Cara Putnam: Lethal Intent

 By Kelly Bridgewater

 

About the Book

Book:  Lethal Intent

Author: Cara Putman

Genre: Romantic Suspense

If they expected silence, they hired the wrong woman.

Caroline Bragg’s life has never been better. She and Brandon Lancaster are taking their relationship to the next level, and she has a new dream job as legal counsel for Praecursoria—a research lab that is making waves with its cutting-edge genetic therapies. The company’s leukemia treatments even promise to save desperately sick kids—kids like eleven-year-old Bethany, a critically ill foster child at Brandon’s foster home. 

When Caroline’s enthusiastic boss wants to enroll Bethany in experimental trials prematurely, Caroline objects, putting her at odds with her colleagues. They claim the only goal at Praecursoria is to save lives. But does someone have another agenda? 

Brandon faces his own crisis. As laws governing foster homes shift, he’s on the brink of losing the group home he’s worked so hard to build. When Caroline learns he’s a Praecursoria investor, it becomes legally impossible to confide in him. Will the secrets she keeps become a wedge that separates them forever? And can she save Bethany from the very treatments designed to heal her? 

This latest romantic legal thriller by bestseller Cara Putman shines a light on the shadowy world of scientific secrets and corporate vendettas—and the ethical dilemmas that plague the place where science and commerce meet.

My Thoughts:

Lethal Intent takes a look into the inner workings of a lawyer who works for a pharmaceutical company. Cara Putnam, who is a lawyer, also writes from firsthand experience. I do enjoy how she crafts a plot that takes a little bit closer looker at all the details that go into working as a lawyer. It was nice to see Caroline's story. I enjoyed seeing her interact with previous characters and seeing her deal with her day job and handling a growing romance. Lucky for me, the story did not completely center around the romance, which is the way I enjoy stories. I do not mind the romance as long it is not the complete focus. The plot had a lot in common with the hunt for the vaccine for Covid-19. I imagined this is what is really going on behind the pages that the public does not see, but the lawyers are scratching their heads wondering how the vaccine can go through the channels so quickly. Putnam does a wonderful job at keeping my attention. I have enjoyed all her novels and can't wait to see what she crafts next.

I received a complimentary copy of Lethal Intent by Cara Putnam from Thomas Nelson Publishing through Celebrate Lit Tours, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase Lethal Intent

About the Author

As a preteen Cara Putman watched lawyers change legislative opinions at an important legislative hearing in Nebraska. At that time, she wondered if she became an attorney if people would give her words the same weight. An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska Lincoln, George Mason University School of Law and Krannert School of Management at Purdue University, Cara has turned her passion for words into award-winning stories that capture readers. Her legal experience makes its way into her stories where strong women confront real challenges.

An award-winning author of more than 30 books, Cara writes legal thrillers, WWII romances, and romantic suspense because she believes that no matter what happens hope is there, waiting for us to reach for it.

When she’s not writing, Cara is an over-educated attorney who lectures in law and communications at the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University and homeschools her children. She and her family live in Indiana, the land of seasons. You can read chapters for most of her books and connect with Cara at her website: http://caraputman.com.

 More from Cara

Each novel has a unique genesis story. The spark that launches it into a journey of 90,000 words. For Lethal Intent, that journey began with a friend’s journey of childhood leukemia with her oldest. From watching their family wind through years of treatment including cutting edge therapy trials. Then it developed with the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack and the thought what would someone be willing to do if they believed they’d found the next strain of immortal cells. The lead characters made appearances in other books, but now would have their opportunity to step to center stage. The story morphed and changed, dictated by the vagaries of the law and changes.

Each story has a spark. For Caroline it was a brainstorming session with my writing buddies Rachel Hauck, Colleen Coble, and Denise Hunter. That was when her backstory developed, all the things that happened to her to form her into the adult she is on the pages. One who cares deeply about others but who is fundamentally scared, longing for a place she can relax and take a deep breath.

Each story has a spark. For Brandon, it was brainstorming with another writing friend Tricia Goyer that lead to a creative job for a hero that wasn’t the typical law enforcement. His role with the group foster home was set and the backstory filled in quickly. What would it be like to be separated from and lose a brother in the foster care system? Would that generate this need to keep sibling groups together? And then the law changes and the fabric of your professional identity and something so much deeper is threatened.

Each story has a spark. The pharmaceutical start-up where ethics collides with the desire to save children. The push to do whatever it takes overshadowing the guardrails of the law. If they expected silence, they hired the wrong woman. But does Caroline really have the strength to battle and does she need to?

Lethal Intent grew from each of these sparks and many more to develop into a story I can’t wait for you to read. In the process I learned immense amounts about CAR-T cell therapies and foster care law. Most of all, I hope you’ll fall into the pages and be engrossed in a story you can’t bring yourself to put down until the final page.

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Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Cara is giving away  the grand prize package of a “Just one more chapter” pillow cover, a copy of the book, an Erin Condren journal, and a hand-stamped bracelet!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/10627/lethal-intent-celebration-tour-giveaway

Cara Putnam: Flight Risk

By Kelly Bridgewater

Bestselling author Cara Putman returns with a romantic legal thriller that will challenge the assumptions of truth tellers everywhere.

Savannah Daniels has worked hard to build her law practice, to surround herself with good friends, and to be the loyal aunt her troubled niece can always count on. But since her ex-husband’s betrayal, she has trouble trusting anyone.

Jett Glover’s father committed suicide over a false newspaper report that ruined his reputation. Now a fierce champion of truth, Jett is writing the story of his journalism career—an international sex-trafficking exposé that will bring down a celebrity baseball player and the men closest to him, including Savannah’s ex-husband.

When Jett’s story breaks, tragedy ensues. Then a commercial airline crashes, and one of Savannah’s clients is implicated in the crash. Men connected to the scandal, including her ex, begin to die amid mysterious circumstances, and Savannah’s niece becomes an unwitting target.

Against their better instincts, Jett and Savannah join ranks to sort the facts from fiction. But can Savannah trust the reporter who threw her life into chaos? And can Jett face the possibility that he’s made the biggest mistake of his life?

From Goodreads

My Thoughts:

How much do you really know about a person? In Flight Risk by Cara Putman, her legal thriller takes readers on a hunt to answer this question. Savannah is a lawyer for her own firm with her three lawyer friends that have told their stories in Beyond Justice, Imperfect Justice, and Delayed Justice. The tension in Flight Risk takes off in the opening chapter with a news story written by the hero, Jett. From then on, Putnam keeps reminding readers of Savannah's personal life and how it interacts with her job. The romance between Jett and Savannah is not a top priority in the story, which is the way I like a romance to be in thrillers I read. The suspense kept getting tighter and tighter as the story moved along. I really had a hard time putting the novel down. I planned 2.5 days to finish the novel, but I finished it in one day. Overall, Flight Risk is a legal thriller that is more on the personal level than what happens in the court room. A good chase to seek justice at the end of the novel.

I received a complimentary copy of Flight Risk by Cara Putnam through Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase Flight Risk

Cara Putnam: Delayed Justice

By Kelly Bridgewater

She had long given up the desire to be loved. Now she only needed to be heard.

Jaime Nichols went to law school to find the voice she never had as a child, and her determination to protect girls and women in the path of harm drives her in ways both spoken and unspoken. As Jamie, now a criminal defense attorney, prepares to press charges against someone who wronged her long ago, she must face not only her demons but also the unimaginable forces that protect the powerful man who tore her childhood apart.

Chandler Bolton, a retired veteran, is tasked with helping a young victim who must testify in court—and along with his therapy dog, Aslan, he’s up for the task. When he first meets Jaime, all brains, beauty, and brashness, he can’t help but be intrigued. As Chandler works to break through the wall 
Jaime has built around herself, the two of them discover that they may have more to offer one another than they ever could have guessed—and that together, they may be able to help this endangered child.

This thrilling installment of the Hidden Justice series explores the healing power of resolution and the weight of words given voice. And as Jaime pursues delayed justice of her own, she unearths eternal truths that will change the course of her life.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Cara Putnam writes legal thrillers, romantic suspense, and historical romance. I have read a number of her books, including the previous two books in this series. With her latest installment of Delayed Justice, the title fits perfectly. I couldn't wait to read Jamie's story and see what darks secrets lie in her past and how she will deal with them.

My favorite aspect  of the Delayed Justice was including The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis as a tool to show God's love even when the persons past isn't perfect. Chandler did a wonderful job suggesting and donating a copy for Jamie. I really enjoyed Putnam's insight into the story. I have read the Chronicles of Narnia a number of times and seen the movie. I even wrote two graduate level research papers in graduate school about the stories, but the profound insight into the story that reached into Jamie's soul brought tears to my eyes. I LOVED this part of the story. It was raw and real.

The emotions of Jamie ran true to everything I have ever read about victims about sexual assault. Putnam dug deep and really brought Jamie's past and present hurts to life. I kept feeling bad for Jamie, but kept cheering her on at the same time. She is definitely a strong heroine that I admired.

As for Chandler, he is an amazing hero. He loves Jamie even though he knows what happened in her past. He moved slow and kept praying for her to come to know Christ. He didn't rush her and proved that she was someone worth waiting for. Now that is a wonderful hero.

While the genre of Delayed Justice is romantic suspense, it does lay more heavily on romance than the suspense. A little bit of suspense was sprinkled throughout the novel with a climactic moment that came and went in two pages, but the novel didn't rely on the suspense element as much. The plot was more on the transformation of Jamie and the growing emotions between Chandler and Jamie. I did enjoy how Putnam allowed the story to end without the cliché proposal or wedding scene. Thank you!

Overall, Delayed Justice by Cara Putnam does dive deeply into the emotions and thoughts of the aftershock of a sexual assault. I loved the characters in this story and hope to see them more in future novels. The spiritual element in this story is wonderful and would be a great way to share Jesus with others. Delayed Justice is intriguing and raw. I really enjoyed reading this novel.

I received a complimentary copy of Delayed Justice by Cara Putnam from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author:

From Amazon

Since the time I could read Nancy Drew, I have wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 I attended a book signing at my local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, is history. There I met Colleen Coble. With prompting from my husband, I shared my dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, I've been writing award-winning books with the count currently at 29.

In addition to writing, I am a homeschooling mom of four, attorney, lecturer at a Big Ten university, active in women's ministry, and all around crazy woman. Crazy about God, my husband, and my kids. I graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!), George Mason Law School, and Purdue University's MBA program. You can learn more about my books at http://www.caraputman.com. And if you'd like a copy of my legal suspense novella, Dying for Love, simply connect with me here (http://www.caraputman.com/contact/) , and I'll send you the link. (Taken from Amazon.)

 Tour Page on Celebrate Lit

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Cara is giving away a grand prize package that includes a Courage Dear Heart bracelet, a The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe print, a copy of Delayed Justice, and a box of Turkish Delight!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d5c4/delayed-justice-celebration-tour-giveaway

Cara Putnam: Imperfect Justice

By Kelly Bridgewater

The police say the woman was a murderer. Emilie Wesley knows they can’t be talking about her client . . . can they?

To the world it seems obvious: Kaylene Adams killed her daughter and then was shot by police. Attorney Emilie Wesley knows a different story: Kaylene would never hurt anyone and was looking for a way out of a controlling, abusive relationship. Her death shakes Emilie’s belief that she can make a difference for women in violent marriages. Self-doubt plagues her as she struggles to continue her work in the wake of the tragedy.

Reid Billings thought he knew his sister—right up until he learned how she died. He discovers a letter from Kaylene begging him to fight for custody of her daughters if anything should happen to her. No attorney in her right mind would support an uncle instead of the father in a custody case, but 
Kaylene’s letter claims Emilie Wesley will help him.

Thrown together in the race to save Kaylene’s surviving daughter, Emily and Reid pursue the constantly evasive truth. If they can hang on to hope together, can they save a young girl—and find a future for themselves in the process?

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Imperfect Justice by Cara Putnam is a great mixture of suspense, romance, and a legal thriller to keep a number of unique and different fans happy. She didn't compose this novel to fit into one tiny little genre. It fits across a number of them. I enjoy stories that feature strong women who are seeking justice for other characters and for themselves.

The writing is clear and concise. I had no problem figuring out what Emilie's issues were. Putnam does a great job at dragging me into her personal and professional life and allowing me to travel with her as she struggles through her cases. Putnam does a great job at bringing me into the setting. Living in Indiana like Putnam, it was nice to see a familiar sports team like the Colts mentioned.

The romance was sprinkled into the story between Emilie and Reid Billings. It was not overwhelming or take over the story. Emilie and Reid's romance was slow going, but Putnam allowed them to actually explore their feelings like a real-life couple would. I didn't gag or flip through the pages while the romance was going on.

The plot with hunting for resolution for Kaylene and her daughters was exciting and kept me flipping the pages. I really enjoyed how Putnam told the story of seeking justice without really smacking upside the head with a resolution that I was told. The characters of Emilie and Reid worked really well together to solve the mystery.  I enjoyed spending time with the plot and was fascinated as the story moved along. If I wasn't so busy, I would have jumped in and finished the story quickly.

Overall, Imperfect Justice is a unique story that mixes well with the romance and the suspense. I wanted to know and hoped that Kaylene would get her deserved justice by the end of the novel.

I received a complimentary copy of Imperfect Justice by Cara Putnam from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars

Cara Putnam: Beyond Justice

By Kelly Bridgewater

Hayden McCarthy is on track to become the youngest partner in her prestigious D.C. law firm . . . if the case she's just been handed doesn't destroy her first.

Hayden McCarthy knows firsthand the pain when justice is not served. It's why she became an attorney and why she's so driven in her career. When she's assigned a wrongful death case against the government, she isn't sure if it's the lucky break she needs to secure a partnership—or an attempt to make sure she never gets there.

Further complicating matters is Andrew, her roommate’s distractingly attractive cousin. But Andrew’s father is a Congressman, and Hayden's currently taking on the government. Could the timing be any worse?

The longer she keeps the case active, the higher the stakes become. Unknown enemies seem determined to kill the case—or her. Logic and self-preservation would indicate she should close the case. But how can she, when justice is still just beyond her reach?

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

I enjoy a good romantic suspense that is different and doesn't read like every other one out there. I have read plenty of romantic suspense to know that the story can be taken two different ways. I have seen some authors who rely highly on the romance side, whereas, I have read some authors who rely heavy on the suspense side. So it depends on that author and what they want more in their story. As for Cara Putnam, I believe she wanted to side with the suspense side more.

With Cara Putnam's Beyond Justice, she didn't rely on the typical hero and heroine professions of law enforcement. Instead, she took a lawyer and a Senator's son, who creates political cartoons. It was refreshing to see something else, and I believe Putnam did a good job at creating these two characters. Both of these characters really didn't change or have a dark moment that I had to see them work through. As for the legal profession of Hayden, Putnam uses her own knowledge of the courtroom, which shined in her heroine. Hayden is a strong, confident woman who knows what she needs to win this case, and she will stop at nothing to seek justice for her clients.

Majority of the story focused on allowing Hayden to solve the case she was handed by her boss. A dead Mexican son as he crossed into America. The Mexican drug cartel stories have been overdone and usually have the same predictable ending. Putnam did not. She took a different route and showed how far the drug cartel can reach into our American culture. It made me shiver as I thought of how it could reach to my small town. Putnam does include the typical putting the heroine's live in danger with someone chasing her and getting closer as Hayden grew closer and closer to the truth. But  . . . there were moments where the story slowed down a lot. Many conversations showing Hayden's thought process that I felt could have been peeled back a little.

Being a romantic suspense novel, I expected some type of romance between the hero and heroine, but Putnam uses the romance as a side note, really a glimpse among the suspense. Not demanding the complete plot. What romance happens on the pages, I think, should be deleted because the romantic ending doesn't really match the romance in the rest of the story.

On a final note, I did enjoy the story and believe that fans of Lynette Eason, Irene Hannon, and Brandilyn Collins will enjoy Beyond Justice.  I think the audience to read Beyond Justice should be mature enough to handle the information presented. I wouldn't want to scare some kids into thinking that this happens around them all the time.

I received a complimentary copy of Cara Putnam's Beyond Justice from Thomas Nelson Publishing, and the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out 5 stars