MORAL DEFENSE

By Marcia Clark

In this latest book by the famous Marcia Clark, her character, Samantha Brinkman, is back for more fascinating drama and lots of back-biting in the legal world.

Samantha Brinkman is a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who is about to be appointed as a legal advocate for a girl by the name of Cassie Sonnenberg. Cassie’s family has been murdered; her father and brother are dead and her mother is not expected to live. Cassie has no idea why she would have been spared. What she does know, however, is that she needs someone to help.

Sam is eager to get started with Cassie. She knows the poor girl has been through the wringer and wants to do all she can to protect her from the press while trying to get to the bottom of the horrific crime.

Pulling her team together, Sam starts her investigation. But the amount of strange information just keeps coming. It seems that someone stabbed high school senior Abel Sonnenberg to death, and a sudden case of food poisoning sent mom and dad home early from their night out, leading to an attack being taken out on them. The detective handling the case, Weston Emmons, is looking closely at Cassie. He has a gut feeling that the girl may have a hand in all this, or at least been the person who started the process.

Adopted at a very young age, Cassie fit nicely into their family. But as Sam delves further into the facts, she finds that Cassie’s statement about the night of the murder is not altogether true. Abuse issues are unveiled and Sam tries her best to not get so deeply involved in Cassie’s case. There’s something wrong with the girl. But what that something is…has yet to be discovered.

Marcia Clark has done a wonderful job weaving a very creepy web, offering up twists and turns that are not easily figured out.