Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, which has sold more than 10 million books worldwide. He is also the author of The Charles Jenkins espionage series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, the Keera Duggan legal thriller series, and several stand-alone novels including The 7th Canon, Damage Control, the literary novels, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell – Suspense Magazine’s Book of the Year, for which Dugoni’s narration won an AudioFile Earphones Award and the critically acclaimed, The World Played Chess; historical novels based on true events: A Killing on the Hill about Seattle during the great depression and Hold Strong, a WWII novel; as well as the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year.

Q. Beyond Reasonable Doubt is second in the Keera Duggan series (after Her Deadly Game). What is it about Keera that makes for such a compelling character? What is it about her that appeals so much to readers, do you think? 

Robert: I think what appeals to readers is Keera is incredibly flawed, like the rest of us but still managing to do her job and do it well. She comes from a dysfunctional family, she can’t establish a relationship, and she may drink too much, but she’s also incredibly bright, intuitive and instinctive playing chess and trying cases. She’s human.

Q. Were there any real-life people that inspired the Jenna Bernstein character? Is this a ripped from the headlines book, or is the crime totally imagined? 

Robert: For the most part, it’s fiction. My mother came from an alcoholic household. Her father, Irish, drank since he was 17 and still managed to have a successful career as a dentist. But I see the scars that were inflicted on my mom and her siblings, and it saddens me. I know, as parents, we do the best we can, but we’re not perfect and sometimes that impacts our kids.

Q. The books in this series are thrillers, but they also address the challenges and struggles lawyers face in their personal lives. As a former attorney yourself, do you find it therapeutic to write legal thrillers? Do you draw on your own experiences? 

Robert: Honestly, no. I don’t find it therapeutic. I just like the drama of the legal profession. It’s incredibly challenging and has built in tension, which is great for storytelling. I do draw on personal experience in the courtroom, but not the cases, just the experience before a judge and a jury.

Q. Rumor has it there’s a third Keera Duggan book titled Her Cold Justice. Can you give us a sneak peek?

Robert: Keera returns, this time to defend her Private Investigator, JP Harrison’s nephew who is arrested for the murder of two people. The evidence seems thin, but what exists is not good for Michael Westbrook, and Keera will be facing off against the best prosecutor in the Prosecuting Attorney’s office. The stakes have never been higher, and the possibility of failing never so catastrophic.

Q. You are a prolific writer with several books publishing each year, with your next, Hold Strong, a historical novel set during WWII that’s very grounded in history—what is your secret?

Robert: No secret. I love what I do, and I go to work every day. Writing isn’t a hobby, it’s a profession. It’s what I do. When I’m not writing I’m always searching for the next story.

Q. And if you have a day off, what does that look like for you?

Robert: The sun is shining, the fish are biting in the morning, and the golf ball is flying straight in the afternoon. Then dinner on the patio with my wife and my kids. Doesn’t get any better.