In Her Defense

The Riversedge Law Club Series, Book 1

By: Amy Impellizzeri

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Ingrid DiLaurio lives in Riversedge, New York, four express train stops from Manhattan. Don’t be fooled: with its tree-lined Main Street, and quaint ambiance, Riversedge is only impersonating a small town. While it’s a place small enough for everyone to know each other’s secrets, few do. The town revolves around the prestigious Riversedge Law Club, where deals are made and cases are resolved and where Ingrid DiLaurio—a former lawyer turned nationally recognized podcast host—has never once been made to feel welcome.

When Ingrid’s husband, Peter, is found dead, and Ingrid’s former friend, Opal, is arrested as the prime suspect, the press quickly seizes on Opal’s past as a single mom and stripper. Ingrid’s first priority is protecting herself and her son, Drake, along with her business, from salacious gossip. But when Opal finds herself in desperate need of a defense lawyer, she tells Ingrid she wants to call in a “favor,” and Ingrid reluctantly returns to the law for one last case.

As the trial unfolds, Ingrid realizes quickly that she has taken on more than she bargained for, including Opal’s dark past, a corrupt judge, a blackmailing prosecutor, another dead body, and a black tinted car that follows her everywhere. In the end, it’s clear that both women know more than they are letting on about Peter’s death, but who will tell the truth first?

And is the truth what anyone really wants to hear?

©2022 Amy Impellizzeri (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

In Her Defense is a Great Series Kickstart!

Amy Impellizzeri was a new author for me. I started & blew through In Her Defense. If you are looking for a new author to add to your repertoire, I highly recommend her! Looking forward to more from this new series.

Keeps your interest

It’s a good legal thriller, and captivating enough to keep your interest till the end.

You won’t want to stop listening

I rarely go to bed with AirPods in, but Impellizzeri’s plot hooked me into listening like a little kid staying up late for a bedtime story. Loved it!

Unusual & Enjoyable

In Her Defense was a pleasant surprise for me as the characters & the settings were all fairly unusual. I liked the who-done-what-to-whom mystery of this story, the fact that it kept me guessing as to who really was a good guy/gal and the possibilities kept somewhat flip flopping. I also appreciated that the author didn’t choose to go deeply into the possibilities of details of the some of the of characters and their actions. She didn’t choose to try to shock and horrify, to take possibilities for blood, gore, terror & cruelties to the extremes that is the set point of so many authors today . I’ll seek out this author again as I’d like to explore what else she’s gone on to write.
The narrator, though a member of SAG AFTRA, has a strangely clipped & breathless cadence to her delivery. I never truly enjoy her manner & am not sure what combo of circumstances prompts an author to select this narrator. Perhaps, such decisions are not so simple as what a relatively new author wants or doesn’t want. Though narrated by one of my least favorite deliverers, I can imagine my re-listening to this well-written story in the future.

Good Read

I enjoyed the story. A little complicated to follow at first, but eventually it all fell into place. I was surprised at some parts of the ending, but would be interested to see if the storyline continues.