This is the second Keera Duggan legal thriller written by this prolific writer who manages to produce so many books yet more than maintain their quality. I really enjoyed the first book in this series and it would probably help if you read it before this one but this is a cracking read about how our heroine is coerced into defending a former classmate of hers on a murder charge when she already has serious doubts about her innocence and no doubts at all abut her bad character and issues.

The characters are credible and well drawn, the tension mounts and the ending is well thought through and not easily guessed.

All in all a first rate book which I highly recommend from an exceptionally gifted author.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was a big fan of the debut story of Keera Duggan, and this one was a great follow up. This one really brought Keera to the forefront as in this story she perhaps overtakes the legend that was her father in the court room. As he does in all of his books, Mr. Dugoni does a great job of developing the characters and is perhaps the thing I like best about this book. I wonder though where he will go from here with Keera. I will look forward to finding out. 4.5 stars

Another awesome suspense from Robert Dugoni. Loving this series.
With Patsy hitting bottom again, Keera is left defending her childhood nemesis, whom she is convinced has already gotten away with murder once, on a second murder charge. Keera is determined to find justice done, but also defend her client on the charges she is not guilty of. It is a fine line, but if she can succeed, Jenna will get the punishment she deserves, and Keera will have done her job as a defense attorney.
Story starts strong and never waivers. Love the characters, flaws and all. Looking forward to Book 3!
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review,.

I have previously read some of Robert Dugoni's other works to include, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell and The World Played Chess. Both of those books were absolutely wonderful, so I was very excited to get the opportunity to read one of Dugoni's suspense novels. Beyond Reasonable Doubt is the second book in the Keera Duggan series. I wanted to make sure I got the whole back story, so I grabbed a copy of Book 1, Her Deadly Game, which was a wonderful story that got me hooked on the character, Keera Duggan. I was super excited to read book 2, Beyond Reasonable Doubt and it did not disappoint! The series introduces defense attorney, Keera Duggan and her Irish family that runs a legal office. (think Blue Bloods type of story). The book is engaging and face-paced. I was super excited to find this series and hope that author, Dugoni keeps going with these characters. Fans of legal/suspense thrillers like Grisham, will love these books. However, Dugoni is a master writer on his own!

It’s good to see Seattle defence attorney Keera Duggan back in another courtroom drama. This time she’ll be on her own in court while her father, Patsy Duggan, known as the Irish Brawler deals with his own demons. The women she is defending, Jenna Bernstein, CEO of a start-up biotech company, is not impressed that Patsy is not available to be in court for her since he previously successfully defended her against a previous charge of killing the company’s chief medical scientist.

Jenna doesn’t trust that Keera can win the case for her and their dislike of each other is mutual, as Keera knew Jenna when they were children and she was cruel and manipulative back then. Now Jenna is being charged with murdering her business partner and one time lover, Sirus Kohl, in addition to being on the verge of being investigated by the US Attorney for fraud and conspiracy along with Kohl. With only circumstantial evidence that Jenna could have murdered Sirus, Keera agrees to take the case despite disliking Jenna immensely and not being able to trust her one inch.

Written in two parts, the period leading up to the trial and the trial itself, this was perfectly paced. The pre-trial section is an intriguing build-up of research and investigation into all the players and the company, superbly setting the scene. As before, Keera plays the trial as if it were a chess game with restraint and carefully thought out moves that confound the prosecution and make them wonder what she is really up to. When she show’s her hand it’s masterful, with some major reveals and a very satisfying resolution. It all makes for a compelling courtroom drama overlaying the family dramas in Keera’s own life.

I really enjoyed this book. I was fascinated with the Theranos case and Elizabeth Holmes and this reminded me of that. Keera represents a childhood friend with whom she had a tough history. Very well-written, engaging, and a portrait of a woman who has not changed since childhood.

3.5 stars

Former Seattle prosecutor Keera Duggan is now a defense lawyer in her family law firm, Duggan & Associates. The firm was founded by Keera's father, Patrick (Patsy), but Patsy's alcoholism has taken a toll, and he's stepped back from trial work. The other family members at the firm are Keera's sisters: Ella - the managing partner; and Maggie - the office administrator.

As a break from work, the Duggan clan has a family dinner once a month, which is sacrosanct to Keera's mom. When Keera is assigned to bring the salad, she puts lettuce into a large wooden bowl, and prepares separate plastic bags with grape tomatoes, chopped walnuts, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh bacon bits because "her family members couldn't agree on the time of day if they were all staring at a stopped clock, let alone what they liked and disliked on their salads." This, in a nutshell, depicts family relations, which are fractious but loving.

Keera is enjoying a much-needed staycation when she gets an urgent call from Maggie, asking her to come to the office. There Keera finds Patsy waiting with Jenna Bernstein, the former CEO of a biotech company called Ponce de León Restorative Technology (PDRT). PDRT imploded five years ago, when its product - which was supposed to alleviate deadly diseases - was shown to be a fraud. At that time, PDRT's chief scientist was murdered, and Jenna was tried for the crime. Patsy got Jenna off with a SODDI (some other dude did it) defense, and Keera hoped to never see Jenna again.

Keera and Jenna have known each other since they were ten years old, and Jenna has always been narcissistic, self-centered and mean. On the girls' first meeting, when Keera tried to pull herself up onto a trampoline, Jenna jumped on Keera's fingers, pinched and scratched Keera's hands, and pushed Keera off with her foot. This foreshadowed the girls' ongoing relations, wherein Jenna jealously thwarted Keera whenever she could, all the way through college.

Now Jenna once again needs help from Duggan and Associates. Jenna and Sirus Kohl, her former business partner (and boyfriend) at PDRT, were indicted for fraud, because they misled PDRT's investors. There were rumors that Kohl was going to make a deal, and throw Jenna under the bus. Now Kohl has been murdered, and Jenna is a suspect again.

Violent Crimes Detective Frank Rossi and Prosecutor Walker Thompson have a strong case against Jenna. Jenna left her apartment - in a baseball cap and large sunglasses - on the night Kohl was killed; she was caught on a CCTV camera near Kohl's home; and she owned a 9-millimeter gun like the one that killed Kohl. Moreover, Jenna had a powerful motive if Kohl was going to testify against her.

Since Patsy is semi-retired, he convinces Keera to take Jenna's case, though Keera is VERY reluctant. Keera thinks Jenna is a sociopath and a liar, and she believes Jenna might well be guilty. Nevertheless, Keera vows to give Jenna the best possible defense, and she engages the law firm's private detective, J.P. Harrison, to investigate Kohl's murder. Harrison tries to find alternative suspects for the homicide, like PDRT employees who were fired and PDRT investors who lost money.

When Jenna goes to trial, the prosecution puts on a strong case, and Jenna must use her smarts, and the strategies she learned as a chess champion, to craft a defense. The resolution of the case is a bit too forced and complicated, but this is a good courtroom drama, recommended to fans of the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley, Robert Dugoni, and Thomas and Mercer for a copy of the book.

Keera Duggan, defense attorney, is back in this second novel in the series. I would recommend reading the fist novel, Her Deadly Game, before picking this one up. Keera is faced with a challenging case as she prepares to defend Jenna Bernstein in a murder trial. Keera has a complicated history with Jenna as they've known each other since childhood, and have not always been on good terms with each other. I love the complex nature of this relationship, and how Keera wrestles with the challenges of defending a client that you can't wholly trust. The mystery in this book was interesting and fast paced, and the ending was spot on! I loved this legal thriller and will continue to pick up the next in the series!

Robert Dugoni is a favorite author of mine and I didn't realize that there would be more books about Keera and the Duggan family. This story picks up with Keera taking on a bigger role in the firm, but at what cost. Can she defend a client that she thinks might be guilty? Keera and Jenna have a long history from their younger school days with several parts of the past unknown to Keera. This is a great continuation of the series and it was a very good read. I highly recommend anything that Robert Dugoni writes!

Robert Dugoni has returned to the world of legal thrillers, where he first made his mark. This second Keera Duggan book proves why he is one of the most beloved authors of this generation.

How does an attorney defend a client she really thinks could be guilty? Keera Duggan has known the accused since they were kids, and she knows she's manipulative, an accomplished liar, and good at convincing people she's innocent. But is she really? This time?

Dugoni is a master of suspense, and this reader has loved every book since he published his first. Highly recommended. #BeyondReasonableDoubt #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthorSeries

Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Keera Duggan, Book 2) by Robert Dugoni is so good. It's fast-paced with compelling characters. I love Keera's strength and I like getting to know her and her family better in this book.

The story is part mystery and part courtroom drama. I know it takes a lot to write a book, but Robert Dugoni makes his stories seem so effortless from scene to scene. He creates great characters, interesting storylines that are fun to read and allow the reader to fall into a world of intrigue for a day.

I think the father's plight with alcohol was done well, and I like when Keera tells him he needs to go into the treatment facility with the belief he is going to win and to reset the chess board and just keep trying.

I am also enjoying the relationship between Keera and Frank and hope it develops more in the next books!

I would highly recommend this book and series. I would actually recommend any book by Robert Dugoni. He's an excellent writer and all his stories are compelling and unputdownable.

#BeyondReasonableDoubtKeeraDugganBand2 #NetGalley @AmazonPub

I'm a really big fan of Robert Dugoni and have read all of his books to date. I really liked this new character in the first book of the series. And while I liked this 2nd book, I really didn't LOVE it. I felt it was so close to the headlines with Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos- like chapter for chapter. I also didn't like ALL THE ACRONYMS. I feel like that many acronyms make a book colder, more businesslike and so hard to fold into the flow of reading. And at some point there were so many that I was really turned off - between Jenna and Silas' company, then the security company being another abbreviation and acronym, then the product LINK - too much, and felt like I was ready a non-fiction book instead of fiction.

Again, I like the character of Keera very much and I really enjoyed her on her own with her father in a great, believable plot line of going to rehab while she took this case on. I thought the whole storyline with the not having caffeine was a bit much - we get enough of that in real life with everyone's dietary restrictions, it doesn't have to be a paragraph filler so often like it was in this book.

I thought it was so believable what a jerk Jenna was - you really fought yourself to not automatically see her as the killer because she was so despicable. I was definitely so engaged during the courtroom scenes, and could almost feel Jenna squirm not knowing where Keera was going with her defense strategy.

Looking forward to the next in the series!!

This is the second Keera Duggan legal thriller, which I was eager to read as I loved the first one (‘Her Deadly Game’).

Some of the background the previous book in introduced in brief – Keera Duggan is now taking on a prominent role with clients after her dad Patsy (known as the Irish brawler) is fighting alcohol addiction and has taken a backseat. PSRT is a medical startup pioneering the product LINK which will have the potential to cure deadly diseases / regenerate failing organs with injection of genetic material in the skin. Jenna, at just 22, founded the company and is aggressive in promoting it and gaining funding. Sirus Kohl is an entrepreneur who invests a significant amount of money ($150m) and becomes the COO & CFO. Sirus is much older to Jenna, but they get into a romantic relationship. The product is coming along slowly and there are people in the company who are worried about misrepresentations. This reminded me of the real life unravelling of Theranos (with Elizabeth Holmes as CEO and Sunny Balwani as COO), but the similarity ends here with lot more serious crimes to come.

Erik Wei, chief scientist is found dead after a meeting with Jenna. Patsy represented Jenna and cast reasonable doubt that there were others who benefited more than Jenna with his death. PSRT subsequently has collapsed and is the subject of an investigation. 5 years later, Sirus Kohl, is shot and killed the day before he was to meet with federal authorities to discuss a plea bargain. Jenna is accused of the murder and turns to Patsy & Keera. Keera has known Jeena in school as a manipulative kid and is wary of how truthful she will be with her.

This is a solid second book in what is turning out to a great series. Jenna is a wonderful character, well supported by Detective Rossi and Jenna’s dad. The premise of the story & progressive unravelling of the plot backed by solid procedures & courtroom play makes for very engrossing reading. Unlike the previous book, this one does not attempt to tie up all details of the story. While that is charming in its own way, the last sections could have been a little better. Nevertheless, this is an excellent story. The courtroom strategies and dialogues are top-notch.

This is a series I will be keenly following. I am impatiently waiting for the next book in the series!

My rating: 4.5 / 5.

Keera Duggan continues her work as a defense lawyer in the second book in Robert Dugoni's latest series. This time around, she's taken back to her childhood as a former classmate is put on trial for murder. Keera must decide whether it's worth it to revisit her past and some unpleasant memories in order to defend this person.

As in the first novel, nothing is quite as it seems at first glance. There are multiple twists and turns, and some unusual alliances as the novel comes to a satisfying end.

I love Robert Dugoni's writing and these novels are no exception. I can't wait until the next book in the series is release to see what Keera comes up against next.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT by ROBERT DUGONI 4
First of all I want to thank Johnson & Mercer for giving me the opportunity to read this great story. All comments are my own. This book is written by one of my favorite authors, Robert Dugoni. He is a wonderful writer. This story is a legal story – Kerra and her father are attorneys – although Kerra has taken over most of the court battles while her father is trying to recoup from a drinking problem. Kerra has taken a case of Jenna Bernstein who is accused of murdering her former lover and partner. Kerra and Jenna have known each other since their school days – Jenna is not personable unless she wants to be then watch out. Story is good, characters are interesting – even tho this is the second book of a series there is no need to read book #1 although that was very good as well. Did she do it or not? Read it and find out! You wil be glad you did. I will defiitely recommend this to my book club.

Keera Duggan is back! In Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Robert Dugoni’s second book of the “Keera Duggan” series, he has masterfully crafted another storyline that keeps you interested and invested until you get the final answers.

While this book can be read as a standalone, the book continues with the Duggan family dynamics but readers would be able to pick up on the storyline easily without reading book #1 of the series.

Very early on, Keera has an incredibly hard decision to make on whether she wants to represent a potential client. While trying to make this decision, she must dig into her own past to determine if she can handle the mental baggage that will come along with saying yes.

Dugoni once again does a remarkable job of weaving very realistic family dynamics into the seemingly black and white world of law and order.

I look forward to reading more about Keera Duggan!!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

*4.5 stars

You can never go wrong with a Dugoni book. He always delivers a solid story. This one is no exception. Keera is back and this time is about to defend a childhood “friend”. Jenna was tried a few years earlier for the murder of one of her employees. Keera’s father had defended her then. Jenna had gotten off with that trial, but now has been arrested again for the murder of her past lover and investor in her company. Keera’s relationship with Jenna was always contentious and never with trust. Keera still doesn’t trust Jenna and probably thinks she’s a sociopath. She has a job to do though and she’s going to see this through. Dugoni sets us up for his usual ride. A legal drama with some twists. Never a dull moment while reading his books.

This is the second book in the Keera Duggan series, continuing from where the first book left off.
I gave it the following SCORE:
Setting: Seattle, present day
Characters: Keera Duggan, ace attorney, her father, the famed Irish Brawler attorney, members of her family, and the primary antagonist, Jenna Bernstein, lifetime acquaintance of Keera and the CEO of a biotech company with a major medical breakthrough
Overview: Jenna is accused of murdering her business partner and, despite her earlier history of controlling and manipulation, Keera (of course) decides to take the case. The interplay between the two primary characters is chameleon-like throughout and the suspense lies with determining the truth – is Jenna actually guilty, is she innocent but complicit, or is she, once again, playing a game with Keera.
Recommendation: I rate this book 4 stars
Extras: This is one story where it would be helpful to have read the first in the series, “Her Deadly Game,” since so much depends on the character development and motivations.
Thanx to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to provide this candid review

#NetGalley #Robert Dugoni

Keera Duggan, a rare ethical defense attorney, is tasked with defending a childhood acquaintance. One she doesn’t like and knows has a propensity for deceitful and hurtful behavior. This is a must read and look forward to the next book, hopefully with more between Keera and Frank Rossi.

All Keera wanted was a few days off from the firm – she’s taking a staycation at home. She’s told the office not to call her - but that lasts all of one day!!

She receives a call that her father wants her in the office ASAP!! Off she goes still in her workout clothes!!

She finds that her father wants her to defend Jenna Bernstein who is being accused of killing her former partner and lover, she claims innocence. Keera has known Jenna since childhood and knows how manipulative and dishonest she can be. Keera will do this for the firm but then she never wants anything more to do with the Bernstein family!

Keera is a master chess player which shows in her brilliantly plotted defense strategy, she is always a few steps ahead of what she is presenting to the jury and judge.

I enjoyed this novel but I felt I wanted a bit more of the police procedural and less of the courtroom drama. However there are lots of surprises in the novel which had me puzzled. Who besides Jenna had a reason to kill Sirus Kohl??

This is a great second novel in the series and I can recommend this to Dugoni fans as well as those who love courtroom drama. This can be read as a standalone but I would recommend reading “Her Deadly Game” first so that you have a background of the main characters.

This was a buddy read with Debra, Mary Beth and Carolyn. Be sure to check out their wonderful reviews.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to read and review this novel. Publication date is set for October 22, 2024.