I enjoy a good legal thriller and found Double Jeopardy to be heavy on the legal but light on the thriller. It is evident in the courtroom passages that author (and attorney) Stephen Penner has expertise in this area. These parts of the story are grounded in his experience and come across as authentic as a result. The story lost me a bit as main character Daniel Raine prepares for the big civil trial at the core of the book. I anticipated a number of scenes where Raine sought evidence and additional testimony to build his case. He does this, sort-of, with the help of a realtor who moonlights as a private investigator. There was one fraught scene where Raine is caught while pursuing a hunch, but this one scene is really it. The case is largely built on Raine’s assumptions and intuition, and as this part of the plot would lean more towards procedural, a big piece of the story felt like it was missing.

All in all, not a bad story but slightly different from what one might expect in a legal thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was issued this book by NetGalley for my unbiased review.

This was an interesting story. It was told well and I did enjoy reading it. I really didn't like the main character that much, and it probably took a little of my reading pleasure. I was rooting for a good outcome, but.

There were plenty of twists and turns.

I will read more from Stephen Penner.

Attorney Daniel Raine takes on an epic case when he races to assist a woman loudly protesting in front of the jail. Police are subduing her and she’s arrested on multiple counts. The case is a grieving mother who wants to sue for her son’s wrongful death while incarcerated. The mother, Ophelia, is also now facing criminal charges. The civil case is for vindictive prosecution. The story is set in Seattle with returning characters like the stunning realtor, Sawyer, who is Daniel’s part time investigator. This is a series but can certainly be read as a standalone. I always feel like I’ve learned something from reading Mr. Penner’s story. It kept me guessing and my suspected culprit was wrong.
Little did I know when I selected this book that the story would be mirrored in a large Metroplex nearby. The local news reporting daily about multiple inmate deaths in the past year at a large prison, with pleas to fire the sheriff. There were daily scenes of sobbing mother’s wanting answers. Mr. Penner has written a timely narrative with a thought provoking plot. This would be a great book club selection with many topics and questions for discussion. This is a legal series I will continue to watch for.
An Advance Reader Copy of “Double Jeopardy” a Rain City Legal Thriller #4, by Stephen Penner, publisher Inkubator Books, expected publication 07/16/2024, was provided by NetGalley. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

This book kept me up till 2 am. A great read. Full of intrigue, with plenty of twists and turns. Recommend.

The book is clever, twisted and detail oriented. This is a gripping legal thriller. The investigation is spot on. Michael, a man in his twenties is found dead at county jail. But no one is listening to Ophelia, she thinks that her son was murdered. Instead of getting justice, police officers arrest her for disorderly conduct and Obstructing a law enforcement officer. She hires Attorney Daniel Raine but the truth is twisted and there are not many evidence. While taking the case of murder brings Daniel Raine’s life at stake. And truth comes out with layers of mystery and secrets. I loved the investigation and court procedures.

Fast paced legal thriller. I loved it. There was no chance to stop for breath as the quick flowing plot and investigation by lawyer Daniel Raine progressed . I'll definitely be reading more in this series

I stumbled upon this book on Netgalley and liked the cover, description, and title so I thought I'd give it a try.

I liked the character, Daniel Raine, and his feisty ways. I also liked the courtroom scenes as I love courtroom drama type books. These seemed really well written and after finishing the book I read that the author is an attorney so that is why they are so well written. I liked the banter and the back and forth between Raine and the other players in the courtroom. Very engaging and fun to read.

With all that I liked about this book there was just something missing. I can't put my finger on it. I thought at times the story was bogged down a bit with descriptions of places and that took away from the flow of the story.

All in all this was an ok read and I would give this author another try. Although it wasn't a gripping 5 star read for me that's ok because I was still entertained.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion which I have given.

Double Jeopardy is a good legal procedural/thriller with an interesting set of characters and a pacey and authentic narrative. For this reader, the one thing which jarred was the lawyer turning into a super sleuth to investigate and solve the crime himself - a development that strained credibility. Still, an entertaining read for a long flight or train journey, or for lying by the pool or on the beach.

I received an ARC review copy from the author and NetGalley, and this is my honest review. I hadn't read any other books from this author and initially didn't realize it was part of a series, but it read well as a standalone. It took me a bit to get into it, but after I got through the first third of the book, it picked up nicely. I liked the courtroom scenes and how realistic they were. The case involving Ophelia suing over her brother's death while in custody was interesting and well-executed. All in all, it's a solid 4 stars.

A pacy, punchy and twisty read, which was very enjoyable.

Lawyer Dan Raine happens upon a woman being heavy-handedly arrested for demanding answers after her only child died in police custody. Without giving it a thought, he announces himself as her lawyer and takes the case on.

With nobody willing to tell the truth about the young man’s death, Raine takes on the investigation, throwing caution to the wind on numerous occasions and definitely going above and beyond his role as a legal representative.

I liked his character; feisty and determined, and I enjoyed his banter with others, particularly with his friend and sometime PI, Rebecca.

When the case wrapped up, the ending was a huge shock! Well played 👏🏻

I don’t understand the relevance of the title as this case wasn’t one that could be considered double jeopardy, so that threw me, but a great read!

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Stephen Penner and Inkubator for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I thank the publisher, NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

This review is based on my reading and completing this book and is my honest, unbiased opinion based on my experience while reading the book.

Upfront I will put a caveat that I am partial to thrillers especially legal thrillers and I cannot have enough of courtroom dramas and stories involving a legal mess that needs sorting out both on and off the court premises.

This book immediately drew my attention from its strong name which relates to a judicial defense made famous by the popular movie of the same name. The author himself is an attorney so my expectations from the book reached sky high and the story delivers on the promise more often than not. The title itself is a misnomer as the case addressed in this story does not come under the title but understandably it has been mentioned to make the story sensational and also for better recall value. I will upfront commend Stephen for a well written novel and am going to look for some of his earlier work after knowing that this is a fourth book in a series although this book reads as a complete standalone.

The story deals with a custodial death that is appealed against and this is where Stephen's experience comes to the fore with the story and the interactions between the attorneys' law enforcement officials and the court are realistic and devoid of too much drama. The case itself seems a straightforward case which requires standard processes to bring to a satisfactory conclusion except that there are other complications and a sinister undercurrent that raises the seemingly mundane case to a matter of life and death for a lot of people concerned.
The protagonist Raine has his ways and gets into a lot of messes before things clear out.
The story reads well and moves at a solid pace with most of the loose threads neatly wrapped together before the final hurrah.

What did not work for me here was that for a experienced lawyer, Raine seems to work a lot on chance and there are loose writings every now and then which rankle. The story also seems too pat at the end and the sinister creation of larger forces are never completely realised in the story. This is where I would have loved to have had some additional gripping mayhem. But this does not take too much away from the story and as I have written earlier in the initial paragraphs, I am going to read at least another book before I decide on his writing. I have cut my teeth with a lot of top legal thrillers and this book would not be too out of place in their company.

Double Jeopardy is a well written, interesting story of an attorney involved in interrelated litigation concerning a criminal case against an individual and a civil case against the City of Seattle for a wrongful death. While some of the action is not wholly believable , the investigative techniques and trial depictions are fascinating.
This book is recommended for all who enjoy this genre and who appreciate a startling and unexpected conclusion. I thank NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publication.

Double Jeopardy😳

Double Jeopardy brings us back to Rain City where Dan Raine is once again flexing his legal prowess and doing a darn good job of this too👍

Dan is on his way to his office when he overhears a woman saying that her son died in the King County Jail and no one will give her answers as to how he died. Witnessing this, Dan moves closer and eventually becomes a part of the commotion when she’s arrested. Standing as her council he’s surprised to see the slew of charges against her. Now he’s out for justice for her and her son❣️

Spectacular storytelling with an ending that hit me out of left field. I received an advanced copy via Netgalley and voluntarily leave my honest review.

As a trial lawyer myself, now retired, I dislike crime dramas that exaggerate or even fake what goes on in a courtroom. So I am glad that author Stephen Penner didn't need to fake anything. He had the story and told it in an interesting way. It's all very believable...and highly enjoyable. I won't discuss the facts, that's where you come in. Read the book! You'll like it!
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Double Jeopardy by Stephen Penner ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 I recommend this if you love: police procedural, murder investigation crime books

🤔 I saw this book on NetGalley and was looking for a good thriller book, after reading the description I decided to try this book!! I hadn't read any previous work by this author. Thank you to NetGalley for making this digital arc book available to me!

📖 Lawyer Raine has taken on a new client. His new client Ophelia, is suing the police over her son Michael's death, while he was in police custody. Nobody will speak about what happened on the night Michael died, with guards claiming they don't know what happened. It's up to Raine to produce a convincing case, and he uncovered some interesting leads... but can he figure out what really happened to Michael that night?

💭 I wasn't sure if I'd be able to follow this book easily as it's the 4th installment on a series, however the plot was easy to follow. It was heavily focused on the court room and legal proceedings (which makes sense for a legal thriller!)
I did think the ending was a bit rushed as the loose ends are only tied up in the last 2 chapters. Overall I did enjoy it and would probably read more work by this author!

Genre: thriller/mystery
Book Format: Kindle
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Series or Standalone: Series (could be read as a standalone)
Tropes & Themes: corruption, murder, lies, police procedural, race against time, murder investigation, whodunnit, police investigation, revenge, drug references
#doublejeopardy

"Double Jeopardy" is another stellar book by Stephen Penner. I've read the full Rain City series so far and none of the books disappoint. It can be read as a standalone but it's better when you have the context of the characters from the previous books. This book delivered on suspense, plot twists and page turning just as I expected. It's in-depth knowledge and information on the cases had me hanging on by the edge needing to know what happened and will happen! A must read for anyone who likes and action packed legal thriller!

A young man, Michael, dies while in custody at the county jail. The authorities claim it was a heart attack. His mom thinks it was murder. Attorney Daniel Raine agrees to take the case, suing the jail for wrongful death. But no one will talk about what happened in Michael’s cell on that fateful night. The guards claim they saw nothing and there’s no surveillance video. Raine starts to dig and soon discovers that the dead man wasn’t just a petty criminal. He was an informant for a narcotics detective who is trying to take down a drug carte!
Great read! What a fantastic and interesting storyline! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one! This book definitely had me glued to my Kindle! It was a bit different then I normally read! But a fantastic read it was! I highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me! .

I have now read a couple of the Rain City legal thrillers and have enjoyed them both. They are a good, easy and satisfying read and there is quite a lot to be said for that. Seattle is also the star on the show and is sharply and accurately depicted.

Raine and Sommers are a decent double act and the plot was clever with the tension drawn out and an exciting denouement.

A good, solid legal thriller and well worth a read.