"The beauty of being a defense lawyer is that I don't have to prove anything. All I have to do is poke enough holes in the People's case to give the jury reasonable doubt."Marcia Clark is no stranger to the world of high-profile legal battles. Her role as the lead prosecutor on the infamous OJ Simpson trial and countless others provides her with an intimate understanding of all the going ons of that world. For us readers, this wealth of knowledge has translated into some stellar works of fiction. I had the pleasure of reading the first few novels in her Rachel Knight series years ago. When her publisher offered me an advanced copy of her latest novel Snap Judgement, I was happy to oblige.
Alicia Hutchins is reveling in her newfound freedom. As a college freshman, she has finally escaped the limitations of her overprotective parents. But with this freedom comes the realization that she may not be ready to handle some of the things her parents desperately tried to shield her from. She's just ended things with her boyfriend Roan. Roan isn't happy. In an act of revenge, he posts nude photos of Alicia to a porn site. In a addition to the photos, he includes her address and an invitation to come and rape her. Alicia is soon murdered, and Roan is found dead of an apparent suicide.
Roan's mother is convinced that her son did not kill himself. Instead, she has accused Alicia's father, a prominent attorney, of killing Roan in retaliation. Enter Samantha Brinkman, an accomplished lawyer in her own right, who comes to the aid of her friend. While she is hesitant to take on another high-profile case, she's been struggling to keep up with her bills and knows Graham Hutchins has the money to compensate her nicely. Using her contacts with the police department and her brilliant investigator Alex, she seeks to find any means to prove Graham did not murder Roan.
Snap Judgement perfectly combines Marcia Clark's expertise of the criminal justice system with the affable wit that makes her writing a pure delight to read. I haven't read the previous two novels to feature Sam Brinkman. While I was never lost in this plot, I do think reading the other books would help to fill in the gaps in some of her history. Amongst the action and suspense, of which there is no shortage of, Clark truly shines by producing believable characters who each compliment each other. I was hooked with this book from start to finish and highly recommend it.
For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2017, 38)
I would think that being of the profession would make it too much leaning in the law side of things, but it sounds like the author knows how to write and write enjoyably as well, making it a good balance!
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a focus on the law side of things, but she balances it nicely with the investigation as a whole.
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