and I loved that. There is a legal part, in which the main character is defending his client in a murder case trial, and there is a part when the lawyer is running against time to find his kidnapped wife. That was very suspenseful. Everything makes sense in the end and it was very satisfying.
Although I really wish I'd read the previous books because it would've given me backstory on the characters, I very much liked reading this, and I might read the other books of the series in the future.
This one can be read as a standalone.

Courtroom trial dramatizes the case of the Honorable Carlos Garcia who is accused of murdering his wife.
Unexpectedly, Defense attorney, Dutch Francis’ wife, Ginnie, goes missing: The police are convinced Dutch has something to do with his wife’s disappearance.

How will the truth come out? A compelling story that keeps you reading to the end.

Absolute brilliant book, enjoyed every page and it kept you guessing who did what. Charecters fitted in so well and made the sorry so good, also very well written. I loved it.

A well written legal thriller with great characters, a fast moving plot and unexpected twists. I didn't realize that this was the third book in a series until I started reading it. Not having read the first two didn't detract from my enjoyment of this book. I definitely plan on reading the first two. Excellent choice for fans of John Grisham or Scott Turow. Highly recommended.

A bit unrealistic when a defense attorney's wife goes missing and he's forced to continue to defend a judge, a bit of suspense and mystery as he tries to solve both cases.

A legal case and a personal domestic drama face attorney Dutch Francis when two situations combine to put him near his breaking point.

If it isn't pressure enough defending a former judge against a first degree murder charge, Dutch Francis has another horrible problem -- his wife, TV news broadcaster, Ginnie Turner, has gone missing. Torn between his contractual responsibilities to his client and his mad concern for his wife, Francis is pushed to take matters into his own hands and engages his own investigator to help him look into what might have happened to Ginnie. Is this about her news stories or is it about his work as a lawyer? And how can he concentrate on the courtroom when he can't find his wife and the police are a bit suspicious of him.

This was fast paced and I read it in a single sitting. When I started, I did not realize that this was the third book in a series and I think I might have enjoyed it more if I had read the others since I would have had more of the backstory that makes a character seem more believable. I did enjoy the two-pronged story, though found a bit of Dutch's actions somewhat unrealistic. I do like a good legal thriller and lots of courtroom action, so that part was more interesting to me than the missing wife aspect. I'll have to keep an eye out for future books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for this e-book ARC to read and review.