About the Book
Book: Lethal Intent
Author: Cara Putman
Genre: Romantic Suspense
If they expected silence, they hired the wrong woman.
Caroline Bragg’s life has never been better. She and Brandon Lancaster are taking their relationship to the next level, and she has a new dream job as legal counsel for Praecursoria—a research lab that is making waves with its cutting-edge genetic therapies. The company’s leukemia treatments even promise to save desperately sick kids—kids like eleven-year-old Bethany, a critically ill foster child at Brandon’s foster home.
When Caroline’s enthusiastic boss wants to enroll Bethany in experimental trials prematurely, Caroline objects, putting her at odds with her colleagues. They claim the only goal at Praecursoria is to save lives. But does someone have another agenda?
Brandon faces his own crisis. As laws governing foster homes shift, he’s on the brink of losing the group home he’s worked so hard to build. When Caroline learns he’s a Praecursoria investor, it becomes legally impossible to confide in him. Will the secrets she keeps become a wedge that separates them forever? And can she save Bethany from the very treatments designed to heal her?
This latest romantic legal thriller by bestseller Cara Putman shines a light on the shadowy world of scientific secrets and corporate vendettas—and the ethical dilemmas that plague the place where science and commerce meet.
Click HERE to get your copy!
About the Author
As a preteen Cara Putman watched lawyers change legislative opinions at an important legislative hearing in Nebraska. At that time, she wondered if she became an attorney if people would give her words the same weight. An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska Lincoln, George Mason University School of Law and Krannert School of Management at Purdue University, Cara has turned her passion for words into award-winning stories that capture readers. Her legal experience makes its way into her stories where strong women confront real challenges.
An award-winning author of more than 30 books, Cara writes legal thrillers, WWII romances, and romantic suspense because she believes that no matter what happens hope is there, waiting for us to reach for it.
When she’s not writing, Cara is an over-educated attorney who lectures in law and communications at the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University and homeschools her children. She and her family live in Indiana, the land of seasons. You can read chapters for most of her books and connect with Cara at her website: http://caraputman.com.
More from Cara
Each novel has a unique genesis story. The spark that launches it into a journey of 90,000 words. For Lethal Intent, that journey began with a friend’s journey of childhood leukemia with her oldest. From watching their family wind through years of treatment including cutting edge therapy trials. Then it developed with the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack and the thought what would someone be willing to do if they believed they’d found the next strain of immortal cells. The lead characters made appearances in other books, but now would have their opportunity to step to center stage. The story morphed and changed, dictated by the vagaries of the law and changes.
Each story has a spark. For Caroline it was a brainstorming session with my writing buddies Rachel Hauck, Colleen Coble, and Denise Hunter. That was when her backstory developed, all the things that happened to her to form her into the adult she is on the pages. One who cares deeply about others but who is fundamentally scared, longing for a place she can relax and take a deep breath.
Each story has a spark. For Brandon, it was brainstorming with another writing friend Tricia Goyer that lead to a creative job for a hero that wasn’t the typical law enforcement. His role with the group foster home was set and the backstory filled in quickly. What would it be like to be separated from and lose a brother in the foster care system? Would that generate this need to keep sibling groups together? And then the law changes and the fabric of your professional identity and something so much deeper is threatened.
Each story has a spark. The pharmaceutical start-up where ethics collides with the desire to save children. The push to do whatever it takes overshadowing the guardrails of the law. If they expected silence, they hired the wrong woman. But does Caroline really have the strength to battle and does she need to?
Lethal Intent grew from each of these sparks and many more to develop into a story I can’t wait for you to read. In the process I learned immense amounts about CAR-T cell therapies and foster care law. Most of all, I hope you’ll fall into the pages and be engrossed in a story you can’t bring yourself to put down until the final page.
My Review
“So this was what Praecursoria did. Offered terrible hope to those who had none.”
As interested as I am in forensics, legal thrillers have never been on my list of genres to read. It’s not that I have no interest at all in reading fiction from a legal perspective, but more of a time issue and concern over finding an author who would not ruin my first experience and turn me off of the genre before I’d even begun. However, the name Cara Putnam kept coming up in my Christian book groups, and finally I decided to take the plunge and see for myself what the buzz was about. And I am so glad that I did, proving to myself that I should not wait so long to step out of my comfort zone in the future!
One of the main points that initially drew me to Lethal Intent is the medical aspect. That familiarity made it easier for me to transition to a genre different than what I usually read, but I would like to emphasize that regardless of the reader’s knowledge of medicine or law (or lack thereof), Cara Putnam writes in a way that is easy to comprehend. Any foreknowledge might make for a slightly quicker reading experience, but everything is explained within the text. Furthermore, Putnam accomplishes this without making the reader feel alienated or as if they’re reading a textbook. Due to the fact that this part of the plot deals with revolutionary genetic therapy research and trials, the story, albeit fictional, raises valid and pertinent concerns that are already and will continue to be a major factor in our society. Through the circumstances addressed in Lethal Intent, Putnam flags the ethical and legal ramifications concomitant with genetic engineering.
Alongside the legal and scientific features of the plot is a friendship that is turning into romance between two individuals who have each experienced the trauma of difficult pasts and rejection. Lawyer Caroline Bragg takes a job with Praecursoria, a company whose research is on the cutting edge of genetic therapy, unaware that her close friend Brandon Lancaster is an investor. To avoid insider trading, she is unable to discuss her work with him, even when it involves one of the kids from his foster home group for siblings, Almost Home. Something doesn’t seem quite right, but Caroline can’t figure out what the problem might be, and her colleagues don’t seem very forthcoming. Perhaps for good reason.
Complete with discussion questions, Lethal Intent provides a thought-provoking, compelling, and at times heartbreaking glimpse into the rapidly developing field of genetic therapies. There is a light but unmistakable Christian element that provides the moral framework for the main characters and a thread of hope throughout challenging and life-changing situations. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys legal thrillers, suspense, medical thrillers, or mysteries, as well as to anyone interested in genetic engineering and the enormous impact it has on everyone involved.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.
My rating: 5 stars ♥♥♥♥♥
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, January 21
lakesidelivingsite, January 21
Texas Book-aholic, January 21
Through the Fire Blogs, January 22
Sara Jane Jacobs, January 22
A Novel Pursuit, January 22
CarpeDiem, January 23
Betti Mace, January 23
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, January 23
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, January 24
Blogging With Carol, January 24
HookMeInABook, January 24
For the Love of Literature, January 25
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 25
Fiction Book Lover, January 25 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)
For Him and My Family, January 26
EmpowerMoms, January 26
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, January 26
Artistic Nobody, January 27 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
Mypreciousbitsandmusings, January 27
Where Faith and Books Meet, January 27
By The Book, January 28
Older & Smarter?, January 28
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, January 28
Inklings and notions, January 29
Simple Harvest Reads, January 29
Blossoms and Blessings, January 29
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 30
Splashes of Joy, January 30
Pause for Tales, January 30
Spoken from the Heart, January 31
Just Your Average reviews, January 31
deb’s Book Review, January 31
Hallie Reads, February 1
Adventures of a Travelers Wife, February 1
Genesis 5020, February 1
To Everything There Is A Season, February 2
Hebrews 12 Endurance, February 2
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, February 2
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 3
Southern Gal Loves to Read, February 3
Daysong Reflections, February 3
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Cara is giving away the grand prize package of a “Just one more chapter” pillow cover, a copy of the book, an Erin Condren journal, and a hand-stamped bracelet!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/10627/lethal-intent-celebration-tour-giveaway
For the Love of Literature 