Privileged Witness

The main character is believable, lovable and real. The story line in her books are excellent, easy to follow and surprises as the plot unfolds.

If you haven't read Rebecca Forster's books yet - they are fantastic! If you like James Patterson - you will love her books too! Great characters!

Ms. Foster has done it again...from her first thriller to the last....she has outdone herself....I think "Privileged Witness" was my favorite....but...I need another one....please

Just finished this latest addition to the Witness series and I highly recommend it. It is well written, captivating, and the plot has many twists. I have read all three in the series and this is even better than the first two books (which were outstanding). I think the characters are well-developed, especially for a series, and they all have flaws, which is a good thing in a novel. The subplots are good and one in particular (I won't spoil things) is very well developed and creates its own suspense. Josie Bates is one of the most likeable characters I have read and the author makes you sympathetic to her predicaments. As a lawyer, I can say that the court scenes are vivid and realistic, which isn't always the case in this genre. From a writer's perspective, the scenes and dialogue are nicely constructed. This author knows how to write. If you want a fun and entertaining read, buy this book.

I don't put a lot of legal thrillers on my personal reading list, but you'll never find me passing up a Rebecca Forster novel. The mystery and suspense of each Forster whatwhywho-dunnit will keep you flipping the pages relentlessly, but it is the heart and realism of her complex, incredibly human characters (flaws and all) that make Forster such a special writer. You won't find a missive of dry, boring legal fiction here, as Forster's heroine, Josie Baylor-Bates, seems to find herself in one extremely personal case after another. Josie's a remarkable woman - tall, athletic, unyielding, and yet quite vulnerable. In Hostile Witness, she made the case of a troubled young girl (the daughter of an old college friend) accused of murder a personal one - and ended up becoming the legal guardian of the accused. In Silent Witness, she defended the man she loves from a charge of murdering his own step-son, learning many unsettling things about him in the process. You would think that's about as personal as a case can get. You'd be wrong, as Privileged Witness reunites her with her first love, Matthew McCreary, a rising politician whose sister (a sister he had always told Josie was dead) stands accused of murdering Matthew's wife. Such an unwelcome blast from the past is never easy on a person, and that is especially true of this case's effects upon Josie. Privileged Witness explores Josie's character to previously unplumbed depths, making it - in my opinion - the "deepest" of the first three Josie Baylor-Bates novels. I didn't like everything I saw Josie do in this story, yet I could understand her motivations. A lot of authors would just sit back and give such a successful character a free ride, a veritable hero's parade to a brave finish. Forster, to her credit, doesn't sit on her laurels, and the personal risks she takes with her heroine make for a truly absorbing read. If you've read the author's last two novels, you'll know that Josie moved to Hermosa Beach some time back in order to pursue a quiet life as a lawyer, having given up high-profile (and high-income) criminal defense cases after a client she got acquitted went out and murdered someone else. Despite the best of intentions, though, she keeps finding herself in the spotlight of cases such as this one, which - among other things - will help determine the next Senator from California. As usual, Josie doesn't know what's she's getting into at first. When Grace McCreary comes to ask her for help, she is led to believe that the cops are suspicious of Matthew's possible involvement in his wife's death. It's rather a surprise to her when Grace is arrested for murder. Things only go downhill from there, as Josie is constantly blindsided by truths her client's family neglected to mention to her, the political maneuvering going on behind the scenes to save McCreary's crumbling senatorial campaign from ruin, a whole snake pit of McCreary family secrets, and her dangerous tendency to som

Although Josie-Baylor-Bates was unable to convince a jury in criminal court that Kevin O'Connell beat up his wife Susan within an inch of life, she won a huge monetary settlement for the victim in Civil Court. After leaving the courtroom, she is accosted by Grace McCreary, the sister of Matthew who Josie was intensely in love with and thought was her soulmate until she discovered he lied about having any family. Matthew's wife jumped off the balcony and was killed and the coroner ruled it a suicide. However, the police, especially the surprisingly caring Detective Babcock refuses to close the case because he believes that it is not quite as cut and dried as the coroner believes. Nobody is more shocked than Josie when Grace is arrested and reluctantly she agrees to defend her. This puts her back in Matthew's orbit who seems more concerned with his campaign than the plight of his sister's defense. Josie makes a good case at the probable cause hearing but as more and more secrets are revealed, Josie begins to wonder if either her client or her brother is telling the truth. While she is dealing with the McCreary siblings, Kevin is terrorizing her and her ward while looking for Susan. One day if there is any justice, Rebecca Forster will be a household name because her legal thrillers are on a par with John Grisham, Scott Turow and John Lescroart. Her stylized and intricate plotting and her realistic characterizations make for a fantastic story while her ability to incorporate several sub-plots including one about the protagonist's personal life makes this so much more than an outstanding legal thriller. Harriet Klausner