Book Review | Spider Games by KJ McGillick

Book Description

How do you kill a spider?  

 Kate O’Brien is pure dedication; she believes in the justice system. This feisty, no-nonsense attorney works herself to the bone every day, tirelessly building her reputation and career. She is on the path to being a legal star. That is until her corrupt law partner, Bill Brown, a criminal defense attorney, achieves a degree of notoriety which attracts the interest of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

When the inconceivable happens, Bill is arrested, charged with multiple counts of drug trafficking and money laundering leaving the law firm in chaos. As Kate slowly digs her way out, what she finds sends her down a dark path that could lead to her imprisonment or death. Bill has meticulously set her up to pay for his malevolent crimes. His cohorts, fearing she knows too much, have marked her for death. Can she stay ahead of the FBI and unravel crimes that reach as far as China and Russia? Or will she need to assume a new identity to save her own life?

A fast-paced thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. Suspenseful crime fiction with twists and turns throughout this masterfully plotted novel keeps you on the edge of your seat. It may be read as a standalone and serves as the first book in the series, A Conspiracy of Betrayal.

My Review

Tessa Talks Books rating: Rave

Spider Games is the third book that I’ve read by K.J. McGillick, and this one is just as delightfully suspenseful as the other two. Spider Games is an edge of your seat legal thriller that builds and builds until the pages can’t turn fast enough.

Favorite character: Norma Wilkie

Whenever people ask me who my favorite Marvel superhero is, I always say Pepper Potts. Who is Pepper Potts, you ask? She is the assistant to Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man and she is a superhero in many of the same ways as Norma is in this story. Norma makes things happen. She doesn’t sit back and let fate or others dictate what happens to her. She unapologetically kicks butt and takes names.

What I Liked

The legal setting is intriguing and unexpected in this story. FBI agents, DEA agents, spies, criminals, and in the middle of it all are two lawyers – partners. One is involved in illegal activities, and the other will be implicated. Who are the good guys, and who are the bad guys? I love it when I question that throughout a story, and I did throughout Spider Games. The suspense grew with every page turned until I couldn’t put the book down if I wanted to do so.

All of the characters have distinct personalities that grow and change throughout the novel. I thought that Kate O’Brien, the main character, showed the most growth. She went from a belligerent victim to a woman who is capable of standing up for herself on her own. I didn’t care for her very much in the beginning, but by the end, I was rooting for her.

I loved how the mystery concluded. Of course, I can’t say a whole lot about it, but I can say that it was a thrilling and satisfying ending to the story.

To Read or Not to Read

If you love thrillers, especially legal thrillers, you should give this story by KJ McGillick a read.

I was provided with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author

K. J. McGillick was born in New York and once she started to walk she never stopped running. But that’s what New Yorker’s do. Right? A Registered Nurse, a lawyer now author.

As she evolved so did her career choices. After completing her graduate degree in nursing, she spent many years in the university setting sharing the dreams of the enthusiastic nursing students she taught. After twenty rewarding years in the medical field she attended law school and has spent the last twenty-four years as an attorney helping people navigate the turbulent waters of the legal system. Not an easy feat. And now? Now she is sharing the characters she loves with readers hoping they are intrigued by her twisting and turning plots and entertained by her writing.