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Improper Influence (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller) Paperback – September 30, 2013

by Melissa F. Miller (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,406 ratings
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Sasha and Connelly are back in IMPROPER INFLUENCE.Even Sasha's most daunting cases to date haven't prepared her for her current challenge: finding a wedding reception venue that her mother and Connelly can agree on. Wedding planning woes become the least of her worries, though, when Bodhi King, a forensic pathologist for the City of Pittsburgh, comes to her for help. Young women across the city are dying, and he suspects their deaths are connected. After he voices his suspicions, he becomes a target. Bodhi needs Sasha and Connelly's assistance to unearth the truth before it's buried along with more victims -- and him, if whoever's trying to silence him succeeds.The trail is long and dirty, leading to political influence peddlers, backroom deals, and the biggest law firm in town. But Sasha won't stop until she frees the city she calls home from the grip of corruption -- whatever the cost.
Previous page
  1. Book 5 of 16
    Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller
  2. Print length
    432 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    September 30, 2013
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 1.08 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1940759013
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1940759012
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

I'm Melissa F. Miller, author of the Sasha McCandless legal thriller series and a practicing attorney. When I'm not in court or on the playground with my three delightful children, I'm hard at work on my next novel. Please visit me at www.melissafmiller.com and sign up for my e-mail newsletter to find out when new books are published. Find the entire Sasha McCandless legal thriller series here: smarturl.it/sashaseries

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Brown Street Books (September 30, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1940759013
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1940759012
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.08 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,406 ratings

About the author

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Melissa F. Miller

Melissa F. Miller

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USA Today bestselling author Melissa F. Miller is a former attorney who traded the practice of law for the art of telling stories.

As a lawyer, she clerked for a federal judge; practiced in the offices of major international law firms; and ran a two-person law firm with her lawyer husband. Now, powered by coffee, she writes crime fiction and homeschools her three children. When she's not writing, and sometimes when she is, she travels around the country in an RV with her husband, kids, cat, and dog.

She is the author of more than two dozen bestselling legal thrillers, suspense thrillers, romantic comedic mysteries, and forensic thrillers. All her work shares two common threads: pulse-pounding, tightly plotted action and smart, unlikely heroines and heroes.

To find out when Melissa releases a new book, visit www.melissafmiller.com and sign up for her email newsletter.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
2,406 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Gabi Rosetti
5.0 out of 5 stars IMPROPER INFLUENCE (Sasha McCandless/Book 5)
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2016
Verified Purchase
If you read LOVERS AND MADMEN (1st Sasha McCandless Novella), you know that the Java (I mentioned "a little Java" at the end of my review) is a kitten. Sasha and Connelly decided to keep the kitten and, as the newest family member, Java is a happily settling in to his new home...

Sasha is trying to find time to choose a wedding venue -- that Connelly AND her mother (Valentina) agree upon and approve of. Wedding plans will be sidetracked until this legal thriller is resolved...

Young women in Pittsburg are dying. Are the deaths related and if so, how are they related?

Bodhi King is a forensic pathologist and he is suspicious that the deaths are somehow linked. His records and personal journals have been stolen and his computer is missing his files. He gives an interview (that Sasha attends) stating that the deaths have to be connected. There has been no statement made or warnings issued about these deaths -- and nobody can figure out why. Soon, Bodhi becomes a target himself. Connelly and Sasha help him try to solve the mystery before there are more deaths. He has made himself a target by speaking up...

There is political corruption and dirty back room deals -- it's hard to keep up with who the "good guys" are and who the "bad guys" are.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this book to keep you up past your bedtime, racing to get to the good parts and find out "whodunit". Ms. Miller continues to write a great series that gets better with each book. I have not read one book in this series that I did not like -- and I read each book in one sitting. I feel like I know Sasha, Connelly and Naya and I want to see what happens next...

Sasha "moves her fledgling firm into the next phase of its development. It felt exhilarating and frightening all at once."

Up Next: A MARRIAGE OF TRUE MINDS (2nd Sasha McCandless Novella)
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Becky Hanne
4.0 out of 5 stars Action and suspense
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2020
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This is my first of this series to read. I liked the characters. They were so varied and interesting. You saw their personalities. The story was exciting and there were some things that took you one way but then you were flipped around and it turned out to be something totally different. I really liked it.
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scollins18
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great one
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2024
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I liked everything absolutely everything You're captured and intrigued From the 1st word to the last. Recommend the book All Hulu like legal thrillers
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Mike Bannan
5.0 out of 5 stars A great series combining aspects of the law and easy read thrillers!
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2013
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I started reading Ms. Miller's works a month or so ago after finding them on Amazon. Since then I have blitzed through the 1st five of the series. These books are amazing and have a very real feel to them. In my mind I can easily visualize the characters. These thrillers are very different than many. No cheap or intimate sex scenes and very limited violence. All plot all the time! Rarely can I figure out the villains in advance!!! Well worth the read......
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Ellen Oceanside
4.0 out of 5 stars CORRUPTION ON THE HOME FRONT
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2017
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Computer records about Nina, and Christa death were strange, but someone taking his personal notebook. Bodhi, felt like a theft had entered into his personal space. Death of three woman, by unusual circumstances, was odd to begin with. Lawsuits against Bodhi, an attach on Sasha, is someone in the company they work for, behind it. Will Sasha continue to drag her heels on getting married. Great story, full of action, and decisions to be made All of Melissa Miller's book are good reading.
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L. Wright
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent series
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2013
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Melissa Miller has written an excellent series with the Sasha McCandless books. I am seldom am willing to pay for a book (I use the library) but I cannot wait to get my hands on the next Sasha McCandless novel. The books are extremely well written and the characters are well thought out and developed. The Sasha McCandless series is a must read for anyone that enjoys reading about a woman who is in control and doesn't back down from anything or anyone. The series will give you hours of enjoyable reading, try it and see for yourself.
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Martin Evans
3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but Flawed
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2017
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This exciting & fast moving story is told well & develops quite a bit of suspense. While an enjoyable read, it stretches credulity with the astounding shrinking-violet nature of almost all the male characters and the dominant over-competence of every one of the females. Most of the males were mocked or ridiculed by other characters at some point. None of the females were; they were elevated or celebrated.

While labeling itself a "Legal Thriller" which brings to mind Perry Mason type stories, Improper Influence was actually more in the mystery genre with a just of taste of legal and medical aspects. That didn't distract from the book itself, it just wasn't as advertised. To the author's credit, where a legal abbreviation was used, it was immediately explained so the reader wasn't required to Google initialisms & acronyms.

The conclusion really wasn't. The mystery was only partially resolved. Several loose ends were left in important topic areas which was a bit unsatisfying. The ending wasn't a cliffhanger, and it's not the sort of story which lends itself to a sequel, so it's difficult to understand the lack of closure.

But, those rather notable features aside, I'm glad I read it and will probably read more of the authors work.

Note - perhaps as a result of dramatic license to make the story more relatable, the author has made the Medical Examiner's office a city post reporting to the mayor. Everybody's familiar with mayors. But with the exception of New York City, the office of Medical Examiner in the United States is a county or state position reporting to that entity's executive. It probably would have been a bit awkward to depict the story in the unfamiliar county government hierarchy.
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Bootsiesgirl2
5.0 out of 5 stars I love Sasha & Leo, who will soon be married.
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2015
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I gave it five stars because it was captivating, it had interesting characters, and it was well written with no editorial errors. Leo and Sasha help a friend who is a forensic pathologist, M. D. and he is also a Buddhist and a vegan. This leaves him completely vulnerable. An energy drink is causing death by myocarditis in several young women. But, his boss won't investigate it, as is protocol. Then the thrill ride begins. Danger seems to find Leo and Sasha, and those they help. A very good read.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Pat
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Novel
Reviewed in Canada on September 10, 2019
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I chose this rating because the author has written an excellent thriller. I found it hard to put the book down. Keep up the good writing.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Super
Reviewed in India on August 25, 2019
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Superb once again..thrilled till the end.liked the way you write & plan every page.would. Continue reading all your books.hats off once again.
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myriam DEMAN
4.0 out of 5 stars Improper Influence - legal thriller
Reviewed in France on December 9, 2014
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Livre n°5 : toujours aussi plein d'action, de sentiments, d'intrigues, de suspense! L'avocate Sasha devient une amie....
La recette est bonne, le style pétillant et facile à lire. Une bonne distraction enfin de journée!
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Klaus Schuster
5.0 out of 5 stars fun and exciting
Reviewed in Germany on December 4, 2013
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Typically Melissa Miller. Cliff hanging chapter ends to make you want to continue reading and reading. Character developement is great. Plot developement expertly undertaken and its always a shame that the books come to an end. I could go reading on and on.
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gommine
5.0 out of 5 stars A legal thriller with a Buddhist Flavour
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2013
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Improper Influence, the fifth instalment in the Sasha McCandless Series, opens with one of my favourite quotes of all time:
"Three things shine before the world and cannot be hidden/They are the moon, the sun, and the truth". It's a Buddhist quote, and one that sets the tone for the story that follows: the search for the truth.

There is a certain Buddhist flavour to this book, added by a new, intriguing character - the forensic pathologist Bodhi King, a practising Buddhist who stumbles across a cluster of sudden unexplained deaths in his job at the corner's office. When Bodhi's laptop and personal notebooks disappear from his office, his suspicions are confirmed: someone is trying to stop him from discovering the truth. Whoever is scheming in the shadows, however, didn't take into account the fact that the quiet, contemplative pathologist happens to play volleyball with Leo Connelly - Sasha McCandless' fiancee. That can only mean one thing: Sasha's got herself a new case, and with a new case, of course, comes trouble. What this means for us is that we have another page-turner from the queen of the indie legal thriller, Melissa F. Miller.

Just like its four predecessors, Improper Influence features all the ingredients that Miller's loyal readers have grown to love: coffee, Krav Maga, meddling politicians and danger lurking at every corner. Scattered here and there throughout the novel are snippets of legal exposition, always presented in a clear, interesting way which never reads like like a Law for Dummies manual but which still makes you feel that you know the workings of the law well enough to represent yourself in a courtroom. And of course, again like the previous four, the case around which Improper Influence is centred feels as if it has been lifted from headline news: this time Sasha is dealing with the potential lethal effect of an energy drink. I don't know how the author manages to find such a brilliant, current-sounding `hook' for every novel, but the result is yet another compelling read, thanks to a storyline that walks the tightrope connecting the plausible and the downright outlandish, without ever losing its balance.

If you are already a fan of the series, this fifth instalment will not disappoint, and by the time you have reached the end you will be wanting to know when novel no. 6 is out. Fortunately for all of us, Melissa F. Miller is a prolific writer and I am sure that she will not have us wait too long until we are once again immersed in the trials and tribulations of our favourite fictional attorney.
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