Legal Suspense just might be my new favorite genre!
I’m surprised how few books I’ve read that fall into this category… because I seem to love the few that I’ve read… including this one!
“Fans of Allison Leotta and Lisa Scottoline will appreciate the domestic and romantic elements as well as the legal intrigue.”
―Booklist
I found this one to be so captivating and a really fun and intense read. I don’t think I could ever be in any sort of legal profession, because this is me: “Oh, he’s totally guilty!” then “No, wait, totally innocent!” and then “I have no idea WHAT this guy is!”
That was totally me reading Unreasonable Doubts. Doubting everything – always. And Liana seems to be doing a bit of the same! She’s a NYC public defender, has a fantastic boyfriend and a seemingly great life… but there are definitely some doubts.
Does she still want to do this difficult job? Is Jakob the one? And will this new case that falls into her lap, finally help her figure out what she wants in life? Or will it be the thing that destroys her?
There are SO many themes in this that I really enjoyed and all seemed to seamlessly blend into a really interesting story – love, friendship, questions of faith, and a quest for the truth and what that really means – along with a really intriguing legal case!
Thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours {partner}, She Writes Press, and Reyna Marder Gentin for this surprisingly twisty page-turner!
- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: She Writes Press (November 13, 2018)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1631524135
- ISBN-13: 978-1631524134
About the Book
Jaded New York City Public Defender Liana Cohen would give anything to have one client in whom she can believe. Dozens of hardened criminals and repeat offenders have chipped away at her faith in both herself and the system. Her boyfriend Jakob’s high-powered law firm colleagues see her do-gooder job as a joke, which only adds to the increasing strain in their relationship.
Enter imprisoned felon Danny Shea, whose unforgivable crime would raise a moral conflict in an attorney at the height of her idealism—and that hasn’t been Liana in quite a while. But Danny’s astonishing blend of good looks, intelligence, and vulnerability intrigues Liana. Could he be the client she’s been longing for—the wrongly accused in need of a second chance? Is he innocent? As their attorney-client relationship transforms into something less than arm’s length, Liana is forced to confront fundamental questions of truth, faith, and love—and to decide who she wants to be.
About Reyna
After graduating from Yale College and Yale Law School, Reyna Marder Gentin practiced as a juvenile rights attorney with the Legal Aid Society and then as a criminal appellate attorney with a nonprofit public defender’s office for nearly eighteen years. That job, and a number of the clients she represented, inspired the story of UNREASONABLE DOUBTS. The novel is more than a legal thriller. It’s the story of Liana Cohen, a young woman grappling to salvage her idealism in an often harsh world, and learning how to find friendship, faith, and love in the right places.
Reyna keeps a hand in the law as a volunteer, representing women and men seeking restraining orders against their intimate partners. She has written and continues to write personal essays for a number of websites including Kveller, Mamalode, Grown & Flown and others. Reyna’s short story, “A Reckoning,” was published in the 2017 issue of the Westchester Review, and her psychological thriller, “Complicity,” appears online at The Write Launch. You can find links to all her pieces at reynamardergentin.com.
Reyna lives with her family in Westchester, New York.
BOOKAPOTAMUS 
Fantastic review! This legal thriller sounds right up my alley. I feel like I’d always be terrible in the legal profession because I’m so gullible at times.
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Haha totally! I’d believe everything! 🙂
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