Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Ashley Montgomery #2

Undetermined Death

Rate this book
Public defender Ashley Montgomery's latest case will push her to the limit.

When teenager Rachel Smithson is charged with murdering her newborn baby in a hotel room, Ashley is appointed to represent her. Determined to prove her client innocent, Ashley delves into the secret life and relationships of the quiet teen. And turns up more questions than answers.

Meanwhile, Ashley's longtime friend and sometimes rival, police officer Katie Mickey, investigates the alleged murder with the aim of ensuring Rachel's conviction. Despite working against each other, the two women begin to share the same awful suspicions, and the tragic case takes an even darker turn when rumors surface that the father of Rachel's baby is an adult in her life.

Then Ashley falls victim to a personal attack, and she and Mickey find themselves racing to unmask a different, far more dangerous offender.

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 13, 2021

600 people are currently reading
82 people want to read

About the author

Laura Snider

17 books164 followers
Laura Snider is a practicing lawyer in Iowa. She graduated from Drake Law School in 2009 and spent most of her career as a Public Defender. Throughout her legal career, she has been involved in all levels of crimes from petty thefts to murders. These days she is working part-time as a prosecutor and spends the remainder of her time writing stories and creating characters.

Laura lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, two dogs, and two very mischievous cats.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
268 (56%)
4 stars
158 (33%)
3 stars
43 (9%)
2 stars
4 (<1%)
1 star
4 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
818 reviews9 followers
January 13, 2022
I would rate this sequel to Unsympathetic Victims as a 3.5> I don't much like any of the characters, but the plot is well-crafted and fast moving.
Profile Image for Mariah Klenovich.
64 reviews
March 31, 2024
I truly love how Laura writes. It is so descriptive that my brain can fully play out each scene. The plot twists are also good too. Maybe a *bit* predictable but nonetheless, a super fun and exciting read. I love the relationship between Ashley and Katie and look forward to seeing how that grows
204 reviews1 follower
August 19, 2021
I really enjoyed the beginning of Ashley and Katie’s friendship in book one, and this book continues the story of their evolving relationship, along with the addition of a few new characters in their circle. I was a bit surprised (and disappointed) by the turn that Tom and George’s characters took in this book, because I really liked them both in the first book…not so much in this one. The plot was a good one, however, and I love Ashley’s commitment to her job and to her clients. It was extremely satisfying seeing Rachel grow during the course of this book, and seeing Ashley exact justice for her, as Rachel’s father was the absolute worst kind of scumbag. I love this series by Ms. Snider, I love her talent, and I can’t wait for the next installment. I received a copy of this book from SRP MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS, and have given my honest and voluntary opinion.
Profile Image for Kerry Mott.
26 reviews
November 19, 2023
Good Story but man hating gets old

I liked the story overall; however, the man-hating and the painting of all men as being arrogant jerks that are in love with themselves wore very thin. As well as making Tom and George part of that. Then the climax was a little rushed. I’ll read another of the books eventually, even if only because I have a thing about reading complete series.
Profile Image for Stephen Brayton.
97 reviews1 follower
October 28, 2024
Plot

When teenager Rachel Smithson is charged with murdering her newborn baby in a hotel room, Ashley is appointed to represent her. Determined to prove her client innocent, Ashley delves into the secret life and relationships of the quiet teen. And turns up more questions than answers.

Meanwhile, Ashley’s longtime friend and sometimes rival, police officer Katie Mickey, investigates the alleged murder with the aim of ensuring Rachel’s conviction. Despite working against each other, the two women begin to share the same awful suspicions, and the tragic case takes an even darker turn when rumors surface that the father of Rachel’s baby is an adult in her life.

Then Ashley falls victim to a personal attack, and she and Mickey find themselves racing to unmask a different, far more dangerous offender.

My Analysis

This is the second in the series. It’s a year after the first book. Ashley and Katie are friends, but there’s tension between them at times. A lot of tension between Ashley and boyfriend Tom, whom we met in the previous book.

So, this is formatted like the first book in that each chapter is from the POV of one of the main characters. Ashley, Katie, or Rachel. In the first book, I had problems with this because I expected the book to be mainly from Ashely’s point of view, since, you know, I thought she was the main character.

However, this time, I understand what’s going on. Snider does a good job of developing the characters of both Ashley and Katie.

This is a good book in that there was some mystery as to Ashley’s illness. When that came to a head, things picked up on that front. I won’t give spoilers, but the guilty party wasn’t the one I expected.

I did figure out the issue with Rachel, but I don’t think it was meant to be a surprise. It was just finding the evidence. And, yeah, you get the anticipation of “will it end the way you think it will” at the end.

Okay, minor issues. A couple spelling errors. For a practicing attorney, Snider should have caught that one of the “cannons” of law is not quite right. Lol.

I like when all things are wrapped up in the end, whether good or bad. A character was heavily involved with this story, Josh Martin, who as a slick cop who flirted with Katie a LOT. She seemed to respond. Yet, the author didn’t make any resolution whether they got together. The reader might infer from the ending, but it would have been nice to know. Ditto with Ashley and Tom. Yes, there was a statement near the end that it would take time for Ashely to, maybe, come around, but the epilogue didn’t mention anything.

Maybe the answers will be in the third book.

If I recall, I gave the previous book a purple belt rank. This one gets bumped up to

Blue Belt
Profile Image for Kristel Greer.
645 reviews13 followers
May 11, 2022
I was sent a copy of this book for review.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
Public Defender Ashley Montgomery barely survived her last case (both mentally and physically) and her current case may test her abilities to their limits. When Rachel Smithson, a young teenager is charged with the murder of her newborn baby, Ashley is assigned her case. Though Ashley generally doesn’t need to know the guilt or innocence of her clients as she will defend them regardless, Ashley feels deeply that Rachel's acceptance of a future in prison is wrong and that there is more to the story than Rachel is willing to admit.


Ashley enlists the help of her friend and sometimes rival in the law, Police Officer Katie Mickey to help her uncover the details surrounding Rachel's life to unravel the truth about what led to Rachel giving birth to her child alone in a hotel room and what happened after the baby arrived. The information they find will end up raising more questions than answering them while sending the pair into the darker side of Rachel's family and the adult men in her life.


Meanwhile, Ashley's personal life is also experiencing a difficult patch. Her boyfriend Tom has relocated for college and the long-distance has started to affect their relationship. As a mystery woman keeps popping up in his life that Tom is being very sketchy about. As she receives more of Tom's time and attention than Ashley is getting, Ashley begins to worry if she is losing him. But just as the case and her love life seem to be the worst that could happen, Ashley suffers a personal attack that leaves her fighting for her life.


🌟🌟🌟🌟. I loved book 1 and thoroughly enjoyed this instalment. An intensely addictive and emotional story that keeps you hooked and second-guessing everything. Ashley and Katie are confident and independent women that impress in both their abilities and their resilience in getting the job done. It is refreshing to have two female characters that are inspiring and compelling in a thriller like this. The book covers tough subject matter which may be upsetting.

TW: baby death/sexual assault/violence
Profile Image for Jayanti Pandey.
96 reviews2 followers
September 2, 2021
#ThrillerThursday

#UndeterminedDeath
#LauraSnider


I’d read Book 1 of the #AshleyMontgomery series a couple of weeks ago and I knew I had to read Book 2 ‘Undetermined Death’ which released soon after on #KindleUnlimited.

Ashley Montgomery, the kickass public defender, is back in action this time defending Rachael Smithson who is accused of killing her new born baby. Montgomery, and her best friend, policewoman Katie Mickey, go about the twists and turns, to find the truth. Strong female leads coming together adds dynamism. The energy is taut and its pace, good. A fast read, it seems even more authentic as the author, herself a practising lawyer, ensures the drama feels real. The courtroom and prison sequences are well-developed. It felt good to catch up and continue with known characters from Book 1. An addition is Ashley’s parallel storyline relating to the main plot. It adds to the mystery of the read.

Who is Rachael? Why did she go out of town to deliver her baby? Why is a police hanging around her home? Why is her mother quiet and her father belligerent? Why is Rachael closed initially but finds herself coming out of a cocoon in a prison cell?

Enjoyable and well-written, this #legalthriller is a recommended read.

‘Undetermined Death’ can be read as a stand-alone but you’d enjoy it more if you read it as the second book in the series. Book 1: ‘Unsympathetic Victims’ is available on Kindle Unlimited as well and has been reviewed.
Profile Image for Autumn | bookishandblissful.
398 reviews8 followers
August 19, 2021
This is book two in the Ashley Montgomery series of legal thrillers. After reading Unsympathetic Victims, I knew I had to read this one. In this case, Ashley is appointed to represent teenager Rachel Smithson who is being charged with murdering her newborn baby, while Katie tries to ensure Rachel's conviction. However, as the case goes on, things just aren't adding up. What really happened to Rachel - did she kill her baby? Who's the baby's dad? Lots to unwrap and there's always more than meets they eye.

Similar to the last one, we deal with misogynistic men, mistakes that cops have made and two strong female leads coming together. Snider writes in an easy to understand way from a legal perspective and paints her character's with depth. I like that not much has changed from the first book to the second and the addition of new characters. It kept my attention until the very end, even if I was able to guess what might be happening.

I am really excited to read the third book in this series! This read could be a stand alone, but I think it would be more enjoyed as the second book in a series, so the reader can understand each character thoroughly.

Spoilers CW: rape, abuse.
Profile Image for Colleen.
1,114 reviews26 followers
August 8, 2021
Undetermined Death is book two in the Ashley Montgomery series. This can be a stand alone read but after reading it you will want to go back and read the first book.

Ashley has been appointed public defender for Rachel Smithson accused of murdering her newborn son. Rachel is meek and mild, very closed off while accepting her fate of going to prison. Ashley investigates the charges against Rachel only to discover there is much more going on than has been revealed. While waiting for her trial, Rachel, she seems to be changing, coming out of her cocoon. Meanwhile Ashley's health takes a turn for the worse. Will she be able to save Rachel while fighting for her life.

This was a really good book. It captured my interest until the very end. It is a fast paced story with lots of twists and turns until the reveal at the end. The characters are well written and fully developed. This is one of the best I have read this year. I highly recommend it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an unbiased review.
1,226 reviews11 followers
August 5, 2021
Why would a teenage girl go to an out-of-town hotel to have her baby and then kill it? When Rachel is arrested for murder Ashley Montgomery is assigned to represent her, but a rather uncooperative client and more questions than answers tells Ashley that something is wrong here! With the baby’s father unknown, Ashley queries the parents - a silent mother and rather belligerent father who supposedly didn’t realize she was pregnant. Her friend Katie Mickey is the prosecutor and even she thinks something is missing here. Investigation provides no clues. This is a very twisted and rather evil mystery, with a conclusion you will not guess the full extent of. But I guarantee it will keep your interest! Laura Snider is an author who knows how to keep the suspense going and I am looking forward to future books. I received an ARC of this book through SRP’s advance team and write this review entirely voluntarily.
Profile Image for Denise .
811 reviews10 followers
August 18, 2021
This is the second book in the Ashley Montgomery series. Rachel Smithson is the young woman who stands accused of murdering her newborn child, Ashley Montgomery is the public defender who will represent her and Katie Mickey is the police officer who is determined to send her to prison.

I enjoyed this book and actually liked it better than the first one. This book can be read as a standalone, but the reading experience is much richer if the books are read in order. The story was interesting and the character development was good for the most part. I did feel at times that the characters acted in ways that were immature and inconsistent for what would be expected of people of their age and occupation. Even with that being said, I did thoroughly enjoy this book. I look forward to what happens next for these characters and this series.
Profile Image for David Taylor.
1,538 reviews24 followers
August 18, 2021
Undetermined Death is an excellent example of how a well-done sequel can further the character’s stories from the previous story while bringing in a new story and some new characters. Rachel’s story/circumstances hooked me right off and kept me going to the end. The addition of Ashley’s separate but related storyline takes the overall book into a whole different level. Along with a storyline that involved a child’s death and a murder trial, the misdirection and personal stories kept me up late into the night reading “just one more chapter.” If you have read the first book in the Ashley Montgomery series – Unsympathetic Victims - this is a must read. I received a review copy of this book from the author and chose to provide my review.
Profile Image for Joan Case.
109 reviews1 follower
October 2, 2024
In this installment in the series, a young teenager is convicted of killing her newborn baby, and Ashley is defending her. The townspeople all want to see her convicted, as they believe she is guilty and it appears that she is. But Ashley and her good friend Officer Katie Mickey, believe she is innocent. They have quite a job ahead of them, trying to get any information out of the very shy, very skittish teenager, Rachael Smithson, her equally as skittish mother and her domineering father. I didn't find Book 2 as exciting as Book 1. And at times the flooding of information made passages boring and difficult to get through. But I would still consider reading Book 3.
Profile Image for Roger.
5,604 reviews28 followers
Read
August 24, 2021
Undetermined Death, A Legal Thriller (Ashley Montgomery Book II), my second outstanding read from author Laura Snider. Enjoyable, well-written fiction. As good as the first book was Snider has really hit her stride with this one, again I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! “I received a free Kindle copy of this book and I'm voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. Now I have to wait a year for Unforgivable Acts: A Legal Thriller (Ashley Montgomery Book 3) to be published. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
Profile Image for Sarah Brousseau.
451 reviews22 followers
September 23, 2021
Book 81/75: Undetermined Death, A Legal Thriller (Ashley Montgomery Book II) by Laura Snider. Laura had sent me an ARC of her sequel and life got the best of me for quite some time and September has been a slump. BUT, I'm here now my dear! Another wonderful story following Katie and Ashley, unlikely friends in the field of law and one solving crimes as a state defender. Thank you for sending me a copy! A delightful read once again full of twists and turns, quirky lines and dealing with important topics.
Profile Image for Deirdre.
14 reviews
March 2, 2022
Laura Snider does it again with book #2 in the Ashley Montgomery series. I love Katie’s fiery personality and Ashley’s dedication and determination.

Snider’s twists are always super interesting and I love how well she brings it all together. I really enjoy how Snider pulls in the legal aspects of criminal justice - these books really stand out and are not just a run of the mill thriller. I can’t wait to read the third book!

Highly recommend for anyone looking for not your average multi-POV thriller!
Profile Image for Bev.
3,271 reviews98 followers
August 17, 2021
Rachel Smithson has been arrested for killing her newborn baby. Ashley Montgomery is there to represent her in court. Big problem...Rachel doesn't really want her help. There is something else going on with this client and Ashley is determined to find out what it is. This may be more difficult than she thought. An excellent story!!! Can't wait for the next one! I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Profile Image for Linda.
1,366 reviews12 followers
August 20, 2021
I enjoyed this legal thriller. Ashley Montgomery is a legal aid lawyer who is not well liked by many of the police department. She is called in to defend 18 year old Rachel who is charged with killing her baby. This story had me in knots trying to figure out if Rachel would be convicted. An action packed story with strong female leads that will keep you engaged throughout..highly recommend. I received an advance copy of this book and this is my honest review.
Profile Image for Claudete Takahashi.
2,623 reviews37 followers
August 20, 2021
I just enjoyed so much reading this story! There are so many mysteries involving the death of the baby that I just couldn't wait to understand what had happened. It really was like the saying - nothing is as it seems! A very good plot, with lots of details that are all put together at the end. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I downloaded a free copy of this book and this is my honest opinion.
818 reviews6 followers
January 29, 2022
I loved this book! It is seriously addictive. I enjoyed the first book in the series but this book was even better, probably because I already knew and liked the characters so it was great to be reunited with them and see their characters and relationships develop further. The story is really well written and the plot is incredibly well crafted, and brings everything together for the perfect ending.
Profile Image for Abbie .
613 reviews3 followers
March 9, 2022
Real legal

The whirling social scene is real life small town told by a wordsmith. I'm reminded of Mr. Grisham's depth of character and the (can't put the book down) pace of the plot.

I feel like I know Ashley and Katie. I cannot say enough about Laura Snider's brilliant writing! I could see the movie in my head, it was that moving.

Read the series. No Spoilers here. Read, friend read.
Profile Image for Sandy.
875 reviews14 followers
August 16, 2021
I could not put down this mystery, yet I did not want it to end. Ashley’s new case has her defending a teenager accused of murdering her newborn child. This powerfully written tale delves into nearly unfathomable wickedness, with surprises at every turn. Highly recommended! I’m looking forward the next book. I received this book free and chose to make a voluntary, unbiased review.
Profile Image for K Huskić.
2,193 reviews38 followers
August 17, 2021
I read this in one sitting. I will admit, I did predict what was happening with both Ashley and Rachel, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story. Ashley and Katie are both strong female leads, and I am interested in seeing how the next story goes, with the changes that came about in this one.

An intense, captivating legal thriller.
983 reviews12 followers
August 18, 2021
Intimidation and Manipulation

A well crafted legal thriller which had me on the edge of my seat. It was difficult to put this book down. Ashley is a gutsy lady who survives all odds in spite of sudden ill health. Is her client innocent? Why is her boyfriend being so distant and who is manipulating him? Ashley nearly loses her life in the quest for the facts.
168 reviews2 followers
October 6, 2021
interesting look into the life of a defense lawyer

Ashley defends a young girl for killing her newborn. Her story is chilling. Also included are reasons why women find it hard to fit into the world of law and order and it isn’t because they have a defect but because men see women as somehow less than themselves.
Profile Image for Dawn.
997 reviews19 followers
March 19, 2022
Outstanding book. Unputdownable!

Ashley is a public defense attorney for a small town. Nobody likes her. She is defending a girl who is accused of killer her new born child. Ashley’s friend on the police force, office Mickey has a big role in the book. I like her and look for her to be big in the coming books.
82 reviews
October 6, 2023
You'll never see it coming !!!

Rachel is a baby killer. Or is she?
Ashley can sense something not right and she promises she has to get to bottom of it. Katie's still fighting the good ole boy network at the police department. But put these ladies together all hell breaks lose. Look out !!!
1,814 reviews14 followers
August 12, 2021
Rachel Smithson is charged with killing her new born baby. Ashley is appointed as her public defender. Someone tries to kill Ashley by poisoning her. A legal thriller with a lot of action that kept me reading and wanting more. Great characters and the story line just flowed.
Profile Image for E.
1,879 reviews
February 7, 2022
Wow!

A fantastic book, another page turner. Brilliantly written, you will not want to put this down. I love seeing Ashley & Katie working together. I hope Rachel is in the next book, would like to see how her story plays out.
Profile Image for Kathy Koch.
14 reviews1 follower
September 27, 2023
Cut to the chase

I thoroughly enjoy the author's writing style. It moves along well and keeps my interest. The characters are engaging. Looking forward to the next book of this series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.