The second entry in Robert Dugoni’s new series, BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT, is a good one. In fact, it is so good that if you’ve read it but not the opening installment, HER DEADLY GAME, you may want to go back and do so. Keera Duggan is a criminal defense attorney who works with her father in the family law firm. The first book tells us more about her backstory, but we know she began her law career as a prosecutor, then left after a misguided relationship with her superior went south.

On a personal note, I'll never forget what an attorney once told me. He said, "When you practice criminal law, you end up feeling like a criminal." At the end of the rape trial that opens BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT, Keera is not feeling so proud of herself when she gets her client off. Her father, Patsy, assures her that what they do makes the system work. If the system can't prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the defendant did the crime, then he or she must be found not guilty. That doesn't help Keera, who believes that her client is guilty. She knows that a rape victim didn't get justice, and a rapist just went free.

"Each book [in the series] is fascinating and delivers a nail-biting trial and characters who evoke our compassion in spite of their failures and weaknesses."

After the trial, Keera plans a vacation that involves relaxing, sleeping late, staying home and doing nothing. But an urgent text from her sister, Ella, calls her back into the office, where she sees a face from her past. Jenna Bernstein and her father are sitting in the conference room. Keera and Jenna had gone to school together. Their parents thought they'd be great friends as Keera's siblings were much older, and Jenna was an only child. But as Keera relates stories from her childhood, in which Jenna was not just a mean girl but a borderline psychopath, we see how impossible it would be for Keera to represent Jenna in what she is about to face: a trial for the murder of her former business partner and lover.

Jenna had become a wunderkind at the age of 22 when she started a biotech company, the promise of which seemed that they could create a product that would be a fountain of youth. It would cure disease and rewrite the path of illnesses. Jenna appeared on the covers of magazines and was interviewed extensively. She raised billions of dollars for her company. But a few years previously, the chief scientist at the company had met with Jenna and told her that the rosy picture she was giving investors and the public were based on lies, and he was planning on going public with that information. The actual science was nowhere near what was being promised. That night, the scientist was shot and killed in his home. Jenna was tried for the crime, but Patsy got her off. The biotech company fell apart, and federal investigators are still examining its principals for fraud.

Now, Patsy is in rehab after falling off the wagon, and Keera is the lead trial attorney in the firm. While Ella is a capable lawyer, Keera's background in chess, which is a big part of HER DEADLY GAME, has helped her think more than one move ahead of her opposing counsel. Keera is able to look at the big picture and figure out how to mislead her opponents in different ways. Make him or her think you are going to move at one side of the chess board, but make your surprise offensive from the other side.

Jenna and her father are in the law office because Sirus Kohl, her former partner --- personally and in business --- was found murdered in his home. When details come out about Jenna putting on a disguise and walking to the park behind Sirius' place the night of the murder, it appears to be a slam dunk that she will be convicted of the crime. The problem is that there is no smoking gun. Literally. The gun can't be found, and there is no direct evidence linking Jenna to the crime scene. The only clues are a few text messages that were exchanged between them the night of the murder.

Keera knows that Jenna is an incredibly gifted prevaricator. Her lies are extremely convincing; they are the reason she was not convicted in the previous murder trial. Keera also isn't sure that she is willing to represent Jenna after their horrible childhood past. But when she learns more about something that Jenna's father did for Patsy, an act of incredible kindness, she rethinks. She also considers her father's advice that sometimes the most difficult cases are the ones from which you learn the most.

Those who are investing in the series will be pleased with the progression of Keera's personal life and a glimpse of her romantic interest. Each book is fascinating and delivers a nail-biting trial and characters who evoke our compassion in spite of their failures and weaknesses.