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New Legal Thriller Book: Beyond Reasonable Doubt

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I’m highlighting this New Legal Thriller Book: Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Robert Dugoni. This is a female-forward legal thriller with a ripped from the headlines premise and a Law and Order format. What did I think? I’m here to tell all in my Review of Beyond Reasonable Doubt with Spoilers!

Graphic for my Review with Spoilers of Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Robert Dugong

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt by Robert Dugoni: Jen’s Quick Take

Photo of a copy of Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Robert Dugoni on a wood table with the scales of justice and a gavel
  • Beyond Reasonable Doubt is book two of the Keera Duggan series (check out my review of book one, Her Deadly Game.)
  • A Ripped from the Headlines premise that I LOVED (read more about that below)
  • Has a “law and order” structure that incorporates a police procedural with courtroom drama
  • Published on October 22, 2024 by Thomas & Mercer; 365 pages

Review of Beyond Reasonable Doubt With Spoilers

I enjoyed Her Deadly Game, book one in the Keera Duggan series, but I definitely enjoyed Beyond Reasonable Doubt even more.

Keera’s family relationship takes somewhat of a backseat in this latest installment, which delves into Keera’s high school friendship with Jenna Bernstein, who has been accused of murdering her lover.

Can you guess which female CEO/convicted felon I think Jenna is modeled on? Leave your answer in the comments

  • Jenna is the former founder CEO of PDRT, a biotech company in the Pacific Northwest.
  • Keera thinks Jenna is a sociopath and possible narcissist
  • She had a relationship with her CFO, a man nearly twenty years older
  • She was accused of killing a whistleblower who threatened to expose that the company and its technology were a sham

I really enjoyed this one and its “ripped from the headlines” aspect. I did find the identity of the killer pretty obvious, but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment.

Want more details and the ending of Beyond Reasonable Doubt Explained

Spoilers for Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Robert Dugoni

SPOILERS BELOW! To protect readers who HATE being spoiled you will need to click on the blue “Show Me” box below and log in with a Grow account, Facebook, or Google. By doing so, you will be added to my email list and receive weekly updates about new books! For more information on why I protect my spoilers, please read this post! If you are having any issues check this tutorial OR leave a comment below as I want to help!

What Real Life Case is Beyond Reasonable Doubt Based On?

I think that Jenna Bernstein is modeled on Elizabeth Holmes, the Theranos founder who was convicted and imprisoned for fraud after her company’s technology was deemed to be a fraud.

Is Sirus Kohn, the murder victim, modeled on Sunny Balwani? Both had affairs with their younger co-workers. Balwani was also convinced of fraud.

Is murdered whistleblower and chief science officer Erik Wei modeled on Theranos Chief Scientist Ian Gibbons, who tragically took his own life the night before he was supposed to be deposed in a lawsuit. He had repeatedly raised concerns about the reliability of Theranos technology.

Want to read more about Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes?

What Was the Ending of Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Robert Dugoni?

I felt that Adria Kohl was about the only viable suspect (besides Jenna) for the murder of her father, Sirus Kohl.

And yes, Adria not only killed her father Sirus, she was also the one who killed Eric Wei.

Adria and Jenna had a prior relationship with each other.

In addition to Jenna’s relationship with Sirus, she was also sleeping with Thomas Martin, the head of security at PDRT.

Adria found out about Jenna’s affair with Martin and blackmailed him to spy on Jenna.

Thomas Martin told Adria about Jenna’s secret meeting with Erik Wei, in which he expressed his intention to go public about issues with PDRT’s technology.

Adria was alarmed that Wei’s whistleblowing would destroy PDRT (and her father’s significant investment in it) and, in an altercation with him during an argument, killed him.

Adria did not intend to kill her father. She was angry that Jenna had persuaded her father not to testify against Jenna for the US Attorney. Furious that Jenna was manipulating him again, she killed him.

If you read this book, let me know what you thought! Spoilers are fine!

About Jen Ryland

Over 12 years of book blogging and reviewing, I have read over 1500 books. A fair and honest reviewer who loves book discussions, I'm here to help you find a book you'll love to read AND give you a place to talk about it and ask questions.
Find me on Instagram and Pinterest as @jenryland!

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2 Comments
Posey
1 year ago

Hi. I stumbled across Robert Dugoni a year ago when I read The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell and loved it!!! I’ve read several more and have loved the Keera Dugan series. However, I was immediately struck by the similarities of Jenna and Elizabeth Holmes!!!!!! I listened to a podcast about Holmes a few years back and I’ve loosely followed her case. She and Jenna have A LOT in common! What are your thoughts??

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Jen Ryland
1 year ago
Reply to  Posey

Yep 100% – I talk about it in the spoilers section since it’s sort of a spoiler if you haven’t read the book. The Jenna character has to be based on Holmes!! If you aren’t able to see the spoilers let me know!

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