Expert Witness: A Josie Bates Thriller (The Witness Series Book 4)

I have read several “Witness” series and this one kept me going to the end. Once I figured out the guilty person it kept me reading with determination to figure out the closing with several surprises on the way.

Excellent book. No low spots, just a steady climb to the top.

I'm becoming addicted to thrillers and there is no one better that can craft a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, keep you awake at night because you just have to read one more chapter and who will keep you thinking "I've got to read every book this author has ever written." That's how I felt when I read Ms. Forster's latest legal thriller, EXPERT WITNESS.Once again we are privy to Josie Bate's life--before when she was a ruthless defense attorney--and now when she uses her talent and compassion to help a sixteen-year-old abused girl, Hannah Sheraton. Hannah is now Josie's ward, but something is wrong. The usual predictable Josie has seemingly disappeared into thin air. Hannah rustles up all her courage to go and see Archer, a private investigator and Josie's sometime boyfriend, to ask for his help in locating Josie. Archer uses all his connections including a Hermosa Beach detective, Liz Driscoll, to try and uncover any clues as to Josie's whereabouts. The news is not good. It seems that a double-murderer has been unexpectantly released from prison early and all signs point to him kidnapping Josie. When a second woman is kidnapped, the investigation turns frantic. The killer has a timetable - he kills his victims on the fifth day of captivity. Daniel Young, the expert psychiatrist, from the killer's trial, thinks he can help. He understands how the killer thinks and Archer and Liz have no choice but to include him in their investigation. If he can find the killer, then his obnoxious self-righteous behavior will have to be endured.Ms. Forster takes you on a journey filled with twists and turns, many of which you will never see coming. I thought I had figured out who was responsible, but I couldn't have been further from the truth. That's superb craftsmanship from this author. Through expert writing I felt Hannah's anxiety, Archer's frustration and Daniel's smug attitude as he lends his expert opinion on the next steps in the investigation. If you enjoy thrillers, you'll find none better than "The Witness Series" by Rebecca Forster. Highly Recommended.

The characters are real and easy to love (or hate). The subplots fit together smoothly and keep the story moving forward. Quite enjoyable!

I am priviledged to have read 13 Rebecca Forster novels and this is the best one yet!! The reader already has other reviews that detail the plot line, so I would like to explain to the reader why I think Expert Witness is the best Forster novel yet.....1. excellent weaving of the main plot and the subplots......(a) captives - Jose and Erika, (b) Hermosa PD - interaaction between Liz and Captain Hagarty, (c) excellent subplot with Hannah, Archer and Sarah Crane, (d) excellent interaction between Liz (Hermosa PD) and LAPD2. I really liked how Ms Forster used subtitles to always alert the reader where the story was taking place. Clear, concise and well done.3. One of Ms Forsters main qualities is the ability to introduce characters to the reader and "weave" in the important background of that character in such a manner that the reader understands "why" this character is important to the story.4. Ms Forster has an uncany ability to weave and maintian subplots without distracting from the main plot. Examples include (a) maintianing the subplot of the captives (Jose and Erika) without distracting from the main plot which is the search for Jose (b) the conflict between Hanah, Archer and Sarah Crane while maintaining the main plot.5. I really liked how Ms Forster presented the conflicted relationship between Liz and Captain Hagarty. I think this was important to the main story line and enhanced the character of Liz Driscoll.6. I enjoyed the improved relationship between Hannah and Archer. We could "feel" the improvment in the relationship as well as "read about it".7. I loved the interaction at the Edleman Children's Court.8. The A-1 Storage Center saga was excellent - well written, suspenseful and entertaining.This is an action, legal thriller that will be the "page turner" of the year. I absolutely recommend it with five stars and "two thumbs up".

I had no clue about how this story was going to end. Glad Josie survived and Hannah has a happy family now.

I liked this entry in the series more than the first three. It had me on edge from almost the first page.Forster did a masterful job of giving readers two possible suspects in Josie’s disappearance and keeping both equally viable throughout most of the book. I was fairly sure I knew the real guilty party a little over halfway through, but Forster had me thinking I might be wrong until much later in the story.She also did a great job balancing scenes in Josie’s POV with those of Archer and some other primary characters. Too many authors give us too much or too little in the victim’s POV.There’s a bit more ‘in your face’ violence in this book than I recall being in the earlier ones. One character I suspected would play a bigger role in the mystery sort of vanished toward the end of the story. And one important sub-plot was resolved by telling the reader it had been resolved but not how it had been.The next book in this series is on my ‘To Read’ list.

So many options of who the guilty person is. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

The tales of LA lawyer Josie Bates continues, as writer Rebecca Forester treats us to yet another adventure. This time the formula changes somewhat: for this book is not a Courtroom drama, instead Josie is kidnapped and shut up in a concrete bunker after a killer she had defended nine years earlier is unexpectedly released. If you are a fan of this series, don’t let the change in formula put you off. This book is an excellent thriller that still contains many elements of a Courtroom drama. It is written with a beautiful simplicity and is fast paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the last page. This is the forth book in the series. It is my view that if you are considering reading this book, it is best to start with the first book ‘Hostile Witness’ as you will then hit the ground running when it comes to knowing all the main characters and the history of their relationship with Josie Bates.

These are not formulaic books which is one of the reasons I enjoyed them so much. Each book in the series has a completely different theme. When I first started reading them I thought it would be all about lawyers and court rooms but I've been pleasantly surprised. This one takes a very dark turn (in more ways than one) with our heroine being kidnapped. I really felt I was there with her suffering the fear, anxiety and claustrophobia that you would expect in a situation like that. Please read the books in order. You won't be disappointed.

Another good story by Forster. I've read quite a few in this series now, and like that it's not predictable or trite.Off to find the next in series, to add to my Wishlist.

I thoroughly enjoyed this instalment of the Witness series of Rebecca Forster's books. It is (as with all her books) very well written, the characters are totally engrossing and it was one I couldn't put down.I won't spoil it by going into any great detail, save to say that I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.I hope the last instalment (Eyewitness) is as good as all the other books have been.Enjoy the book!

I have read all 4 of The Witness series books by Rebecca Forster and have enjoyed them all equally. They all have good strong charactors and keep you intrigued.This last book in the series (4) has lots of suspence and was a very good read, but i thought maybe it ended just slightly as if it was going to be continued??. Will keep on reading Rebecca Forster books for sure!