Reasonable Doubt

by Marcia Argueta Mickelson

A beautiful and promising athlete is dead. The only suspect - her fianc - has been apprehended. And as a defense attorney, it is Julia's job to prove that Mick is innocent. Julia believes he is guilty. No stranger to the crimes that men commit against women, Julia can easily believe that rich, talented, spoiled Mick did indeed kill Avery. Both were basketball stars at the University of Utah, and both were popular; yet everyone - except Mick's family and Julia's boss - believes that Mick is the murderer. As the evidence against Mick mounts, Julia stumbles across a secret Avery had kept hidden from everyone, even Mick. Julia realizes that perhaps she may have more than just reasonable doubt to support Mick's case - if she can face her past and reveal her own secret. Meanwhile, Pablo, Julia's new co-counsel, becomes convinced that Mick did not murder Avery, but can he convince Julia? Guilty or innocent? With Pablo's help, Julia may be able to overcome her own fears and uncover the truth.

Genres: Lds Fiction, Mystery, Christian Fiction, Fiction

212 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2007

About the author

Marcia Mickelson was born in Guatemala and moved to the U.S. as an infant. She began writing her first novel her senior year of high school and finished it more than ten years later.

Marcia graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelors Degree in American Studies. She is the author of YA novels The Huaca and Where I Belong.

She has also written 3 inspirational women's novels: Star Shining Brightly, Reasonable Doubt, and Pickup Games.

Marcia currently resides in Texas with her husband and three sons.

Reviews

[Maricatherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read one of her previous novels (Star Shining Brightly), and as I said in my comment on that one, I didn't like her style of writing. She seemed to feel the need to repeat something she just said in a previous sentence or paragraph, and then also repeat a past scene in detail again. (And I know I just did what she did, repeat :))But I thought I'd give her another chance because I really liked the story and characters in her previous book. I loved this one! Her writing was considerably better; she didn't repeat and it was much more mature. I also really liked her development. I had no idea who did it until she revealed it. And she even gave my mother a run for her money trying to figure it out (she normally can know who-done-it). Very good job on this next book!

[Tamster · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like a good balance of murder mystery mixed with a clean romance, you'll like this book. My friend actually wrote it, so I was really trying to be honest in my critique of it as I read. I was pleasantly surprised at how into the book I got. I haven't really done much reading lately, so I thought it would take me awhile to read it, but after 3 nights of only reading a chapter a night, I couldn't take waiting to find out what would happen. I basically read the majority of the book in two days, finishing the last little bit today. I really liked it. It had a good ending too. It has a few brief religious references which are not a critical part of the story. GREAT BOOK!!! :-)

[Roseyracer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good. It was about a girl named Julia who was a lawyer. She has to defend a man who's wife has been killed. His wife was a pro basketball star. Julia thinks he did it. Will she be able to defend him?

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was all right, and I wondered whether I should give it two or three stars, but here are my reasons for going lower.

1) The romance in the book seemed to "pop" out of nowhere, especially when Julia is so emotionally scarred.

2) There was no suspense in the book for me. The clues were too obvious. As soon as I read them (and I read fast, not carefully), I knew exactly what the plot line was and who the murderer was. It was just reading through the book to prove myself correct for the sake of doing it.

That being said, her writing is not bad; I liked her characters, which were solid and believable. Her sense of timing and suspense just need some work.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Star Shining Brightly, I was really looking forward to this book. However, it wasn't as good as I was hoping. Too much of the situation and various "plot complications" seemed contrived. And the main character seemed to vasillate between seeming to never be able to overcome her "handicap" and overcoming it waaay too easily (IMO--but since I've never been in her situation, and hope to never be, I may be over-simplifying this). I never felt like I got to know either of the main characters very well. Still, an ok read--especially for those who love a "Perry Mason" style murder mystery.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

easy fast read! Kept you peaked till the end. Nice ending too. Julia is a rape victim and is also a successful attorney. She has a little mistrust from her prior experience and therefore is considered the man hater at her office of all men. that is until she is assigned the case of mick a star basketball player who is accused of killing his fiance and assigned to work with Pablo as co-counsel. then the story gets good as they learn from each other and heal.

[Kelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pretty typical LDS murder mystery. I didn't like the main girl- she said or did some things in her professional life that normal people would never do without getting fired or at least a warning. The transition from hating all men to falling in love with Pablo happened very fast, especially for someone who has trust issues because of something so awful. The bad guy didn't take me totally by surprise but that was ok with me because I still was guessing until the very end.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very realistic! I so admired Pablo for his patience and understanding--especially his respect for women which he was taught by his parents. Julia would be a difficult woman to make friends with until you understand her underlying issues. I felt so sorry for Mick losing someone so dear to him and then being blamed for her murder.

[Rebecca Talley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the relationship between Julia and Pablo and how realistically Julia evolved in the story. I was also surprised by the ending.

If you love basketball and a good romance and mystery with a twist, you'll enjoy this book.

[Darla · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Genre: LDS fiction/suspense) This is a pretty good read. The author did a great job of keeping the killer's identity a mystery until it revealed itself, but otherwise it was pretty predictable which prevented me from giving it more starts :). But it wasn't bad.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how this book has interwoven crime and basketball. It is very intriguing and had a great pace all the way through. Pablo remains one of my favorite fictional men as he is helpful to Julia in her time of need. Make time to read this book.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting story about two lawyers who are trying to prove their client innocent of murdering his fiancee. The romance ensues between the attorneys with the female having to overcome scars left behind by a rape when she was in college.

[Jodi Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a selection for a book group. Not my favorite genre but an engaging story. A little too predictable and lacks the depth of character that I like in a novel. It is a quick read and does pull you in so if that is what you are looking for, you'll enjoy this book.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fabulous. It was fairly tense. I really loved that the story moved easily but it wasn't obvious where it was going. The story wasn't easy to figure out. I liked that.

[Evamarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok I liked it but had just read another book after it and the other book was better. So this book would have gotten a better rating if I read it on it's own.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. I hadn't heard about the author but I cam across her blog and I ended up winning the book in an online contest.
It was a fun read.

[Linz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book! LDS murder mystery. I was a little worried at first that it would be too dark and depressing, but it ended up being a very enjoyable book. Very quick read.

[Chez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was amazing. This was what got me into reading latley. It is in my top 5 for sure.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in one day. I was drawn in from the very beginning. It had suspence, mystery & romance - which I think is a great mix.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book even more than the first one. It also went very quickly and was refreshingly clean. By the end, I was really rooting for the good guys to win. I'm glad I picked it up.

[T.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The culprit is an easy spot at the first introduction, and the romance is rather thick by the end, but it's still a very pleasant and interesting read.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must have read this book before. I don't remember reading it, but it seemed familiar. If I haven't, it was really predictable. I enjoyed it.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter and I liked this book.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. I liked the twist at the end. I didn't really like Julia but Pablo was great.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I read this book all in one day, so that must mean I liked it a lot. :)

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good story, although I guessed who the bad guy was as soon as his character was introduced.