Friday, November 15, 2024

Review: The 9th Witness by Rebecca Forster


Genre: Legal Thriller

Description:

“No good deed goes unpunished: this time it's going to be brutal.

Christmas is coming and the world is joyful for everyone but Josie Bates. A devastating miscarriage, her employer’s pending retirement, and her husband’s overseas job have left her alone and adrift—until Lily Daye dies and names Josie executor of her estate. Josie has no idea who this woman is, but her will is simple and her possessions meager. In the spirit of the season, Josie accepts the job. Yet behind Lily’s seemingly modest existence lies a complex, mysterious life. When an eccentric tech mogul turns up to contest the will, the only spirit Josie is channeling is one of outrage that her life is being upended and Lily’s last wishes disrespected. Up against a high-powered, ruthless attorney, a court on a schedule, and an entitled man with more money than God, Josie is determined to protect her client’s interests or die trying.”

Author:

“Rebecca Forster is the USA Today bestselling author of Keeping Counsel. She has written in many genres but her legal thrillers have been called, 'Perfect. Impossible to put down,' by the CBS legal correspondent

She holds a BA from Loyola University, Chicago and an MBA from Loyola University, Los Angeles.

Married to a superior court judge and the mother of two sons, she teaches at UCLA writers program, volunteers in classrooms and speaks in many venues around the country.”

For more, visit Ms. Forster’s website

Appraisal:

I’ve read and loved lots of Rebecca Forster’s books over the years, in multiple series. If forced to pick a favorite The Witness Series with Josie Bates would probably be my pick. This one had a lot of elements that kept me engaged with a tendency to reveal something at the end of the chapter that made me want to immediately start reading the next chapter. Josie spends some time in court and experiences some tense situations that make the legal thriller classification a good fit for this. There is a lot of mystery to it (with her client, Lily Daye, being deceased, Josie has to figure out what Lily’s estate consists of, where the person who is supposed to inherit it is, and as the story unfolds lots of other mysteries pop up). We’ve also got some other twists dealing with new technology and Lily’s past that only complicate matters more. It makes for an engaging, fun read that kept me guessing as to where things were headed right to the end.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

This review is based on an advance reviewer copy, so I’m unable to gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

No comments: