A Case Of Redemption

I found Adam Mitzner by accident. I was looking for legal thrillers and found him and I’m glad I did.

A Case of Redemption is the story of Daniel Sorensen. He was a high-powered defense lawyer and partner at a prestigious New York law firm. He had just won a trial in which the Super Bowl MVP was acquitted of rape charges. He was on top of the legal world. Two days later, his wife and young daughter are killed by a drunk driver. He spirals into alcohol and depression.

At a party he didn’t want to go to, he meet another lawyer and after a conversation he doesn’t remember, she shows up at his house stating that he agreed to take on the defense of up-and-coming rapper, Legally Dead, who is accused of beating his pop star girlfriend to death with a baseball bat. Oh, and he has a song that says that’s what he going to do.

Daniel undertakes the defense of L.D. (which he prefers to be called) and starts to learn secrets about everyone involved. He meets the record label owner who signed both L.D. and his girlfriend. He learns that things are not necessarily as they seem with anyone.

The case gets Daniel to stop drinking, start running again, and to believe in his client. Just as you think things are going one direction, there’s a curve. And another. And another.

I honestly did not want to put this book down. I wanted to know how everything worked out. At least three times, I said, “What the hell?” as I was reading. The turns the plot took, I did not see coming. It made the book that much more enjoyable.

The plot is tightly wound and the characters are pretty well developed. There is not a ton of courtroom action or legal procedure so the book will appeal to those who may not be interested in the legal “stuff”. It’s just a good thriller.

The Accident

I read (and blogged about) The Expats by Chris Pavone when it came out. And I loved it. His follow-up book, The Accident, recently came out and I snatched it up. I picked it as my book club pick. I am going to try to write this without any spoilers. The basic plot is a manuscript mysteriously surfaces at a literary agent’s office. It’s a biography of a huge media mogul that contains explosive (and damaging) information about said mogul. The agent gives it to an editor. The manuscript gets copied and leaked and….. people start dying. The book then becomes a race to see if the manuscript ever sees the light of day or it is destroyed, along with everyone who read it.

I have to say that I loved this book. It started a bit slow for me. And I got a little disoriented at times with the flash-backs and flipping between different narrators. That having been said, the book was a good ride. It kept me guessing and threw out some curve balls that were unexpected. I am a fan of thrillers in general and Chris Pavone in particular. Just like the Expats, The Accident keeps you guessing. And just when you think you have it all figured out, you don’t.

The book has a fantastic description of the publishing industry and its insiders. This is for good reason. Chris Pavone was an editor for years before he wrote The Expats. His knowledge of the industry and his knowledge of editing have served him well with this book. There is even a cameo from an Expats character that was a nice unexpected surprise.

I know this is a short review, but I don’t want to discuss too much of the plot lest I spoil the roller coaster from someone else. I hope you read it and enjoy it.