The latest Robert Dugoni novel is the third in the Keera Duggan series, and in “Her Cold Justice,” Keera Duggan faces another murder trial in which she must defend the accused. This time Michael, the accused, is a young man who also happens to be her private investigator, J.P. Harrison’s nephew. Michael insists he didn’t do it.

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 nights in a part-time job 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.

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, Anh Tran, the prosecutor, is determined to make sure Michael is convicted of the murders. Her nickname is “Batwoman,” and she is known for putting drug dealers away in prison. Her speciality 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 and subverts her trial plans by presenting information that Keera was going to use, but using it for the prosecution’s benefit. Tran also plays dirty, not disclosing all the prosecution evidence, which is required under rules of discovery. Then there is the matter of the two prison informants who “volunteer” evidence that Michael had confessed to the murders to them in prison, but not only has Tran concealed the fact of their testimony from Keera until just before they testify, they don’t 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 right there working hard to exonerate his nephew. It seems that there is no way Keera will be able to help Michael, but unlikely allies appear, and there are surprise witnesses that come forward to help.

The first two books 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 the opposite side of the cases, but there’s definitely some attraction, and it seems obvious where that might be heading. But in this novel, 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 of the books in the series. Keera is a fabulous main character with her background as a chess competitor, having to think and plan her moves carefully and quickly, which are skills of paramount importance in the courtroom.

This novel, especially, really 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 while she leaves no stone unturned in her quest for justice. This is a Dugoni series you will not want to miss.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.