I was so happy to go back into the world of Ashley and Katie, I was on a book tour for the first one and love to see how their relationship has progressed since then. I love that they are two very different professional women, in their way of approaching the case and just in their general lives. This case is dark, revolving around a shady meth dealer, a couple of bodies and one of Ashley’s clients. I think the small town vibe really goes well in this case, how Ashley and Katie seemingly know everyone which makes their respective professions oh so much harder. I just love this series, cannot recommend it enough.

Unforgivable Acts is the third book in the series with Ashley Montgomery as the lead character. Ashley is the sole public defender in the small town and Katie Mickey is her private investigator. This book can be a stand alone as there is plenty of back story given throughout about several of the characters.

Katie goes out to a known drug dealer's property due to a report of a fire. Things are not as expected. Katie finds a bracelet in the bushes where she is hiding that appears to belong to a wealthy town member. Katie takes pictures but soon suspects that this was deliberate after two bodies are found trapped inside the locked building. Katie returns to the sight to do more investigating as arson dogs are also tracking evidence when a bone is discovered by one of the dogs. This will lead to more bodies found on the property.

Ashley's client, Morgan is quickly taken into for the fire and the resulting deaths of the two bodies. Ashley will discover more information from her other clients that there is a lot more going on and each seem to have their own reason for being suspected of being involved.

This was a fast paced book with quick conclusion. It appears that this was resolved in a couple of days, a little odd since most test take awhile for the results to come back. There also seemed to be a few characters that were also implicated of various crimes but those were not resolved in this book.

All in all it was a good book in spite of the topics used in the plot.

I really enjoy this series; it gives a different side of the law.

Frank Vinney’s barn goes up in flames, not surprising as he is known for making drugs, but not expected is that they find his body and that of a teenage girl. One of Ashley’s clients becomes the main suspect, and it takes some digging to clear her, and the more they dig complicated things get, and the more bodies are found.

Another great installment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn River Publishing for an advanced look.

The third of the Ashley Montgomery series is Laura Snider’s Unforgivable Acts. Having not encountered any of her works previously, this was treated as a standalone reading. Ashley is an over worked, small town public defender on very tight funding. Her small team is central to her life and as well as the narrative – the defence one of her clients on murder charges. A fire in a barn leads to the discovery of two bodies and a local drug addict is arrested. When a bangle is found nearby, further questions arise, and the discovery of human remains adds even further complications. A cosy legal thriller with believable characters that makes for a three-star rating of an enjoyable, relaxing read. With thanks to Severn River Publishing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given, without persuasion.

I loved this book!!! This is the first legal thriller I’ve ever read and I honestly enjoyed it so much more than I expected to. Ashley Montgomery is a public defender in Brine. She runs her own independent business which consists of herself, Elena and Katie.

Ashley usually deals with crimes that are drug related the local meth dealer Frankie causes her a lot of issues. Ashley finds is often defending either Frank himself or the people that have brought drugs off him and are caught in possession of these drugs.

Soon things step up a gear for Ashley and her team as a fire breaks out at Franks house with the local police saying they suspect arson could Ashley be defending a client for murder or was it just a simple out of control meth fire?

What I liked about this book was that I thought it would be based solely around the fire and the arson but there were so many other twists and turns and other crimes thrown in there was plenty to keep the reader interested and on the edge of their seats.

I didn’t realise that unforgivable acts was part of a series I think it worked really well as a stand alone thriller however I am certainly going to go back and read the other books from this series as I enjoyed this one so much.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher ms and the author for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for this review.

This was a legal thriller. Ashley Montgomery is the sole public defender in the small town of Brine, Iowa. Her bread and butter cases are drug possession and it’s a revolving door of the same clients who never listen to her advice. She can just scrape together wages for her law clerk Katie, a former police officer and receptionist/secretary Elena.

One night they hear on their police scanner that there is a fire at Frank Vinny’s shed. Frank is the local drug cooker/dealer and lives in his shed well out of town. As Ashley suspects the case will require her services she sends Katie out see what she can see and get some photos to get a head start on any defence Ashley might need to put together. Things are not as expected. Katie finds a bracelet in the bushes where she is hiding that appears to belong to the town’s wealthy queen bee Stephanie Arkman and Katie see that the shed is closed….from the outside with a heavy iron bar. Anyone inside would not be able to escape the fire as all the windows are barred. This is clearly a deliberate murder.

It soon transpires that two bodies are dead inside. One is Frank but the other is a young female. The police soon have a suspect, a known drug user and she is soon arrested but Morgan Stamnam has a cunning plan.

And so the legal games begin. I can’t say there was anything new or different about the plot. It was not a bad story but it wasn’t great either. It became clear that Frank was into more than just drugs and there were questions about a number of missing young girls which, as a plot element is getting old! As it progressed I thought the legal side of things got murkier and more and more implausible and I just didn’t see it happening that way. Maybe I am wrong but I just didn’t buy it. And then it ended very abruptly.

I see that the author is a lawyer so I must be wrong but this review is simply my opinion. The story didn’t grab me but others liked it more than I did. Many thanks to Netgalley and Severn River Publishing for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Great book, by an author I will read more of! Thrilling plot, great writing and brilliant characters. Highly recommend to others.

Good book , this book had all the usual, it had suspense, intrigue, action, and a good storyline! It was actually a very interesting story! I definitely enjoyed reading this book! It was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review electronically...it is a book of mystery and intrigue...it is often difficult to keep up with the various characters...the story moves slowly at times...the story is intriguing...the author is good at her craft...there are red herrings throughout that throws the reader off course...determining the ending...good read...