The Sonnenbergs were an ordinary family in a nice suburban
town, until disaster struck. When the police arrived on
the premises, the teenage son Abel, and his father were
dead, and the mother was barely hanging on; they all had
their throats slit. Their adopted teenage daughter Cassie,
had hidden in her room, and was unscathed, and it looks
suspicious; so, because of the circumstances, Cassie is
accused of the murders. Defense attorney Samantha Brinkman
takes the case, which becomes even more personal when
Samantha learns from the accused that Cassie had been
sexually abused. If that case weren't challenging enough,
a couple of Sam's past mistakes come back to haunt her.
If you think the blurb sounds interesting, wait until you
read MORAL DEFENSE! Marcia Clark knows what she's writing
about, she's an attorney herself. I have loved the books I
have read by Ms. Clark, but nothing had prepared me for
this stunning novel! Who is lying, who is telling the
truth? Who is good, who isn't? Lines are blurred wherever
you look. In MORAL DEFENSE, there is the main story, that
of Cassie's, but there are also two other secondary
stories. While I am not usually a fan of that process, as
most of the time, the secondary stories are entertaining
filler, they work perfectly in MORAL DEFENSE, as they
serve to know Sam better, the way she operates, as well as
what might/will/could be in store for her in the future,
and one instance had me shivering with dread. Back to the
main story, that of the bloody murders: it is extremely
well plotted, very fast-paced, and Marcia Clark keeps us
on our toes nearly until the last page. And I literally
gasped at the turn of events; Ms. Clarke has all my
admiration, because MORAL DEFENSE took a lot of guts to
write, and I like nothing more than to be caught off-guard
when I'm reading a thriller. The vivid descriptions and
the feeling of movement nearly give the impression of
watching a movie while reading. The books is told in the
first person, Sam's, and seldom has a book of this type
worked so well for me: it's intimate, but also gives us
more insight into who Samantha Brinkman really is, and
she's definitely someone worth knowing.
The characters are very expertly drawn, there are many
characters in MORAL DEFENSE, and every one has its place;
the dialogues are excellent, every single character has a
voice of its own. I adored Sam's staff consisting of
Michelle, and the charismatic Alex. Nothing is
superfluous, nothing left to chance: it all converges at
some point; the same can be said for all the interesting
and pertinent details, mostly legal: no detail is for show
only. I pretty much thought I knew where the story was
going, that what remained was mostly finding the proofs,
and did Marcia Clark do a number on me! No red herrings,
nothing of the sort, simply fabulous storytelling and
characters that act and react as real people, with all
their foibles. MORAL DEFENSE is a thick novel, over 400
pages, and there was not even one boring paragraph. MORAL
DEFENSE is riveting, entertaining, and educational as
well; surprises and shocks abound, and I can't wait to see
what happens next with Samantha Brinkman. MORAL DEFENSE is
a legal thriller that should not be missed!
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 the teenager’s
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.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy