She swore to uphold justice. But at what cost? Living in a prime location for wind energy, the locals in the small town of Brine, Iowa find themselves locked in a vicious battle with a wealthy oil company who is buying struggling farm properties to put up windmills. Half the town is for the windmill projects, the other half will stop at nothing to keep the iron giants out of their skyline. When the conflict turns violent, a murder shakes the town and leaves expert public defender Ashley Montgomery with a trial on her hands that is both criminal and political. Meanwhile, Ashley is in the process of applying for a judgeship, a political position, while tasked with building a rock solid defense for her client who is charged with murdering a neighbor that had leased property for the construction of windmills. The more Ashley digs, the more ties she finds between her client, his alleged victim, and the Texas Oil company, forcing her to make a decision between her ethics as an attorney and her dreams of becoming a judge. Desperate to find a balance between her ambitions and her client's needs, Ashley is faced with a near impossible task with conflicts of interest that run far deeper than she ever imagined. Can Ashley navigate this turbulent case and come out on top? Or will she need to burn some bridges in the name of justice? Step into the riveting fifth book in the Ashley Montgomery Legal Thriller Series. With all the thrilling twists and turns of a high-stakes court case, author Laura Snider's gritty themes and expert attention to detail makes Unexpected Defense a book that you won't soon forget. ______________________ Praise for Laura Snider and the Ashley Montgomery Legal Thriller series: "...a wonderful mix of fully-developed characters, sharp, witty dialogue and descriptive prose that had me captivated from beginning to end." --James Chandler, author of Misjudged "Snider steals the show with her descriptive voice and legal details..." --Carolyn Ridder Aspenson, USA Today Bestselling author of Damaging Secrets "...twisty crimes and complicated relationships. This is a series you won't want to miss." --Shannon Baker, author of Stripped Bare "...truly compelling and hard to put down." --Cynthia Hamilton, author of Spouse Trap