I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

This was a good legal romance.

Catherine is a criminal defence attorney. Starr is a prosecutor who set on running for DA position.

When Starr is ask to be the lead investigator on the mayor daughter Hannah who was kidnapped. Catherine does think she right for the job because she doesn't like the way Starr goes about getting justice done wether that person's are guilty or not. When Starr and Pearson who is a cop get a tip they find a bow which they don't know is connect to Hannah because she doesn't wear bows when they present this on news Catherine is shock to her core when she realize she may know who kidnapped Hannah.

As Catherine tries not to have a melt down her and Starr start to connect a attraction begins. They don't really get together until close to the end of the book but I like how the author dives into legal systems and how it works.

This book is classic Carsen Taite. She always brings the reader a smart, well researched and enjoyable read. Like many of her previous works this is a legal mystery/thriller. The blurb does the book justice so I won't do a recap in this review. This author has again woven complicated yet mostly likeable characters. Personally, it was hard to like Catherine. I understand though, that suffering childhood trauma changes behavior in adulthood and her journey felt authentic. The pacing felt right and everything wraps up nicely in this presumed stand alone. It feels like the ending leaves an opportunity for a sequel. You never know...
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve said it before, for me Carsen Taite is a sure bet, I’ll grab almost anything she writes, knowing I’ll probably like it. She knows what she’s talking about, and she’s very good at creating the right atmosphere. So I knew there would be legal stuff (I love legal stuff) and romance in Leading the Witness. What I didn’t expect was to be sucked into the case so quickly.

Starr Rio is a prosecutor who is not above getting creative with rules if it helps her bring justice, or so says her reputation. Catherine Landauer is an attorney who, for personal reasons, won’t touch any case dealing with child abuse. She’s also not a fan of Starr’s methods and very much a by-the-rules kind of gal. When a little girl is abducted, Starr is put in charge of the investigation and Catherine tries hard to keep her distance. Until she can’t anymore.

It’s not easy to write about this novel without giving too much away, which would be a shame as Taite did a great job of hinting at what Catherine’s secret is, revealing her story gradually. She kept me on the edge of my seat for the longest time. I could feel Catherine struggling not to lose control (and her sanity), and how Starr was making an effort to stay professional while trying to protect Catherine – a woman she barely knows and who, until very recently, was an adversary rather than a friend – from her own fears as well as actual threats.

While both main characters are lawyers, there’s not as much legal talk and court scenes as in other Carsen Taite books, this one falls in the thriller or crime category. Despite the race against time aspect of the story, the romance is of the slow burn kind, and I was almost ready for it not happen at all (yet still hoping it would, since Taite’s quite good at romance too), as Catherine had so much to deal with already. But when it finally did, it flowed.

Like most of my favorite Taite books, Leading the Witness is a standalone.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I was completely pulled into the storyline of this book that I struggled to put the book down on more than one occasion. The pace of the story was perfect where I found myself so pulled into the case and what would happen next that I was shocked when I realised there was only a few chapters left.

The relationship between Starr and Catherine was a slow build up which was good but could have been better. The slow build up to the romance just wasn't as well done as it could have been. It just felt like there was nothing between the two until they were almost kissing.

The story wrapped up fairly quickly providing a fairly good insight into how the case wrapped up. I personally wanted a bit more on how they were going to make their relationship work when they are on different sides in the court room especially if Starr becomes the DA.

I did really enjoy this book, a quick read that was action packed with strong female characters.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review.

3.75 Stars. As many other readers out there I’m a big Taite fan. While I enjoy all of her books, I was happy to find out this was one of her standalone crime/law books instead of part of her series. These one-off crime books really are my favorites to read. I think Taite fans will have fun with this book.

Catherine is a defense attorney with a secretive past. Due to her past she works hard to make sure that the police and prosecutors follow the letter of the law. Starr is a prosecutor who wants to run for the District Attorney position. The more cases she wins, even if it means bending the rules, the better. Starr seems to be the exact person that Catherine tries to fight against, but the more they are around each other the more feelings start to develop. Can two people on such different sides of the law have a chance together or will Catherine’s secret past stand in the way?

I grabbed this book because it was by Taite. Whatever she writes is automatic for me so I had not read the blurb yet. I would suggest if you have not read the book blurb yet, see if my summary is enough information for you. I think the blurb just gives a little too much away like what Catherine’s secret past is. I found out while reading and I’m glad I didn’t read the blurb ahead of time.

While both main characters are lawyers, there is less time in the court than usually. I would say this book leans more towards the crime category. While no one can write the law like Taite, I enjoyed the more crime angle this time. I found myself on edge most of the book wondering what would happen next. This is the kind of book where characters have to find the bad guy/girl before it is too late so the whole book had undertones of excitement that kept me turning the pages.

My one main complaint was that the book felt a bit short. The main storyline feels plenty complete but the romance was a little rushed in my opinion. The characters both have some walls up so it did take a while for any romance to start, but once things progressed it went a little fast. On the good side the characters are both very likeable and felt well-constructed. I believed them which was nice and I had my fingers crossed for a HEA.

This is not my favorite book by Taite but I was entertained and I thought it was a solid read for sure. I think Taite fans will have fun with this one. I do have to admit her last few books felt a little rushed to me so I do hope that is something that changes soon. I love reading Taite’s books. I’d rather have more pages than less.

Now, if you're a fan of a good thriller, packed with lively criminal defense, court scenes, this is your book. I've always found Carsen Taite to be my to-go writer when I'm in need for a good crime novel. Her portrayal of lawyers, judges, DAs, prosecutors, litigation, is what makes her books attractive not only to lesbian fiction readers, but to crime - thriller genre fans as well.
I'm also a great fan of one particular thing in her books - the women are strong, well developed, eloquent characters, with a very pronounced sense of self-awareness and self-worth. I think it's very empowering for women to identify with these great characters from Carsen Taite's books. Catherine and Starr are no exception to this. Each of these characters brings strength, intensity and their complex story in their own way. I won't talk much about romance part of the book, because, in the midst of the criminal part of the plot, it kind of fell into background, but the plot was so good that I wasn't bothered by it at all.