I liked this one a lot. I like Josie's character and I love watching her relationship with Hannah develop. I think the only complaint I have with this is how the secondary story with Kevin O'Connel just kind of died out and didn't really resolve.

All in all a good read. Less predictable and more of a page turner than the last two!

The Witness Series

This series gets better with each book. The main character, Josie Bates, is well developed and engaging. The locations are realistic and the plots are plausible, complex, and thought provoking. Looking forward to the next book.

Forster has outdone herself with her third novel in the Witness series. The mystery and suspense of the whodunnit of Forster novels will keep you flipping pages relentlessly, but it's the intricate heart, depth, and realism of her characters (flaws and all) that makes Forster such a special writer. Josie Baylor-Bates, the heroine, seems to find herself in one extremely personal case after another. Privileged Witness is no exception.

Privileged Witness reunites Josie with her first love, Matthew McCreary, a rising politician whose sister (one that he always told Josie was dead) is accused of murdering his wife. Josie finds herself facing secrets from her past as she puts herself on the front lines of defending McCreary's sister.Privileged Witness explores previously uncharted depths in Josie, making this - in my opinion - the "richest" of the first three Josie Bates-Baylor series. Josie's decisions aren't always likable or admirable, but I can understand her motivations. Forster could have easily given Josie a "hero's ending" and ride the wave of a likable character, but to her credit, she takes personal risks with Josie which makes for a truly absorbing read.

If you've read the first two novels, you'll know that Josie moved to Hermosa Beach some time ago to escape the down-and-dirty world of Public Defender in order to pursue a quiet, community lawyer lifestyle. She gave up high-profile (and high-income) criminal defense cases after a client she got acquitted went out and murdered someone else. Despite her best intentions, she continually finds herself embroiled in intensely personal, high-profile cases, such as this one which, among other things, will help determine the next Senator of California. As usual, Josie doesn't know what she's getting into at first. When Grace McCreary comes to ask her for help, Josie is lead to believe that the cops are suspicious of Matthew's possible involvement in his wife's death. When Grace is arrested for murdering Matthew's wife, Josie's dumbfounded. Things go swiftly 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 sometimes think with her heart rather than her head in this case.

Josie is not the right defender for Grace as she is so emotionally invested, she blindly charges ahead without seeing the yawning pit waiting for her. Her latent feelings for her former lover, Matthew, color some of her actions and decisions - and she's not the only one who stands to get hurt as events unfold. We find Archer silently dealing with the idea of Josie's former lover and potential feelings that she has for him. Josie and Archer are still struggling with the relationship wounds left by Josie's previous case where Archer was accused of murder and secrets about his deceased step-son and wife were revealed. Hannah fears abandonment by Josie and acts out with intense teenage angst and wisdom beyond her years. There's also a mad, cowardly, sore loser of a wife-beater out there threatening revenge against his ex-wife and her lawyer, which puts Josie as well as those closest to her in danger. Forster works this second storyline into the novel extremely well. It adds another layer to an already tense atmosphere.

Only the most remarkable of women could hold up under all the strain Josie faces from all directions over the course of this novel. There are a lot of things going on all at once here, and the drama of so many fateful characters takes precedence over the legal aspects of the crime itself. You won't find a shocking courtroom climax at the end of this story, as it's far too tragic to end in such a commonplace manner. Forster is really expanding the boundaries of her fiction with this effort, and the result is her most memorable novel of the first three in the series.

Third in the series of books about Josie Baylor Bates, attorney. This time she's dealing with a gubernatorial candidate and his sister and a wife-beating lunatic who blames Josie for the financial settlement against him and who is out for revenge. Archer, Hannah, Billy and Max-the-Dog are all caught up in the ensuing events. Another good read.

Josie Baylor-Bates is sucked into another case by another client who doesn't seem to want to be of much help, and to complicate things, the client is the sister of a long-ago lover. To make matters worse, the client is accused of killing that former lover's wife, her sister-in-law. Or was it a suicide?

If that's not confusing enough, Josie's being stalked by a man she'd sued in civil court for beating his wife nearly to death. All of this while juggling a romantic relationship and her role as guardian for a troubled teenager.

It does keep the book moving, with plenty of action and intrigue. Rebecca Forster can write, no doubt about that. From her ability to create believable characters (though the stalker was a bit one-dimensional) to her sentence-level descriptions, Forster can pull a reader in and keep that reader engaged. Even when that reader might have such a good guess about what's being withheld that the big reveals aren't really as shocking or surprising as they should be.

I was hoping to read this series all the way through, but the opening of the next book (included in the last pages of this one) just doesn't interest me, and the one after that doesn't either. It seems Forster might have found a garden to nurture, with plots planted around Josie's friends and family, but a little of that goes a long way with me. Maybe I'll find another title in the series that's more legal drama (again) than familial thriller.

Too convoluted for my tastes! First time I felt her cause the screen between the reader and the characters. Plot was good, characters were not. I did not buy Josie's disconnects, since they seemed unique to this story.

I usually enjoy reading Rebecca Forster’s novels. This one was too bizarre for me.

Another Success!

As always. the author has developed rich (if somewhat distasteful) characters and keeps you going back and forth in determining the real culprit.

So thankful I found Rebecca Forster! The third book in the Witness series was tight. With ex-boyfriends, political aspirations, family secrets and murder, how can you go wrong?

Forster knows how to build characters, set a breakneck pace and keep the surprise ending full of twists!

On to the fourth book in the series!

Phillip Tomasso
Author of the crime novel, YOU CHOOSE

Third in the Rebecca Forster legal series featuring Josie Baylor-Bates, Archer and Hannah as the main characters. Another good plot that involves mystery, weird characters and a lot of action.

Kindle book.

Josie Bates is an old friend by now, but her adventures grow ever more disastrous, and we worry about her. The author has drawn this story in ever-mounting tension which keeps the reader engaged and hopeful of a resolution. The plot twists hold off the resolution. A great read!

Legal thriller: Josie is defending her ex-boyfriend's sister for murdering his wife, he is running for the Senate and keeping secrets. She is also involved with an abused woman whose ex is crazy