I listened to the audiobook and the narration was good. This is my first book in this series and my first book by Grippando. This is a legal thriller that covers international politics, the plight of women in modern-day Iran and family conflicts. The main character, Jack Swytech, is a lawyer who decides to defend an Iranian woman accused of abducting her deceased sister's daughter. As events unfold, nothing is as it seems and he finds himself involved in a complex situation where nothing is as it seems. It's a fast-paced story that makes for an exciting read. I really enjoyed it and I think that students who like John Grisham novels would enjoy this one.
Thanks NetGalley for the audioArc to preview.

Thanks to HarperAudio & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

James Grippando is very popular at my library, and I like a good legal thriller, so I figured I'd try this one in a long-running series. It's solid!

Jack Swytek is a no-nonsense defense attorney with a good heart. He's occasionally at odds with his wife, Andi, an FBI agent, and they've started counseling. Into this mix comes a client seeking representation for a Hague Convention case - she is the aunt (mom's sister) of a 6 year old daughter whose mother was detained by the Iranian morality police for not wearing a head covering in public. The child's mother is presumed dead, the aunt later married her BIL after he legally divorced his imprisoned wife, and then she abducted the child to get her out of Iran permanently once they traveled to the UK for business. It's a messy case!

Swytek throws himself into the case immediately, despite a physical assault by a masked assailant, warning him off, shortly after his first meeting with his client. He is unfamiliar with Hague Convention trials, and has to get up to speed quickly. The reader learns along with Jack, and there are many political complications that create friction between Jack and Andi, as the State Dept tries to influence his defense in order to grease the wheels of negotiations with Iran (which turn out to be regarding the release of an American prisoner, but are top secret).

Grippando does a good job of weaving all the parts together, and has clearly done the research on this type of case and the role of the federal government in such a case. He keeps the plot moving, and Swytek is a likable character. I could've done with less of Andi's personal musings/activities, as this was my first foray into the series, but that was OK.

I probably would've enjoyed this more if I were familiar with the series, but one need not have read thre others in order to enjoy this. Solid 3 stars

I had never read this series, but this particular title sound very interesting. I appreciated that this book stood on its own well. As with any book in a series there was some carry over from previous books, but nothing that caused me any issues. The narrator was good and the subject matter caught my attention right off the bat. I was hooked and blew thru the book in just a couple of days. If you like suspense this title delivers.

This was my first Jack Swyteck book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t feel left out from having not read any of the earlier books in this series. It stood alone excellently. The international law involvement was enlightening. Good character development and the twists were readily understandable. Great narrator, too.