What do you think?
Rate this book
Nina Reilly #3
Obstruction of Justice
Lightning strikes twice.
Two people have died in Lake Tahoe in shocking accidents. In a nearly empty parking lot, a hit-and-run driver kills probation officer Anna Meade Hallowell. High up on a jagged mountain, wife abuser Ray de Beers gets what he he's struck by lightning. Attorney Nina Reilly, hiking on a rare day off from her one-woman law practice, sees him die. So does her date, Tahoe deputy DA Collier Hallowell. Still shaken from his wife's violent death, Hallowell is hit hard by the accident. It's a bad end to a first date... and the start of a case that will test Nina's ethics and her heart.
Nina is certain de Beers's death is an act of God. But his aging father wants to exhume the body to rule out foul play. De Beers's frantic wife and teenage twins hire Nina to stop the disinterment. What gets unearthed are secrets that raise new questions about Anna Hallowell's death, an indictment against one twin for murder, and a damning piece of evidence that can convict the boy . . . unless Nina obstructs justice by hiding it. No good lawyer will take that kind of risk. But a brilliant lawyer, one with a passion for truth, just might . . . .
Two people have died in Lake Tahoe in shocking accidents. In a nearly empty parking lot, a hit-and-run driver kills probation officer Anna Meade Hallowell. High up on a jagged mountain, wife abuser Ray de Beers gets what he he's struck by lightning. Attorney Nina Reilly, hiking on a rare day off from her one-woman law practice, sees him die. So does her date, Tahoe deputy DA Collier Hallowell. Still shaken from his wife's violent death, Hallowell is hit hard by the accident. It's a bad end to a first date... and the start of a case that will test Nina's ethics and her heart.
Nina is certain de Beers's death is an act of God. But his aging father wants to exhume the body to rule out foul play. De Beers's frantic wife and teenage twins hire Nina to stop the disinterment. What gets unearthed are secrets that raise new questions about Anna Hallowell's death, an indictment against one twin for murder, and a damning piece of evidence that can convict the boy . . . unless Nina obstructs justice by hiding it. No good lawyer will take that kind of risk. But a brilliant lawyer, one with a passion for truth, just might . . . .
512 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
117 people are currently reading
628 people want to read
About the author
Perri O'Shaughnessy
50 books277 followersPerri O’Shaughnessy is the pen-name for two people, Pamela and Mary O’Shaughnessy, sisters. The authors' pseudonym is an homage to Perry Mason, the man who never met a guilty client, and a melding of their two first names, Pamela and Mary. O’Shaughnessy is their paternal family name.
They are the authors of eleven bestselling Nina Reilly novels as well as a collection of short crime fiction, Sinister Shorts.
They are the authors of eleven bestselling Nina Reilly novels as well as a collection of short crime fiction, Sinister Shorts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
March 26, 2023
“But they all died different ways!”
“Ray was struck by lightning, Quentin was killed by a shovel, Ruben killed himself, and Anna was hit by a car!”
Try to imagine what might happen if a perverted topologist managed to conjoin two Möbius strips made of blank paper, twisted them up and tied them into an intractable Gordian knot, then asked an author to prepare several stories on what, at first blush, appeared to be different pieces of paper. A district attorney’s wife is killed by a hit-and-run driver; a family watches in shocked horror as their domestic abuser is blasted off a mountain by an errant lightning strike during a storm; and, an overbearing, grieving father, is killed with the shovel used to exhume his son’s barely cold body. Of course, the author will soon discover that the paper has but one side and she is forced into joining the plots into a single story in which the characters constantly seem to be bumping up against one another by virtue of the twists and turns in a most complex knot.
Then there are the romantic entanglements. One of the participants, to be sure, is a thoroughgoing bitch but at least it can be said that she’s consistent and predictable. The rest might be described as confused, sophomoric, juvenile and, at times, downright, self-entitled and narcissistic. Nobody seems to be able to even define what it is they expect or want in a relationship let alone getting as far as deciding that romance and love also involve giving and sacrificing.
All of that said, while the story strays well beyond the bounds of credibility, somehow OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE manages to hold itself together and become a readable and enjoyable legal and police procedural drama, if not a gripping or compulsive thriller. And, truth be told, I’d be interested in following the series to see how Perri O’Shaughnessy resolves the loose ends of the erstwhile on-again, off-again relationship between Nina Reilly and her investigator, Paul van Wagoner.
Paul Weiss
“Ray was struck by lightning, Quentin was killed by a shovel, Ruben killed himself, and Anna was hit by a car!”
Try to imagine what might happen if a perverted topologist managed to conjoin two Möbius strips made of blank paper, twisted them up and tied them into an intractable Gordian knot, then asked an author to prepare several stories on what, at first blush, appeared to be different pieces of paper. A district attorney’s wife is killed by a hit-and-run driver; a family watches in shocked horror as their domestic abuser is blasted off a mountain by an errant lightning strike during a storm; and, an overbearing, grieving father, is killed with the shovel used to exhume his son’s barely cold body. Of course, the author will soon discover that the paper has but one side and she is forced into joining the plots into a single story in which the characters constantly seem to be bumping up against one another by virtue of the twists and turns in a most complex knot.
Then there are the romantic entanglements. One of the participants, to be sure, is a thoroughgoing bitch but at least it can be said that she’s consistent and predictable. The rest might be described as confused, sophomoric, juvenile and, at times, downright, self-entitled and narcissistic. Nobody seems to be able to even define what it is they expect or want in a relationship let alone getting as far as deciding that romance and love also involve giving and sacrificing.
All of that said, while the story strays well beyond the bounds of credibility, somehow OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE manages to hold itself together and become a readable and enjoyable legal and police procedural drama, if not a gripping or compulsive thriller. And, truth be told, I’d be interested in following the series to see how Perri O’Shaughnessy resolves the loose ends of the erstwhile on-again, off-again relationship between Nina Reilly and her investigator, Paul van Wagoner.
Paul Weiss
December 22, 2020
This was the first book I read in the series, but the characters were described well enough that I was able to get right into the story without any problem. The story is a bit dated, in terms of the interactions between men and women. The plot was intricate but interesting. It felt as if there were a few too many threads to be wrapped up, which made the ending feel a little rushed. A good book, though, and I would read another by this author (these authors).
September 24, 2012
This is the third in the Nina Reilly series by this sister writing team. Two deaths in Tahoe are intertwined: a hiker struck by lightning while hiking a mountain trail and Deputy D.A. Collier Hallowell's wife's death by hit and run three years earlier. Interesting twists and turns. Nina' attempts at romance with Collier come off as pathetic, as does her friend Paul's attraction for the artist. These sisters write a good mystery... romance, not so much.
June 6, 2018
The Last one I read by the 2 sisters was Awesome, this one was just OK...
November 4, 2013
This novel, like all of those I have read by this pduedonymous author, seems to have a split personality. I would imagine that since this particular series is written by two sisters that they have to work diligenty to make their efforts dovetail into one another properly.
However, it seems as if the authors had two different ideas for a murder mystery and agreed to find a way to combine them.. which sadly, seriously hurts this particular novel and keeps it from rising above mediocrity.
Two mysteries going at once is enough to distract many readers, and I'm one of them. Switching back and forth until the mysteries come together really was dizzying at times.
The two final blows, however, for me personally, were the slipping ethics of our heroine and a clue so obvious that it stuck out like a sore thumb that was succumbing to gangrene. In an effort to play fair and let the reader see the clue, the authors manage to make it so obvious that it either seems like a silly red herring-- or just manages to solve the first mystery for the reader. Halfway through the book, I was waiting in the doctor's office with my mother-in-law when I sat it down in disgust, telling her that I had solved the first part of the mystery. I only finished the book to see if I was correct, and I was indeed... the authors made it so obvious that even Mr. Magoo could have seen it... and thus created a fatal flaw.
The other fatal flaw for me was the author's action described in the title. She clearly obstructed justice. She set her ethics aside and in my opinion made herself a villain, even though her reasons may have been well-intentioned. Anytime a lawyer picks up a piece of evidence at a crime scene and conceals it to protect her client, she has crossed the line from good to evil.. The heroine stresses about her ethical conflict-- but not to a satisfactory conclusion. To make matters worse, we learn at the end that the prosecutor was aware of at least part of her act of obstruction and allowed her to do so because of a personal relationship with her. It was really irritating to see that those involved in the law were willing to obstruct justice-- and in the end-- someone gets away with murder because of it.
I can't recommend this book because of these flaws.
However, it seems as if the authors had two different ideas for a murder mystery and agreed to find a way to combine them.. which sadly, seriously hurts this particular novel and keeps it from rising above mediocrity.
Two mysteries going at once is enough to distract many readers, and I'm one of them. Switching back and forth until the mysteries come together really was dizzying at times.
The two final blows, however, for me personally, were the slipping ethics of our heroine and a clue so obvious that it stuck out like a sore thumb that was succumbing to gangrene. In an effort to play fair and let the reader see the clue, the authors manage to make it so obvious that it either seems like a silly red herring-- or just manages to solve the first mystery for the reader. Halfway through the book, I was waiting in the doctor's office with my mother-in-law when I sat it down in disgust, telling her that I had solved the first part of the mystery. I only finished the book to see if I was correct, and I was indeed... the authors made it so obvious that even Mr. Magoo could have seen it... and thus created a fatal flaw.
The other fatal flaw for me was the author's action described in the title. She clearly obstructed justice. She set her ethics aside and in my opinion made herself a villain, even though her reasons may have been well-intentioned. Anytime a lawyer picks up a piece of evidence at a crime scene and conceals it to protect her client, she has crossed the line from good to evil.. The heroine stresses about her ethical conflict-- but not to a satisfactory conclusion. To make matters worse, we learn at the end that the prosecutor was aware of at least part of her act of obstruction and allowed her to do so because of a personal relationship with her. It was really irritating to see that those involved in the law were willing to obstruct justice-- and in the end-- someone gets away with murder because of it.
I can't recommend this book because of these flaws.
February 20, 2011
Nina Reilly, Attorney, Paul, PI, Tahoe....mystery about twins who killed a DA's wife 3 years previously. Good "quick" rad. A bit trite, but OK.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2024
The storm, like many storms that happen in the mountains near Lake Tahoe, came on fast and brutally. Nina Reilly and a deputy District Attorney had gone to the mountain to do some hiking. They paid particular interest to a family of four who climbed ahead of them to the unforgiving, rocky summit. It became apparent to them quickly that the father was a domestic abuser and a loser by every measure. As Nina and the deputy District Attorney approached the summit, they watched in horror as a lightning strike fell directly on the father. The lightning killed him instantly. But is that how he really died? His dad isn't so sure, and it is he who wants to exhume the body after the man's family had held a brief funeral and put him in the ground. Naturally, the wife isn't a fan of having the guy dug up. But as you delve into the story, you wonder what her motivation is for hiring Nina Reilly to oppose the disinterment of the body.
Three years earlier, the deputy District Attorney with whom Nina had been climbing the mountain lost his wife in a terrible hit-and-run auto accident. He never really recovered from her loss. She had been a probation officer, and on the day of her death, one of her clients had come to talk to her about something. She died before anyone could figure out what he had to say.
As you read this, it will become extremely clear that the car crash and the lightning strike connect to one another. Nina's investigator, Paul van Wagner, investigates the car crash while Nina deals with the legal ramifications of the lightning strike.
I'm intrigued by how unsatisfactory the romances are at least early on in this series. Paul links up with a female artist named Kim, and these sister authors describe her in a most arresting way. She becomes a character that will both fascinate you and repel you at the same time. She intrigued me, but I found myself grateful that someone like her is in no way involved in my life. Characters like that are fun because you can consign them to the pages where they belong and leave them there. They never have to be part of your existence.
You need not read the first two books in this series to enjoy this one at full impact. It may help a little to understand Nina's beginnings as a Lake Tahoe attorney, but the authors structure this book well and carefully enough that you can easily step into the story with book 3 and not feel disoriented or confused about your experience with it.
Three years earlier, the deputy District Attorney with whom Nina had been climbing the mountain lost his wife in a terrible hit-and-run auto accident. He never really recovered from her loss. She had been a probation officer, and on the day of her death, one of her clients had come to talk to her about something. She died before anyone could figure out what he had to say.
As you read this, it will become extremely clear that the car crash and the lightning strike connect to one another. Nina's investigator, Paul van Wagner, investigates the car crash while Nina deals with the legal ramifications of the lightning strike.
I'm intrigued by how unsatisfactory the romances are at least early on in this series. Paul links up with a female artist named Kim, and these sister authors describe her in a most arresting way. She becomes a character that will both fascinate you and repel you at the same time. She intrigued me, but I found myself grateful that someone like her is in no way involved in my life. Characters like that are fun because you can consign them to the pages where they belong and leave them there. They never have to be part of your existence.
You need not read the first two books in this series to enjoy this one at full impact. It may help a little to understand Nina's beginnings as a Lake Tahoe attorney, but the authors structure this book well and carefully enough that you can easily step into the story with book 3 and not feel disoriented or confused about your experience with it.
May 16, 2025
Nina Reilly is hiking in the mountains with a date, Tahoe Deputy DA Collier Hallowell who is still reeling from his wife's violent death several years earlier. The date ends abruptly on the mountain when they witness the death of Ray de Beers who is hiking the trail with his family. The death appears to be an act of God as Ray is struck by lightning. The family turns to Nina to help with details then matters turn from bad to worse when Ray's father wants his son's body exhumed after burial. Then matters go really south when the grandfather ends up dead and his grandson is arrested for killing his grandfather. Nina knows the grandson is hiding critical information, but he refuses to talk. Intertwined with the de Beers family misfortune is the death of Collier's wife. The author does a good job of wrapping up two convoluted storylines.
January 11, 2018
I really struggled with this book. It just drug along and the only action was in the last 80 pages or so. Once I reached those 80 pages, I wanted to see what happened. I certainly didn't figure out who the killer was and it was very interesting to see how it was all tied up in the end.
I thought Paul and his whining about not being with Nina and the fights they had with others in the room was a bit too much for me. Also, panting after Kim Voss was really bad too.
I am giving this 3 out of 5 and will probably wait for a while to read another by the sisters. I think I need a break from Nina and Paul.
I thought Paul and his whining about not being with Nina and the fights they had with others in the room was a bit too much for me. Also, panting after Kim Voss was really bad too.
I am giving this 3 out of 5 and will probably wait for a while to read another by the sisters. I think I need a break from Nina and Paul.
July 19, 2018
Love the Nina Reilly series taking place in my beloved Tahoe. I’ve read the whole series and am re-reading one last time before donating my books. She’s an attorney who moved to South Lake Tahoe from San Francisco after a divorce. As she learns a smaller city’s way through the legal system, she starts to feel at home. Each book has returning players and her team are filled with wonderful characters. Plus the fact I can picture where she is most of the time is fun for me. Perfect for summer reading.
March 12, 2020
Series of unrelated events - man is struck by lightning on top of Mt Tallac, his corpse is stole from his casket, cold case of murdered DA's wife 3 years ago - are all related, and Nina is caught in the middle while involved in a love triangle with her investigator, Paul, and local DA, Collier. Interesting as she unravels the mystery, but scenes of 30-something adults acting like teenagers detracts from the story line. Lots of flavor of the Lake Tahoe area.
September 1, 2023
Attorney Nina Reilly is committed and driven, striving for the truth, what is fair, and the protection of her family and clients. Those three concepts are not always the same and this is where conflict begins. All the while she struggles with trying to restart her personal relationships, mostly with the on again off again romantic pull of her lead investigator Paul.
So far, the story lines have been engrossing, with unexpected turns.
So far, the story lines have been engrossing, with unexpected turns.
July 15, 2020
Nina Reilly is back and into a Lake Tahoe mystery. An indictment against one twin for murder, and a damning piece of evidence that can convict the boy . . . unless Nina obstructs justice by hiding it. No good lawyer will take that kind of risk. But a brilliant lawyer, one with a passion for truth, just might...
I love these writers and every book I have read by them.
I love these writers and every book I have read by them.
February 28, 2019
Synchronicity. That is the key word. The third book in the Reilly series is fast, compelling and all comes together at the end. Truly enjoyed the tale.
Phillip Tomasso
Author of the crime novel, YOU CHOOSE
and the supernatural thriller, WOMAN IN THE WOODS
Phillip Tomasso
Author of the crime novel, YOU CHOOSE
and the supernatural thriller, WOMAN IN THE WOODS
January 11, 2021
amazing read! I loved how everything came together at the end without seeming forced.
the only thing i did not like it's Nina Riley herself. she is kinda biased which i did not like and in this book I did not see much of Bob so...
the only thing i did not like it's Nina Riley herself. she is kinda biased which i did not like and in this book I did not see much of Bob so...
July 25, 2025
Two people have died in Lake Tahoe: one, a hit and run in a parking lot and one by lightning. Nina, out for a hike, sees the lightning strike. Now DeBeer’s father wants the body exhumed to rule out foul play. The stories mash together in a good legal thriller, but the romance not so much.
October 20, 2017
Now I’ve read them all. All are great.
May 1, 2018
It was ok but hard to get into. the story dragged throughout the book.
June 27, 2020
always like this series. like the local, Lake Tahoe setting. while climbing a small mountain near Lake Tahoe, couple see a guy struck by lightning .
March 10, 2021
Good read
September 20, 2022
Very good twists and turns to connect multiple cases together. Will keep you guessing
April 1, 2023
A good “Summer” read. Not as good as the first two. Almost too clever for its own good. And the blurring of all legal and ethical lines is troubling
September 16, 2023
Some resolution to some of Nina's issues, a good story with surprises and a character who gets more human and likeable with each book.
November 5, 2023
Poor plot. Very little to hold your attention.
January 23, 2025
Jan 2017- ( Nina Reilly #3)- Good
Read
June 29, 2025May-1999 #3 in series of 13
February 26, 2017
Only complaint was it was too wordy, there were some unnecessary scenes that could have shortened the read.
April 21, 2009
Obstruction of Justice, by Perri O'Shaughnessy. I actually started this late last year, and finally got around to finishing it. All in all, it was pretty enjoyable. A bit slow in places, but it keeps you guessing. There's more twists and turns in this than a double knot.
Basically, there are two different mysteries: the death of a viscious, controlling man and a hit-and-run death of a probation officer three years earlier. The cases wind up being related. Nina Reilly, an attorney, witnesses the death of Ray de Beers, and from all appearances, it looks to be accidental -- he was struck by lightning while hiking up a mountain. But she is then hired by the widow to help stop the disinterment of the body, which Ray's father has called for. Nina gets unwittingly involved when she comes across a potential murder scene, which points a finger of suspicion at Ray's son. Nina believes he is innocent of the death, but how far will she go to protect her client? As it turns out, pretty far -- even risking criminal charges against herself for withholding a key piece of evidence.
I found one plot point -- where one of the characters finds forensic evidence, from the three-year-old case in a parking lot -- a bit of a stretch, and the pacing was slow at times. But the characters are a lot of fun, especially Paul, a rather egotistical guy you'd love to hate, but can't because he's too charming and too good at his job. Nina and Paul are a pair.
Basically, there are two different mysteries: the death of a viscious, controlling man and a hit-and-run death of a probation officer three years earlier. The cases wind up being related. Nina Reilly, an attorney, witnesses the death of Ray de Beers, and from all appearances, it looks to be accidental -- he was struck by lightning while hiking up a mountain. But she is then hired by the widow to help stop the disinterment of the body, which Ray's father has called for. Nina gets unwittingly involved when she comes across a potential murder scene, which points a finger of suspicion at Ray's son. Nina believes he is innocent of the death, but how far will she go to protect her client? As it turns out, pretty far -- even risking criminal charges against herself for withholding a key piece of evidence.
I found one plot point -- where one of the characters finds forensic evidence, from the three-year-old case in a parking lot -- a bit of a stretch, and the pacing was slow at times. But the characters are a lot of fun, especially Paul, a rather egotistical guy you'd love to hate, but can't because he's too charming and too good at his job. Nina and Paul are a pair.
January 17, 2015
...third entry in...Nina Reilly series of legal thrillers. This time Nina's a witness to the death by lightning of a construction mogul in the Tahoe Mountains. When his father returns from a business trip, he wants Nina to have the body exhumed and autopsied for signs of murder, setting off a family furor. Suddenly, the grave is empty, the bodies of both father and son turn up in a smoldering mountain cabin, and the grandson is charged with murder. Nina is then asked to clear the grandson amid an increasingly complex series of interrelationships involving the D.A., his dead wife, a not-so-grieving widow, and, of course, the gardener. (excerpt from Library Journal review)
Workmanlike legal thriller. I've read one or two other novels in this series and liked them better than this one. True, Tahoe is a small town, but the coincidences and interconnections seem just a bit too coincidental here. Still, I enjoy the Nina Reilly novels simply because I'm fairly familiar with Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada foothills and many of the other northern California communities she employs. It's rather fun to read a scene set in a known locale.
Workmanlike legal thriller. I've read one or two other novels in this series and liked them better than this one. True, Tahoe is a small town, but the coincidences and interconnections seem just a bit too coincidental here. Still, I enjoy the Nina Reilly novels simply because I'm fairly familiar with Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada foothills and many of the other northern California communities she employs. It's rather fun to read a scene set in a known locale.
February 18, 2016
#3 in the Lake Tahoe lawyer Nina Reilly series.
Nina takes a romantic hike with DA Collier Halloran, hoping to distract him from the long-unsolved hit-and-run death of his wife and the pressures of an upcoming election. A fierce thunderstorm lashes the mountain they're climbing; and they watch as Raymond de Beers, the father of a squabbling family that had pushed past them on the trail, tumbles from the summit, apparently done in by a lightning bolt. Collier has a flashback to his wife's murder, and Nina refers him to her ex-lover, PI Paul van Wagoneran, to seek some closure by finding the killer. Then Quentin de Beers, the dead man's wealthy domineering father, insists his son's death was no accident. This sends the widow, Sarah, to Nina for help. Meanwhile, PI Paul tracks the car that killed Collier's wife and falls for a witness to the hit who's hiding a major secret.
Nina takes a romantic hike with DA Collier Halloran, hoping to distract him from the long-unsolved hit-and-run death of his wife and the pressures of an upcoming election. A fierce thunderstorm lashes the mountain they're climbing; and they watch as Raymond de Beers, the father of a squabbling family that had pushed past them on the trail, tumbles from the summit, apparently done in by a lightning bolt. Collier has a flashback to his wife's murder, and Nina refers him to her ex-lover, PI Paul van Wagoneran, to seek some closure by finding the killer. Then Quentin de Beers, the dead man's wealthy domineering father, insists his son's death was no accident. This sends the widow, Sarah, to Nina for help. Meanwhile, PI Paul tracks the car that killed Collier's wife and falls for a witness to the hit who's hiding a major secret.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews