Nina Reilly is a single-mother attorney who practices law in South Lake Tahoe. She left a marriage and a more conventional legal career to set up her own solo practice in a small resort town, taking on the kinds of cases that nobody else wants. Across thirteen novels, she defends clients accused of murder, fraud, and worse, often putting herself at personal risk in the process.
What makes Nina work as a character is the combination of legal competence and personal chaos. She is good at her job but her life outside the courtroom is messy. She is raising a son on her own, dealing with complicated relationships, and living in a community where everyone knows everyone else’s business. The Lake Tahoe setting gives the series a distinct flavor, mixing courtroom procedure with small-town dynamics and the natural beauty of the Sierra Nevada.
Read the Nina Reilly books in order.