November 20, 2016

Series Sunday: Moral Defense


(Samantha Brinkman #2) 

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Revision. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

"...my name's gonna pop out like a piece of toast." ~ 3%

My Series Sunday pick is Moral Defense, the second book in the Samantha Brinkman series by Marcia Clark. (Yes, that Marcia Clark from the O.J. Simpson trial.) Like most defense attorneys, Samantha Brinkman is not concerned about guilt or innocence; it is making sure her clients walk. Sometimes a crime is committed for personal reasons, business reasons, pleasure or justice. Whatever the reason, Samantha's duty is to keep her clients free. But a personal chord is struck when she meets Cassie Sonnenberg, an adopted teenager accused of fatally stabbing her brother and father and responsible for her mother clinging to life in the hospital. As Sam investigates the case and sets out to exonerate Cassie, dark memories of sexual abuse take the case and Samantha's personal life for a spin.

"But there had to be something wicked gnarly going for a whole family to be targeted." ~ 6%

At over 400 pages, Moral Defense is unnecessarily long. About 100 pages could've been removed about side cases not related to the main mystery. In this regard, it reminded me of the famous Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Side stories were thrown in, wasting pages and readers' time. Fine if the author was aiming for 400+ pages in her new novel; however, I would have rather appreciated more detail on the main case instead. That would have earned Moral Defense five hearts.

I recommend this second book of the series to be read if only you read the first book. It will be easier to follow the relationship among Samantha Brinkman and her partners/friends. I still remain impressed with Marcia Clark's writing. I wish she would have quit her day job and turned to fiction sooner.

Disclaimer: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are honestly my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Author: Marcia Clark
Published: November 2016
Pages: 426
Edition: Galley
Rating: ♥♥♥♥


 

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