I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I must admit, though I had always liked the “Small Town Lawyer” series for protagonist Leland Munroe’s representation of society’s underdog, its fourth book, “Burning Evidence,” is by far my favorite of the series. As we had seen in the previous books, Leland has finally been able to develop a solid clientele and get good retainers from his clients. He is starting to get a name for himself in the town, in spite of the attempts made by his newspaper nemesis to discredit him. 

In this book, Leland handles two high profile cases — one is a drug charge a college kid named Jacob faces and the other is an arson case in which an innocent man might be convicted. As usual, Leland faces a lot of hurdles, both within the criminal justice system and from the people around him, as he tries to help both of the defendants to beta the allegations they face. The story meanders through a lot of false mirrors and twisted passages to arrive at the crux of truth and get justice for the wronged people, the accused and victims alike. 

The author has presented a very clear and crisp narrative in this story. The surprising twists occurring throughout don’t seem forced and help hold the interest of the reader. Leland’s character has come a long way since we saw him first; his character seems to have grown on me and hence this book was more of a rewarding reading experience than its predecessors. 

I particularly loved the way Leland’s work partner, Terri, character has been written. The progress in their relationship has been depicted beautifully and most important of all, believably. I can’t wait to see what the author is going to come up with in the next book. I highly recommend the whole series and this book to lovers of legal thrillers.

This book gets 5 out of 5 stars.