BREACH OF PROMISE, Perri O'Shaughnessy

I had promised myself I would read this series in order.  Unfortunately though, the library didn't have Obstruction of Justice (#3) and I just can't wait to read another Nina Reilly book so I went ahead with Breach of Promise (#4).  This is like comfort food for me, I settle down comfortably and lose myself in the story with both familiar and new characters that seem like real people.

Reilly is a struggling lawyer raising a son, Bob, alone in Lake Tahoe.  She settled there because her brother and his wife live there with their children.  Occasionally there also is Paul, a private investigator she hires for some of her cases.  She's making  enough money to get by on but longs for that "big" case that will bring in sizable fees and a boost for her reputation.

When that big case does come in, who should her opposing attorney be but Jeffrey Riesner.   Riesner has made no bones about wanting to put Reilly out of business and out of state if possible.  He's just this side of shady in his dealings, which puts him opposite Reilly in philosophy and personality as well.  

The case promises millions if she can win it, but presents enough obstacles that she only takes it because of the issue involved.  Lindy and Michael Markov have been together for years, during which time they founded and made a huge success of a company.  He is a former boxer who was not successful in anything else but Lindy is bright, inventive, and possessed of a brilliant marketing mind.  In middle age they are millionaires and (in the throes of a midlife crisis apparently) he tosses Lindy out, fires her from the company, and becomes engaged to their financial officer.  There is a total lack of documentation for Lindy's part in their success, for instance, a marriage license.

Markov is a real heel that you want to slap all over the place, but Lindy although bright in everything else, is dense as pea-soup fog about her husband (common law, not recognized in California).  She thinks he'll come back to her.  Normally Reilly works alone but this case is beyond her usual style so she hires a big name lawyer from the coast as well as an expert on juries.  Everyone has dollar signs in their eyes which leads to serious complications and, in the end, real danger for Nina and Paul.

This story reeled me in like O'Shaughnessy books always do.  I have several books to read for specific date reviews now but as soon as I can I'll be reading the next Nina Reilly story.

Highly recommended
Source:  friend's stash