Fun legal thriller which sets up a future series with the story of a lawyer pulling himself out of a drunken stupor and finding himself. The central mystery was interesting, and I liked how this focused on small town drama, instead of another series set in LA or NY.

Highly recommended for fans of gritty legal thrillers. This is not one of those slick Hollywood-style thrillers; JUSTICE BITES has a real-world vibe, which I especially enjoyed. I liked how the town's secrets became so important in this journey toward potential redemption. The pacing is good, although I suspect the novel could have been tightened and a bit shorter. This is a strong start to a new series, and the writing checks all the boxes for a good legal thriller.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

I love his Sam Johnstone series but this is a bit more hard boiled with a couple of gritty protagonists who are sometimes not that easy to like or empathise with.

Perhaps they will grow on me as the series - and hopefully there will be more books featuring them - develops.

The plot was clever and complex and the writing taut and tense.

A good start indeed.

This was a strong start to the Smith and Bauer series, it uses the legal thriller that I was hoping for and enjoyed the overall storyline going through this. James Chandler & Laura Snider have a great writing style and enjoyed the overall feel of this world. It left me wanting to read more in this world and from the authors.