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I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
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MY REVIEW:
Genre | Tropes: Courtroom Mystery, Murder Mystery, Faith Based
Rating: 5 out of 5 ⭐
I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book… I started reading it and the first chapter had me feeling a little sluggish. But then it really starts to pick up the pace and had me hooked into the characters. It’s a complex story about a young exchange student at a university who doesn’t seem to get along with her roommate. The roommate ends up dead and the exchange student is immediately to blame. Even though there is little hard evidence to prove otherwise.
Besides the exchange student being a main character, most of the time is spent with Margeaux Robbins (the student’s law professor) and Chase Crandall (the court appointed lawyer). Margeaux and Chase have had differences in the past, but they must find a way to work together to prove Anneliese’s innocence. Something isn’t right about this case all the way through the book. It’s hard to believe that Anneliese would murder her roommate and there doesn’t seem to be much for the team to grab onto in terms of helping her case.
But they are committed to finding the truth and keeping her out of prison, even if it costs them both everything they have.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book and their complex personalities. Both of them struggle deeply with believing in themselves and they both put up walls to keep themselves protected from being harmed by others. This made for a difficult road throughout most of the book for them to find a way to work together, but they also both are attracted to one another which helps them thaw their tough exteriors the longer they work together.
I was emotionally invested in all three main characters and knew I would be overwhelmed at the end no matter how things turned out. A young woman from another country that is seemingly setup to look like she murderer her roommate, just screams to all the current issues going on in our country.
But I digress. I was incredibly impressed with this story and the path it took me on. It’s books like this that really got me into the crime thriller genre and wanting to be faux detective, through the pages of good books!
GET IT HERE:
When a popular college student is murdered, her international roommate, Anneliese, becomes a prime suspect. But law professor Margeaux Robbins doesn’t believe that the quiet, lonely German girl in her class is the killer.
Chase Crandall is a burned-out defense attorney ready to extricate himself from the grind of criminal law. After he loses a client to tragedy, he’s ready for an in-house corporate position.
When Chase is assigned to Anneliese’s case, Margeaux is horrified. She doesn’t want him to provide legal counsel—not after what happened to his past client. And not with the evidence incriminating Anneliese.
Despite their mutual misgivings, the lawyer and professor pair up to find the killer and prove Anneliese’s innocence. Will they be able to untangle the mystery—and navigate their growing interest in one another—before the wrong person is charged with murder?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cara Putman
Cara Putman is the award-winning, best-selling author of more than 35 books. She graduated college at 20 and completed her law degree at 27. FIRST for Women magazine called Shadowed by Grace “captivating” and a “novel with ‘the works.’” Cara is active at her church and a full-time Clinical Associate Professor on business and ethics to undergraduate and graduate students at Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management.
Putman also practices law and was a second-generation homeschooling mom for twelve years. Putman obtained her Master’s in Business Administration from Krannert and her J.D. from George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law. She serves on the executive board of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization she has served in various roles since 2007. She lives with her husband and four children in Indiana. You can connect with her online at: caraputman.com.
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