Jason Rich Book #1
By: Robert Bailey
Narrator: Joe Knezevich
ISBN: 978-1542037273
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Brilliance Audio
9 hours and 6 minutes
Publication Date: 09/01/2022
Format: e-book and audio
My Rating: 4 Stars
From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Robert Bailey comes a compelling legal thriller about a lawyer who takes on his sister’s case—and confronts small-town secrets and family skeletons.
Attorney Jason Rich has made a fortune off other people’s bad luck. His billboard slogan—“In an accident? Get Rich!”—accosts motorists on highways from Alabama to Florida. As ambulance chasers go, he’s exceptional.
But after a recent divorce and a stint in rehab, Jason has hit a rough patch. And things only get worse when his sister, Jana, is accused of her husband’s murder. Even though Jason has no experience trying criminal cases, Jana begs him to represent her.
Jason has mixed feelings about returning to Lake Guntersville, Alabama—and even more reservations about diving back into his sister’s life. Between the drugs, the affairs, and a tendency to gaslight everyone in her inner circle, Jana has plenty of enemies in town.
But did Jana hire someone to kill her husband? Jason isn’t so sure. He heads back to his hometown to unravel the truth and face off against opponents old and new.
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My Review
An introduction to Robert Bailey's new twisty legal series drama (Jason Rich #1) with RICH BLOOD —a legal thriller and murder mystery of an attorney who takes on his estranged sister's case—unraveling small-town secrets and family skeletons.
Audiobook: While I purchased the e-book and the audiobook, let me say how much I ENJOYED the audiobook and HIGHLY RECOMMEND the audio! Joe Knezevich—the narrator, was EXCELLENT! He sounds so much like Matthew McConaughey (swoon) that in the beginning, I had to look to make sure it was not Matthew, which I adore. The audio performance was very engaging across all voices, and Joe has been added to my favorite narrator list.
Set in the south in rural Alabama, we are introduced to a cast of highly dysfunctional Southern characters with topics of infidelity, drug and alcohol addiction, corruption, violence, manipulation, drug pins, sex, murder for hire, PTSD, secrets and lies, and more in this small rural town.
Jason Rich, is a personal injury attorney which has had much success as an ambulance chaser with tag lines: "In an accident? Get Rich!"—with billboards from Alabama to Florida. However, he is fresh out of a 90-day stint in rehab for alcohol addiction.
Jason receives a phone call desperate for help from his two nieces, Niecy and Nola that their mother, Jana (his estranged sister), has been arrested for the murder of her husband, Dr. Braxton Waters, the girl's father.
It appears both Braxton and Jana were unfaithful, and both had multiple affairs.
Jana is an evil person, and Jason wants no part of this or his sister. She is manipulative, heavily into drugs, affairs, and sex, and hangs out with drug dealers. Not a good mother, wife, sister, or friend. Jason and Jana are estranged, but he has to help his nieces.
Also, Jason knows nothing about a trial or criminal law. However, his sister has no other choice, and he agrees to take on her case after being threatened.
What he does not know is that he will have dangerous drug dealers on his trail and has to pay more than $50K for his sister's drug debts, or the drug dealer will kill his nieces. Then he finds out his sister withdrew $15K from her bank account the day before the murder.
Now they have a murderer for hire that has confessed with a deal stating Jana paid him for killing her husband. They have the $15K.
But Jason feels he has no choice but to defend her. Also a threat by local drug king Tyson Cade, who demands $50,000 she owed him for his product. Cade doesn’t want Jana to testify in her defense or does he want his name to come up in the trial, so he demands that Jason does not take the case, letting it go to a court-appointed less-motivated attorney, or if he does take the case, that he keep Jana off the stand.
Jason's life is now in danger, and his nieces. With a town of corruption, where drug lords run the town, and the local cops, plus an array of characters having sex with others' spouses, affairs, drugs, alcohol, and sins of the past of both Jana and her doctor husband, will keep your head spinning. There are plenty of red herrings and suspects.
Will Jason be able to get get a not guilty verdict for his sister?
No likable characters here (except Jason and his junior associate, which is funny), but most are evil and dangerous, and crazy. Not a lot of riveting courtroom scenes or strategic planning, but more of a mystery and drama.
Do not expect anything of the caliber of John Grisham, Scott Turow, or John Lescroart, but an entertaining murder mystery for fans of the TV series Better Call Saul.
With twists and turns, the author throws out two final double twists you do not see coming, concluding the first installment while his fans wait for the next in this series.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Sept 1, 2022
Praise
“Rich Blood is a deliciously clever legal thriller that keeps you turning pages fast and furious. Robert Bailey’s latest is wildly entertaining.” —Patricia Cornwell, #1 New York Times bestselling author
From the Publisher
Better Call Saul meets Greg Iles in this incredible series starter from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Robert Bailey. Jason Rich is one of those rare characters who’s both flawed and captivating. I couldn’t stop reading as I followed him through the incredible twists and turns this story took.
Billboard attorney Jason Rich has built himself a prominent personal injury practice. He prides himself on settling cases and never going to trial, but when his sister, Jana, is accused of murdering her husband, he returns to his hometown to represent her—a person he’s kept at arm’s length for years. Jana is manipulative and cruel, and made most of Jason’s life miserable. Personal feelings aside, it’s his job to follow the facts of the case, and right now, all the evidence points at her.
But Jana is his family, and Jason’s going to do his best to protect her. He may not like his sister, but when push comes to shove, he’ll defend her until the end. After all, blood is thicker than water.
—Megha Parekh, Editor
About the Author
Robert Bailey is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Bocephus Haynes series, which includes The Wrong Side and Legacy of Lies, as well as the award-winning McMurtrie and Drake Legal Thrillers series, which includes The Final Reckoning, The Last Trial, Between Black and White, and The Professor. He is also the author of the inspirational novel The Golfer’s Carol. Rich Blood is his eighth novel. For the past twenty-three years, Bailey has been an attorney in Huntsville, Alabama, where he lives with his wife and three children. For more information, please visit www.robertbaileybooks.com.
