2024 the best defense is a good offence review

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(as of Dec 23, 2024 14:14:08 UTC - Details)

For defense attorney Samantha Brinkman, it's not about guilt or innocence - it's about making sure her clients walk.

In the follow-up to bestselling Blood Defense, Samantha is hired as the legal advocate for Cassie Sonnenberg after a brutal stabbing left her father and brother dead, and her mother barely clinging to life. It's a tabloid-ready case that has the nation in an uproar - and Sam facing her biggest challenge yet. Why did Cassie survive? Is she hiding something?

As Sam digs in to find the answers, she's surprised to find herself identifying with Cassie, becoming more and more personally entangled in the case. But when Sam finally discovers the reason for that kinship, she faces a choice she never imagined she'd have to make.

Reviewer: TolkienFan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: EXCELLENT second in a series...
Review: This is the second book in a series with lead character Samantha Brinkman. The first book, Blood Defense, see here: Blood Defense (Samantha Brinkman) was released earlier this year. The author of these books is Marcia Clark, a well known personality in law and courtroom circles. Well, at least if you are old enough to remember the O.J. Simpson trial. You see, Marcia Clark was a prosecuting attorney for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in the trial of O.J. Simpson. I remember her well…. Since that time, Ms. Clark has written several novels in at least two different series and has been a guest on many TV networks as well as a legal correspondent for TV. I find her approach to storytelling and characterization to be refreshingly different. After reading the first book in the series, Blood Defense, it was impossible to pass up the opportunity to read the second one.Moral Defense is a well conceived and well written piece of fiction. The characters who were introduced in the first novel are a bit more mature in this one….at least it seems that way. Maybe that is because I am somewhat familiar with them. In any event, this novel is a separate work from the first one and can definitely be read as a stand-alone book. We recognize the characters and the way they respond to situational stimulus, but the storyline and the details are all new. As in the first book, the characters seem to be both understated and quite capable. Our protagonist, Samantha Brinkman, seems a bit withdrawn at times, yet willing and able to “throw down” with whomever crosses her path if the situation calls for it. She knows how the system works, she knows people in the right places, and some in the wrong places as well. She is fully invested in defending her clients and is willing to take advantage of her friends and family to do that. In short she is a pushy, bitchy, fully competent defense lawyer who finds herself in some bad situations, mostly of her own doing.The storyline revolves around a defense lawyer (Samantha Brinkman..) who is caught up in a murder case when she is asked to act as a legal representative for a minor child who has survived the crime. Woven into the story are multiple sub-plots and supporting action that requires her attention as well. Combine all of this with a strange family dynamic and a stifling disregard for police and proper procedure, and you have a character that demands your attention. Samantha is at times both appealing and disgusting. Sometimes you want to kiss her and sometimes you want to slap her.The supporting characters keep the story moving and believable. They make mistakes and poor choices just like all humans do. But that is part of what makes Ms. Clark such an effective storyteller. She writes her characters into situations and then allows them to expose their “humanness” by their actions. Just when you think the story is going to implode, she rescues her characters and allows them to work through the problems as the injured, hurting, faulty people they are. Because she knows the law so well, Ms. Clark is able to use it to her character’s advantage…situationally. This keeps the book believable and at the same time allows a bit of wonder to creep into the story. You are never sure of the outcome…..never.The dialogue is very well written, to the point of being almost too realistic. And because of the raw and unfettered nature of this story, the characters appear a bit coarse at times. This is usually showcased in the nature of the language used. Coarse, raw language appears in places, but certainly not in a gratuitous way. The dialogue seems to be particularly well suited to the characters and the situations. I found it to be realistic and appropriate to the story and to the presumed adult reader. When you combine excellent dialogue with believable characters, a great story line, multi-layered plot twists, and situational awareness... you have the makings of a fine piece of fiction.Like the first book in this series, this one is definitely worth reading. Marcia Clark has once again delivered a wonderfully complex and riveting piece of fictional crime drama. She is fast becoming one of my favorite writers in this genre.Highly recommended.!!

Reviewer: Dee Arr
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Plot and Descriptions Overcome Heroine's Character Flaws
Review: After HATING Ms. Clark's first book, I had sworn not to read this one, but I took a chance and am happy to report that this book is definitely better than "Blood Defense." But...There are still some elements that bother me about "Moral Defense," and I vacillated from two stars to four stars. Without spoilers:Ms. Clark lowered her number of characters this time around, and some of them are merely "walk-ons." This made it easier to keep track of all the players. The main characters were fleshed out and believable. All basic stuff that one would expect to be in a successful book.'Once again, I love the way the wise-cracking heroine Samantha Brinkman carries the novel. The author continues to create vivid descriptions (and probably the reason I ended up choosing this second Brinkman novel...this is Ms. Clark's five-star area).The plot twisted left and right, up and down, never stopping the squirming until the very last page of the novel. Without saying too much, the author's attention to detail in the words spoken by the characters provided an excellently crafted story.What didn't I like? The ending was a bit rushed, and some of the final facts were saved and offered up at the very end rather than scattered here and there throughout the book. "Discovering" clues never even hinted at somewhere earlier in the book will solve the mystery, though I would prefer that an author cleverly lays out the clues and dares me to find them.The big reason why this wasn't a five (and barely a four) star review? Early on, I began to hate the character I stated previously that I loved. Sam Brinkman tells a client that she can't reveal anything her client says or else she will lose her license to practice law. However, this is the same character that finds $100 grand worth of heroin on a former client (who she brags she had "...gotten him off the hook on a dope case"), allows someone else to O.D. on this heroin, then later promises the former client she will either replace the heroin or will give him the money (only because he's being threated). After patting herself on the back for being a defense lawyer (prosecutors are on the Dark Side), she congratulates herself for saving a drug dealer from going to jail and has no guilt when someone kills herself with the heroin she took. Later, she is revealed to be the cause of a gang member's death and she is ready to remove guilt from herself by throwing a patsy to the gang bosses. While I am intrigued when a character is "complicated," this goes well beyond normal expectations and I began to dislike the character. It then becomes hard to believe this is a lawyer, when this is actually a fine example of criminal thinking at work.Bottom line -- Ms. Clark's crisp descriptions and her attention to details overrule my personal feelings concerning reading about a heroine who is a bigger criminal than the other criminals in the story. Engaging storyline doesn't hurt either. Three-and-a-half stars.

Reviewer: FL beach bum
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Definitely worth reading!
Review: I got my first introduction to Marcia Clark, like many of you probably did, many years ago during the O.J. Simpson trial. When I discovered that she had written some books, I was intrigued. I got the first book in the Samantha Brinkman series, Blood Defense, a while back and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I pre-ordered this book and received it the other day. I read it in 3 nights.Ms. Clark is a very good writer. It is somewhat ironic that the main character is a defense attorney! All part of the intrigue in these two books, especially when you know of Ms. Clark's claim to fame as a prosecutor for one of the most infamous trials in American history. I like her main character - she is smart, witty and somewhat "ballsy". The story line is compelling and there is lots of action and several twists to the main plot. She also develops the secondary characters well enough for you to get to know them, too. She deals with some shady characters as a defense attorney and "fractures" a few laws along the way. There is some comedic relief in the story but the main theme is somewhat dark and, unfortunately, fairly real to life. I think she did a great job in telling this story and I look forward to Book 3 of this series. Hint, hint, Marcia.

Reviewer: Kate
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The lead character in this crime novel, Samantha Brinkman, is intriguing. A hot lawyer who runs rings around anyone who gets in her way. But she has a dark core which enables her conscience to mete out her own justice. She is always just ahead of it coming back to bite her. Couldn't stop till I'd finished it.

Reviewer: Mahakshey Chakraborthy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This book is one of the best I have ever read! A complete thrill ride and a page Turner! I loved every moment of it. And the twist and turns were outstanding! A must read for all!

Reviewer: Jocelyne Brattland
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: She is an amazing author. An excellent read

Reviewer: Jeff Thorne
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Clarke has produced another gripping main story, and continued sub-plots that enable her to reveal more of Samantha’s street smarts in resolving moral dilemmas.

Reviewer: EllieWC
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I found this book to be even better than 'Blood Defense'. It seems to me that the author, Marcia Clark, is really developing a great style for this series with interesting storylines.Just as you think you understand the plot, Marcia throws in a curveball, a twist, that throws you, so that you no longer know what is the truth and what is a lie.Reading the author's bio it is clear where her storylines come from. You understand why you empathise with Sam and how believable the storylines are.After all the author was the lead prosecutor in the OJ Simpson's case which demonstrates her knowledge of the subject matter. Even though the trial cost her dearly personally and made her legal career very difficult - only now is she working - like Sam as- as a court appointed defence lawyer - when not writing of course!