4 stars out of 5
This is another of those publisher-provided freebies (via the publisher and NetGalley, thank you very much) that got moved to the top of the stack almost immediately; I love this series, of which this is the fourth - in fact, I've loved every single book I've read by this author. In all honesty, I have to say this isn't my favorite of the bunch, but neither have I lost even a titch of enthusiasm for quirky attorney Samantha Brinkman, her tech-savvy investigator Alex and her BFF and paralegal Michelle. Love-shy Sam has been hooked up with hunky Niko for a while now - as this opens, they're enjoying a rare beachside vacation, when Niko gets a disturbing phone call. An investment opportunity he recommended to his elderly mother has gone belly up; she and a host of other investors have been wiped out. Back at home, when Niko takes Sam to meet the guys behind the deal (think Bernie Madoff times two), each points the finger at the other. Devastated over his mother's loss, Niko - who lost a bundle himself but remains far from destitute - vows to get everyone's money back. His determination is intensified when his mother suffers a stroke that threatens her life.
That determination proves to be a negative, however, when one of the dealmakers turns up dead, the other goes missing and Niko turns out to be the prime suspect. Sam stands by her man - intent on proving him innocent - but as her investigation continues (with extensive help from Alex and, surreptitiously, from her detective dad), the more she suspects Niko may not be totally innocent. But then, given her penchant for vigilanteeism, can she really blame him for wanting to even the score?
It's a guessing game to the finish as to the killer's identity, how much of her so-far-secretive background Sam will decide to share with Niko and, depending on that decision, what the fate of their relationship will be. Great fun every page of the way!
Final Judgment by Marcia Clark (Thomas & Mercer, April 2020); 416 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Just like its two predecessors, I loved this book. So much, in fact, that I really hope the author reconsiders the three-book series and brings readers more tales about super-cool but flawed attorney Samantha Brinkman.
For those thinking about diving in, I will say the water will be more comfortable if you start at the beginning (Blood Defense followed by Moral Defense). I had no trouble following the goings-on in any of the books including this one, but I'm also sure I got far more out of each one just because I read the one that came before. And lest I forget, many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review (as was the case with the first two books as well).
This one begins as college freshman Alicia, daughter of well-known attorney Graham Hutchins, is murdered. Not long before that, she dumped her abusive boyfriend Roan - and apparently he retaliated by posting online extremely personal photos she'd taken of herself for his eyes only. Nothing screams payback more than a spurned lover, so it's not surprising that Roan is considered the prime suspect. But then Roan is found dead - an apparent suicide. His mother insists he was murdered, though, and the coroner's report is inconclusive. Alicia's father had every reason to avenge his beloved daughter's death, so he suddenly finds himself in the crosshairs of the police.
Samantha, better known as Sam, knows Graham; when he calls for help, she agrees despite not really wanting to get involved in the case (he's a well-heeled customer and she's having a tough time paying the bills, so she can't afford to say no). Soon enough, she and her tech-savvy, hunky investigator Alex are up to their eyeballs in pot-smoking college students, secret lives of the rich and famous and pulling out every trick in their bags (some legal, some not so much) to ferret out evidence sufficient to get their client off the hook. In fact, one of the most interesting components of this series is being privvy to the legal goings-on inside and outside a courtroom - told through the eyes of someone who knows (we all remember the infamous trial of former NFL star O.J. Simpson, at which the author was the lead prosecutor, don't we )?
As if that weren't enough, Sam gets a very unwelcome visit from a big-time gangster from her past (and from past books in this series). He's privy to one of Sam's big secrets, and he's not above calling in a chit now and again when it suits his purpose. This time, he wants Sam, with help from her police officer father Dale, to locate the only witness to a murder committed by one of his relatives. Sam is convinced that her success will mean certain death for the witness, who's set to spill the beans at that relative's trial. But if she refuses, it just as certainly will mean her own death - so saying no just isn't an option.
Can she juggle both cases and come out a winner (or at least still alive)? Everything is resolved in the end, but of course I won't reveal how it all plays out. Now, the only question for me to ask is can we have more of Samantha? Please?
Snap Judgment by Marcia Clark (Thomas & Mercer, August 2017); 462 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Wow - two for two! The author's first book featuring defense attorney Samantha Brinkman, Blood Defense, was fantastic. If anything, this one, of which I also received an advance copy courtesy of the publisher, is even more so. If I could give it 6 stars, I would!
This installment, for the record, can stand on its own, but I'm sure I got a bit more out of it by reading the other one first (always my advice when dealing with a series, by the way). "Friends" from the first book return; Samantha, of course, and her longtime friend Michele and hacker-investigator Alex, both of whom work at Sam's law firm. The story begins when Sam is asked to look into the gruesome murder of a father and son and near murder of the mother, who's in the hospital and in a coma, on behalf of their adopted daughter Cassie. She was, it seems, a witness at the murder scene and is understandably traumatized.
Almost from the beginning, Sam feels a certain kinship with Cassie and signs on to help. But as more details of the murders unravel, Sam runs head-first into a psychological dilemma of tremendous magnitude. Is Cassie telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
While that case becomes ever more complex, issues from a couple of other cases rear their ugly heads - possibly putting Sam in the crosshairs of some especially nasty people. And in any of the case scenarios, including Cassie's, things could (and most likely will) head south at the slightest turn of events. All the main characters get a goodly amount of face time (perhaps with the exception of Michelle), and we learn of their strong points and peccadilloes. Samantha, in particular, comes from a lurid background and has, probably as a result, what I'll term a quirky side; she's almost as prone to ignoring the law as she is to breaking her neck trying to get her clients acquitted whether or not they're guilty.
The result is plenty of twists, turns and deadly serious head games that kept me hanging on just about every word. As I neared the end, in fact, anyone attempting to pry my Kindle out of my hands would have felt a wrath greater than that which I bestow on those who unwittingly expect me to speak to them before I've had my first cup of coffee in the morning.
In short, whew! Super book, super series. More, please?
Moral Defense by Marcia Clark (Thomas & Mercer, November 2016); 426 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Like many folks, I was glued to the TV set during the infamous police chase and subsequent capture and trial of former NFL star O.J. Simpson, charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and waiter Ronald Goldman. The trial was riveting, and it was especially interesting to me to watch the teams of attorneys on both sides in action. The lead prosecutor was Marcia Clark from the Los Angeles District Attorney's office. She impressed me - maybe in part because I'd never before seen a female prosecutor in such a high-profile, high-stakes trial - and when the glove came off, so to speak, I suppose I even felt more than a little sympathetic (in case there's a living soul out there who doesn't know, O.J. was acquitted). Later, when I found out she'd turned to fiction writing, I told myself that one day I'd give one of her books a try.
But life intervened, the multi-hundred page Harry Potter books hit the stores and my good intentions went by the boards. Apparently, though, somebody up there likes me; out of the blue, the publisher of this book - Clark's most recent and the first in a series featuring rather hard-boiled criminal defense attorney Samantha Brinkman - offered me a copy in exchange for an unbiased review. That was, of course, an offer I couldn't refuse.
And guess what? I'm impressed all over again. I admit to favoring mysteries and thrillers with a legal flavor - every so often I even drag out one of Erle Stanley Gardner's classic Perry Mason books to reread, for goodness sake - but I never fail to cross my fingers when I find one by a new-to-me author. This time, I'd uncrossed them by the end of the first handful of chapters; no worries here - I was hooked.
At the beginning, Samantha's tiny firm (consisting of Sam, her longtime friend Michelle and ex-con and hacker Alex), is hired to defend a veteran LAPD detective who's charged with the murder of two young women - one of whom is a popular TV star. If she's successful (and maybe even if she isn't), it's a case almost guaranteed to grab the media's attention and catapult Sam and her firm to the criminal defense elite.
As might be expected, though, there's many a slip between the cup and the lip; one particularly noteworthy piece of news, in fact, almost derails the whole case (and certainly makes it harder for Samantha to do her job effectively and objectively). But do it she does - with her usual fools-rush-in overlooking of the "rules" when it suits her purpose - and there are more than a few other twists as the drama shifts from the courtroom to out-of-the-office sleuthing (the latter of which put the lives of Samantha and her crew in danger).
My favorite parts, though, happened in the courtroom; I've always been intrigued by legal strategy, be it how to "work" the media, craft meaningful opening arguments or pick the best possible jurors during voir dire. There's no shortage of that here, and I loved it; take, for instance, Samantha's instructions to her client not to laugh, smile or frown anywhere near the jury no matter what. "No innocent man on trial for murder laughs," she tells him. "At anything."
In the end, I'm delighted to award this book 5 stars; reading it was time well spent Not only am I eager to read the next installment of this series, I've already looked into getting my hands on her Rachel Knight books.
Blood Defense by Marcia Clark (Thomas & Mercer, May 2016); 400 pp.
This is another of those publisher-provided freebies (via the publisher and NetGalley, thank you very much) that got moved to the top of the stack almost immediately; I love this series, of which this is the fourth - in fact, I've loved every single book I've read by this author. In all honesty, I have to say this isn't my favorite of the bunch, but neither have I lost even a titch of enthusiasm for quirky attorney Samantha Brinkman, her tech-savvy investigator Alex and her BFF and paralegal Michelle. Love-shy Sam has been hooked up with hunky Niko for a while now - as this opens, they're enjoying a rare beachside vacation, when Niko gets a disturbing phone call. An investment opportunity he recommended to his elderly mother has gone belly up; she and a host of other investors have been wiped out. Back at home, when Niko takes Sam to meet the guys behind the deal (think Bernie Madoff times two), each points the finger at the other. Devastated over his mother's loss, Niko - who lost a bundle himself but remains far from destitute - vows to get everyone's money back. His determination is intensified when his mother suffers a stroke that threatens her life.
