I received Defensive Wounds from Goodreads.
This book was a fast, absorbing read. I had not read any of the previous novels featuring Theresa MacLean, but quickly got to know and like the characters. The story was interesting and I loved reading the technical forensic information. Although I figured out part of the mystery, the end was a surprise! I am definitely planning to go back and read Ms. Black's previous novels. ( )

SLOW. ( )

Theresa gets a call that a murder has happened at the Ritz-Carlton. Attorney, Marie Corrigan was murdered. No one really sheds a tear for Marie. Everyone thought she was a major "B" including Theresa. At first Marie's death seems like a sexual act gone wrong but when another attorney ends up dead, it is up to Theresa to uncover the truth before it is too late.

Another book marked off my TBR pile. Sorry I did not read this book sooner. I really like Theresa. She is smart and calls the shots in a male driven job. I was impressed by how she solved the murders. While at the same time trying to be a good mother to her teen daughter. I have to admit that I could have cared less about the victims but the crime itself in why the lawyers were murdered had me really intrigued. To be honest, I was trying to solve the murder before Theresa did. I failed. However when it was all revealed I was like "I did not see that coming". This is always a good thing when it comes to a murder, mystery, suspense novel. You want to be surprised and it is nice when this does happen. So often a lot of books in this genre can become very predictable. ( )

In this fourth novel in Lisa Black’s captivating suspense series, forensic investigator Theresa MacLean finds herself embroiled in a case in which everyone has a motive and everyone is a suspect—especially when high-powered defense attorneys start turning up dead. (Amazon.com)

The mystery and plot were intriguing and the ending was unexpected, but there was too much forensic detail in my opinion, which slowed the pace. ( )

I enjoyed listening to this book although I figured out who perpetrated one of the crimes before it was revealed. Defense lawyers are having a convention in the Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland. Theresa MacLean, a forensic investigator in Cleveland, is summoned to the Ritz by her daughter who is working on the front desk. One of the lawyers, Marie Corrigan, has been murdered in the Presidential suite. Theresa starts working on the scene immediately. The body is naked and tied up with her head bashed in by a hotel chair. Is it a lovers' tryst gone bad? Perhaps but when two more lawyers are killed in the hotel in a few days it seems unlikely. Meanwhile Theresa discovers that the boy who is hanging with her daughter at work was accused of murder when he was a juvenile. He was found not guilty in his trial at which he was represented by the same Marie Corrigan. But everyone knows that not guilty is not the same as innocent and Theresa is worried about her daughter dating him.

Apparently the author was a forensic scientist in Cleveland so when she is dealing with the forensic evidence she gets all the details right. There are a few snide comments about CSI because in real life forensics don't run as smoothly as shown on those shows. The plotting was quite good but the characterizations were a little wooden I thought. Nevertheless I would recommend it to anyone who likes forensic mysteries such as Kathy Reichs' books. ( )