Review: Moral Defense (Samantha Brinkman #2) by Marcia Clark

Print Length: 426 pages

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (November 8, 2016)

From Goodreads.com: 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 fatally 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.

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My Rating: 5 stars out of 5

This was definitely an upgrade from the first book in this series (Blood Defense). In fact, this may be one of her best books to date! Right off the bat I have to say that there was none of the terminology used in the first book (which caused me to give it a lower rating). That was a welcome relief as I felt it really allowed the author to showcase her skills and bring the reader a wonderfully gripping thriller. In fact - this story was filled with so many shocking twists and surprising turns that I was constantly in a state of wondering just who was in fact guilty. 

I loved all of the characters in this story. From the ones we met previously (Samantha, Dale, Michelle and Alex) to the new additions, not only was every character obviously well fleshed out, but they also played a different role in bringing the overall story to life. This felt more like watching a show play out - I was able to visualize everything. I also enjoyed the way that throughout the main plot of the story (Cassie's story), there were also other threads going on at the same time which when woven together brought this story to a completely new and different dimension. And somehow - even with all of those different threads going on at once - the author managed to wrap them up in a way that left the reader highly satisfied. 

Overall, I highly recommend this story to those who enjoy an engaging and well written legal-thriller novel. I would definitely read more from this author! 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                                 Moral Defense is available from Amazon.com