BOOK REVIEW: MORAL DEFENSE BY MARCIA CLARK

Title: Moral Defense

Author: Marcia Clark

Genre: Mystery, thriller

Published on: November 8, 2016 by Thomas & Mercer

For defense attorney Samantha Brinkman, it's not about guilt or innocence--it's about making sure her clients walk. But the case of Cassie Sonnenberg touches a raw nerve in Sam that makes it painfully personal.

A savage attack in a suburban home has left a father and son stabbed, and a mother clinging to life. And Cassie, the family's adopted teenage daughter, is accused of the bloody crime. It's a tabloid-ready case that has the nation in an uproar--and Sam facing her biggest challenge. But when she learns the murders were sparked by years of sexual abuse, she doubles down to get Cassie exonerated.

Yet, even as Sam probes the Secret past of a seemingly happy family, the dark memories of her own tormented life threaten to consume her. And as Cassie's story keeps twisting at every turn, in troubling new directions, Sam must fight all the harder to separate dangerous lies from the terrifying truth.

  

This is the second book in the Samantha Brinkman series. It takes place a few months after Blood Defense. The titular character’s kept herself busy. Apart from handling cases, Samantha and her associates now work in a different office. A bad guy set fire to their old building. They’re quite better off now, as the office isn’t in gang territory anymore. Samantha’s also become rather well-known after winning her last big case. She hopes to start earning more money. Neither Samantha nor her associates are well-to-do.

Samantha gets a new, potentially big case early on in the book. There was a shocking crime at a small town called Glendale. Someone murdered nearly an entire family. Only one of them, fifteen-year-old Cassie Sonnenberg, got away unhurt. Samantha meets with Cassie to see how she can help. The girl isn’t a suspect, but she could need legal counsel. Cassie also speaks to the police to relay what she knows. She points them toward a possible suspect. Cassie claims to have witnessed an unknown person running away the night of the murders.

While Cassie’s case builds up, Samantha has other issues to deal with. Both have to do with past clients of hers. The first one is about something Samantha did in the previous book. Deshawn, a young guy she represented once, unknowingly jumped her along with his buddies. Samantha admonished Deshawn, and also relieved him of a little something he wouldn’t want to be caught with. Now, Deshawn is back and demanding Samantha return it. Dangerous people are after Deshawn because of that item. Samantha must either give him that, or a small fortune as replacement.

The second issue is an outcome of a fateful decision Samantha made. As a defense attorney, Samantha has to represent all kinds of clients. This includes very bad people. One client in particular was a twisted gang member. The dude committed a terrible crime and laughed about it. Samantha miraculously got him off the hook, which she was shocked about. That is one case she wanted to lose. Feeling bitter about it, Samantha set the guy up to be killed. Yes, she really is not above making her own justice. Unfortunately, this machination lands Samantha in a serious predicament. She's going to need a miracle to get out of this one.

It’s not long before Cassie’s mother wakes up. She is still at the hospital in critical condition. But she’s awake for long enough to have a profound effect on the case. It seems Cassie will need Samantha after all. The latter is in for one of her biggest cases yet. This one will also hit a bit close to home. All I’ll say is that this will be a whirlwind of a case. I found it more thrilling than when Samantha defended Dale, her own father. Samantha starts working to uncover information regarding Cassie’s case. What she finds may not be what anyone expected. This was another excellent read from Marcia Clark. Samantha Brinkman is just as compelling a character as Rachel Knight was. I’m definitely reading the next books in the series.

My rating: ★★★★ 1/2

4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!