Nina Reilly followed her heart to Carmel in Presumption of Death. She reunites with former legal colleagues in Unlucky in Law. The current case involves a young man is hired to dig up the bones of a Russian immigrant. On top of the skeleton is the plastic-wrapped recently deceased body of a woman. The young man is charged with murder and Nina is on his defense team.
The dynamic sibling writing team of Pamela and Mary O’Shaughnessy have penned a strong novel of legal strategy woven around Russian history and legend. Nina’s love life with private investigator Paul takes a significant step. However, most of the pages concentrate on the case at hand.
Unlucky in Law acquaints readers to Nina’s former mentor Klaus Pohlmann and others in the firm. O’Shaughnessy introduces the characteristics and idiosyncrasies of the support staff but doesn’t expand on the details. This leaves Klaus looking like a confused old man and keeps the case at a distance.
This is the tenth novel in the Nina Reilly series and it has one of the stronger plots in the set. O’Shaughnessy keeps the installments fresh by changing the scenery and letting Nina take risks. In this case, the heroine takes the task of second chair on a disorganized defense team. This leads to many surprises for the reader. Start with Motion to Suppress and follow Nina’s adventures in order. Then feel lucky to be able to fully appreciate Unlucky in Law.
