Irreparable Harm by Melissa Miller *****

Reminiscent of John Grisham and Stephanie Plum, Sarah McCandless (protagonist of Irreparable Harm by Melissa Miller) is a lawyer and a detective. When a client’s commercial jet crashes into a mountain, Sarah is part of the team assigned to defend the client from the expected law suits. Aside from being an rising star at a large firm, Sarah has a secret. In her very limited spare time, she has become something of a martial arts expert.

Both her legal skills and her martial arts are put to the test, when her boss is murdered and she is put in charge, with the result that several violent people target her. One of the minor joys of this book is watching various people underestimating the small, five-foot tall woman, only to discover how dangerous she is after it is too late.

Sarah studies Krav Maga. Martial arts seem to become popular in fashion cycles. After World War II, judo was popular. During the 1970s there was David Carradine and Kung Fu. In the 1980s we had the Karate Kid. Maybe Krav Maga will be next.

The many fight sequences follow pattern of defense, attack, control, but the real fun is the surprise of the large thugs discovering they are out fought by Sarah. Later they warn others to be wary, but of course everyone underestimates her and learns for themselves.

If you like a good mystery, law firm politics, really smart and violent female protagonists, this book is for you. Fortunately this is the first book in a series.

I received this book for free on Amazon. I expect you can too.