Betrayal

June 1, 2023

In Margolin's Betrayal, fading MMA fighter Mandy Kerrigan is accused of killing the entire Finch family and turns for help to attorney Robin Lockwood, a rising MMA fighter herself--until she was beaten by Mandy (75,000-copy first printing). Prepub Alert.

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September 15, 2023
Portland attorney Robin Lockwood butts heads awkwardly with her latest beau, deputy D.A. Tom McKee, in the case of the West Hills Massacre. A neighbor spots Mandy Kerrigan, a former world champion in Mixed Martial Arts, raising a ruckus outside the Finch family's door a few minutes past 8 p.m. Half an hour later, when Arthur Proctor, Annie Finch's English teacher, enters the house to discuss the teenager's possible transfer to a private school, he finds the whole family shot to death. The police are too satisfied with the likely guilt of Mandy, who'd just beaten up 20-something Ryan Finch in front of witnesses for supplying her with detection-proof performance-enhancing drugs that a post-match screening easily detected, to seek out other suspects. But Robin, who takes a personal interest in the case because Mandy thrashed her in an MMA match 10 years ago, quickly finds a multitude of both suspects and possible primary targets. Margaret Finch has long served as the go-to attorney for Jack Kovalev, the Russian mobster whose repeated car-accident insurance scams have recently been threatened with exposure. Her chemist husband, Nathan, had been fired from King Pharmaceuticals after embezzling funds to cover his gambling debts to importunate bookmaker Mario Messina. Even Annie was a 14-year-old cyberbully whose online taunts had reportedly led her classmate Donna Faber to suicide. Yet another wild card is CPA Alan Chen, a Special Forces veteran who vowed revenge after his wife was killed in the latest accident Kovalev staged. The actual murderer isn't especially surprising, but it's still satisfying to see Robin defeat her secret lover in court and come out on top. Dependable thrills, spills, and courtroom maneuvers.

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September 25, 2023
In Margolin’s magnetic seventh mystery featuring the MMA fighter turned Portland, Ore., criminal defense attorney (after 2022’s Murder at Black Oaks), Robin takes on the case of a former rival charged with murdering a family of four. When fading MMA star Mandy Kerrigan calls Robin after she’s arrested for the brutal killings of the Finch family, she feels duty-bound to help—Mandy’s sound defeat of Robin in an MMA match years earlier led her to pursue the legal education that launched her career. Though Mandy maintains her innocence, witnesses saw her banging on the door of the Finch family home after beating up the Finch’s oldest son, Ryan, at a bar when the performance-enhancing drugs he sold her showed up on a drug test. As Robin’s team prepares their case, they learn that Ryan’s lawyer mother, Margaret, was representing Russian mobsters accused of orchestrating an insurance fraud scam complete with staged accidents and sketchy doctors. By pulling that thread, Robin is convinced she’ll find answers about the Finches’ enemies that divert blame from Mandy. Robin’s sharp intellect and steadfast integrity make her easy to root for, and Margolin keeps the suspense at a steady simmer. Series fans and newcomers alike will be sucked in.

October 1, 2023
In the seventh Robin Lockwood novel, the Portland, Oregon, defense attorney's past is a key element in her latest case. As regular readers will remember, Robin was a Mixed Martial Arts competitor until a freak injury at the hands of an opponent, Mandy Kerrigan, redirected Robin's life. Now, years later, Mandy is accused of a quadruple homicide, and she seeks out Robin's help to prove her innocence and keep her out of prison. But it's a complicated case: the victims had ties with the Russian mob, betting circles, and drug dealing, and the DA is Robin's new boyfriend. Robin wants to believe that Mandy is innocent, but the evidence against her is persuasive. As in the series' previous installments, Robin is a likable, resilient woman who's still learning the business of lawyering and is determined that there's no mystery she can't solve. Pairing interesting characters with suspenseful stories, this--and Margolin's other legal thrillers, beginning with 1978's Heartstone--is perfect for fans of more-famous hitmakers John Grisham and Scott Turow.

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