When defending a suspect of murder because a bigger web of lies, suspects and danger…

Synopsis

Former prosecutor Jordan Monroe thought estate law was safe. Then her mentor dies, leaving her to defend Dr. Mallory James in a double-murder case that could resurrect her career—or destroy what’s left of it.

Dr. Ian Stratton, a respected Harbor Point surgeon, and his pharmaceutical-rep mistress are dead from lethal injections. The evidence points straight to Mallory: a volatile affair, public threats, and a mountain of motive. But as Jordan builds her defense, she uncovers something bigger—a hospital drowning in secrets, cover-ups, and dangerous enemies.

Inside Harbor Medical, three shadowy suspects emerge:

• Dr. Blake Rowe — Stratton’s betrayed best friend with deadly drug knowledge

• Evelyn Grant — a disgraced tech stalking Jordan’s niece

• Sarah Rowe — Blake’s wife, lying about her access to the victim

When Grant’s obsession turns violent and surveillance evidence leaks, Jordan must protect her family while fighting manipulated witnesses, missing evidence, and a system built to bury the truth. The deeper she digs, the more she questions Mallory’s innocence—and her own role in defending her.

In a world where everyone lies, Jordan must decide how far she’ll go to win. Because the most dangerous predator… is the one you never see coming.

Perfect for fans of John Grisham, Lisa Gardner, and Melinda Leigh, Contagion of Lies delivers a relentless legal thriller where courtroom drama collides with psychological suspense—and every decision carries a cost.

My review

Jordan Monroe put her time of being a prosecutor behind her and has recently started working at estate law. Estate law is for sure a safer choice, or at least that is what she thought… Because due of loyalty her mentor has towards the family, now they are defending Dr. Mallory James, accused of a double murder. Even if Dr. James is not a likeable person at all, together with her mentor, Jordan is ready to pull her weight. Until her mentor suddenly dies in court, and it is up to Jordan to make the jury understand that there are more suspects than just Dr. James. Because Dr. Ian Stratton, the first murdered victim, for sure had a reputation of collecting women, just like he seduced the second victim, pharmaceutical rep Sophia Kane. The more Jordan is trying to build her defense, the more secrets, lies and suspects are being uncovered. And while Jordan is trying to clear her client’s name and uncover the truth, the more her own family needs protection from someone they don’t know and don’t see coming…

Beside a few speeding tickets, I have never been in touch with the law. I have also never been in a courtroom. The things I know about it, is what I have read in books or seen in movies or on tv. So I have never been faced with murder or any kind of crime, myself or involving someone around me (luckily!).

I also do not know how ‘easy’ it is to change from being a prosecutor to estate law. Yet I admired Jordan as she made that choice, and even if estate law is a safer choice, she wants to make it work, and show her worth.

When Dr. Mallory James arrives at the scene, practically demanding that the firm Jordan is working for, helps her with the incriminations she is facing, everything starts to shift, and not all in a good way.

It is for sure not easy to like Dr. James, and I could understand how the forces and the prosecutors see her as the main suspect. Not only several of her actions are disputable, but her behaviour in general is not that of a compassionate, empathic woman. So I was wondering how Jordan her team could possibly turn the cards.

But the case isn’t that straightforward as everyone is hoping, one way or another. Because the more the story evolves, the more questions are being raised, the more suspects appear, the more lies are being revealed.

And that sickened me a little bit, seeing how people can be at their ugliest. How they can use other people for their own advantages, for their own pleasure, without taking feelings, emotions and consequences in account. Even best of friends don’t matter…

In this book, we see the whole picture, even if it is just bit by bit. It start with the discovery of Dr. Ian Stratton, to the investigation, to the actual trial and all that comes in between and what Jordan and those around are going through.

I found every step interesting, even if some bits, especially at the trial were repetitive, but it also shows how it all truly happens. Things aren’t always exciting, filled with action. But we also see how the same event can be seen in a different view. How one presence at a certain time can be seen in two different views.

At the same time, I kept wondering what truly had happened, who was the real murderer and why. There are in this book so many possibilities, all believable. I did not have any idea what the real truth was, I saw suspects, suspicion, wariness and fear growing with every possibility. To be reaching the end to be just be in shock once again, and I felt even a bit unsatisfied by it. Because, without giving anything away, it felt like justice didn’t prevail completely… But that is also the reality unfortunately…

This story for sure kept me guessing, failing at seeing the truth and I found myself trying to understand what truly was taking place. And that is when you know that you are reading a good thriller, when you are trying to grasp for the truth, but you fail…