Beyond Reasonable Doubt

In Dugoni’s contrived sequel to Her Deadly Game, Seattle defense attorney Keera Duggan helps a childhood acquaintance fight her second murder charge in six years. Biotech CEO Jenna Bernstein is better known for the allegations that she killed her company’s chief science officer than for her business acumen. Keera’s father, Patsy, defended Jenna in that case, using her testimony to point suspicion toward her COO, Sirius Kohl. Now, Sirius has been shot with the same weapon used in the earlier murder—just as rumors have started spreading that he was cooperating with the feds to bring a fraud charge against Jenna. With Patsy incapacitated by alcoholism, Keera takes the lead in clearing Jenna’s name, despite the pair’s tense childhood friendship, which ended when Jenna tried to drown Keera. Unfortunately, Jenna is a bit too broadly drawn for readers to buy into her and Keera’s dynamic, and the plot twists fall flat. Even fans of the previous installment are likely to find this one undercooked. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Oct.)