Review With Spoilers of Her Deadly Game

I did a post on Best Legal Thrillers and one of my wonderful website visitors suggested I try a book by Robert Dugoni. And I did! Here’s my Review With Spoilers of Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni

The Cover of Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni on a dark background

Review With Spoilers of Her Deadly Game

Her Deadly Game was published by Thomas & Mercer in March 2023.
There’s a second book in the series called Beyond Reasonable Doubt (2024)
I read the book in January 2024 and obtained my own copy.

Jen’s Quick Take on Her Deadly Game

Photo of Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni on a table next to a legal book and a gavel

A legal thriller with a small police procedural aspect (a little bit Law & Order!)
A female protagonist from a large Irish family
A nod to The Verdict, as the main character’s lawyer father is an alcoholic
A good why-done-it where you have to figure out the what and the why

Plot Summary for Her Deadly Game

After she ended her relationship with a colleague in the prosecutor’s office, Keera Duggan is back to work at her family’s law firm, defending a wealthy man accused of the murder of his wife.

He says he didn’t do it, and Keera believes him, but there are many strange aspects to the case: puzzling pieces of evidence, anonymous notes from someone who is feeding her pieces to the puzzle, plus having to work with her family again. Will Keera win her case, and will justice be served?

Review of Her Deadly Game

I thought Her Deadly Game was a very balanced legal suspense thriller. The narrative moved between the police investigation into the death of Anne LaRussa, Keera’s investigation of the crime, and the trial of Anne’s husband Vince.

To me, Keera wasn’t the most compelling protagonist, but we also get the POV of Frank Rossi, the detective investigating the crime.

The case is an interesting one, with a bit of a locked room feel and no obvious suspect except the victim’s husband. If he didn’t do it, then who did? And why?

I had a guess about the who, but the why was more complicated. I did like that all the puzzle pieces were there and that the resolution was original and unexpected.

I think readers who enjoy solving Sherlock Holmes style puzzles will really enjoy this one.

Spoilers for the ending of Her Deadly Game

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Who Killed Anne?

Her death was an assisted suicide of sorts, with Anne’s friend Dr. Lisa Bennet. Lisa helped Anne rig up a very elaborate contraption (a gun frozen in a block of ice, the heat from the oven, a string soaked in flammable material). That way Anne, in a wheelchair after being injured in a riding accident, to be able to pull the trigger after Lisa left the house.

Why Did Anne and Lisa try to frame Anne’s husband Vince?

Vince was a bit of a con artist whose investment firm was a Ponzi scheme that had defrauded Anne’s family and friends out of money. Anne and Lisa were investigating Vince’s past, information that Lisa fed to Keera through the anonymous emails.

What Happened to Cliff Young?

Before Anne’s death, she suspected that her husband Vince had killed Cliff, one of his accountants who had figured out that Vince was cooking the books. Anne was right: Vince most certainly killed Cliff.

What Happened to Vince at the end?

He was coming after Lisa, who had the most dirt on him. But Lisa had another gun (besides the one that she and Anne used to stage Anne’s “murder.”) When Vince came for her, she shot him. “For Anne,” she tells Keera.

What did you think of Her Deadly Game? Leave your opinions and questions in the comments, and I will answer!

Review With Spoilers of Her Deadly Game