In HER COLD JUSTICE, the third installment in Robert Dugoni’s Keera Duggan series, our protagonist faces another murder trial in which she must defend the accused. This time, the accused is a young man named Michael Westbrook, who also happens to be the nephew of her private investigator, JP Harrison.

Michael lives with his single mother, and while he had gotten mixed up with a bad crowd in high school, he's trying to set his life right. He works after hours for an air cargo company and attends the community college during the day. One night, when his car wouldn't start, he took an Uber to work but got a ride home from a coworker. That turned out to be a life-changing mistake. When the coworker and his girlfriend were found murdered the next morning, Michael was accused of the crime. Except for the actual killer, Michael was the last one to see his coworker alive.

"Be prepared to be enthralled as we follow Keera, who leaves no stone unturned in her quest for justice. You will not want to miss this series."

What Keera Duggan finds out after JP asks her to represent Michael is that there is practically no hard evidence proving that Michael was the killer. Yet, while all the "evidence" is circumstantial, prosecutor Anh Tran is determined to make sure that Michael is convicted. Her nickname is "Batwoman," and she is known for putting drug dealers away in prison. Her specialty is getting convictions with only circumstantial evidence, so Keera is rightly worried.

Once the trial begins, it becomes clear that somehow Tran knows Keera's intentions. She subverts her plans by presenting information that Keera was going to use, but instead using it for the prosecution's benefit. Tran also plays dirty, not disclosing all of their evidence, which is required under rules of discovery. Then there is the matter of the two prison informants who "volunteer" that Michael had confessed to them that he committed the murders. Not only has Tran concealed their testimony from Keera until just before they take the stand, they don't even seem reliable. Michael insists that they are lying.

There is much for Keera and those who work with her in the family law practice to investigate, and JP is doing all he can to exonerate his nephew. It seems that there is no way Keera will be able to help Michael, but unlikely allies appear, and surprise witnesses come forward.

The first two books in the series present a lot of background about Keera; her father, Patsy Duggan, who started the law firm but whose alcoholism ended his brilliant career; her sisters, who work at the firm; and Frank Rossi, a detective with whom Keera has a "thing." It's not a romance, and it's not really a friendship because they are often on opposite sides of the cases. But there's definitely some attraction, and it seems obvious where that might be heading. In this novel, though, the central theme is that of the case, the trial, and some fishy shenanigans that cast suspicion on the prosecutor.

The writing is taut, and every page works to propel the plot forward. The characters are complex and believable. We feel like we know them, especially those of us who have read all three installments. Keera is a fabulous main character. Her background as a chess competitor means that she has to think and plan her moves carefully and quickly, which are skills of paramount importance in the courtroom.

HER COLD JUSTICE presents a look into trials in which people are convicted with circumstantial evidence. We know that innocent people go to jail, and Dugoni demonstrates explicitly how that could happen. Be prepared to be enthralled as we follow Keera, who leaves no stone unturned in her quest for justice. You will not want to miss this series.