Review by Booklist Review
In his second novel, Meltzer is again a vibrant and straightforward storyteller, bringing a fresh, young approach to the legal-thriller genre. Sara and Jared Lynch are a young New York lawyer couple, each on the road to success. Sara is outspoken and forthright, a direct contrast to her husband, a party-line guy trying to make partner. After being fired for being too outspoken, Sara is ready for a new challenge as she begins a job at the district attorney's office, a job she's adamant about keeping even in the face of the city's cutbacks. What Sara didn't expect is that her first case would pit her against Jared himself, and Jared knows how to push her buttons. Logic would dictate that Jared withdraw as defense attorney due to the conflict of interest, but, regardless, his client is suspiciously eager to retain him. All aspects of this case are fishy, especially its high profile in the DA's office even though it is only a burglary case. But soon both Jared and Sara learn that there is more behind the facts than was originally alleged, and as they unravel details, they are putting each other's lives at risk. Flush with interesting characters, this is an easy, fast-paced read. --Mary Frances Wilkens
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Just when you thought there were no more changes to be rung on the legal thriller, Meltzer follows up his bestselling inside look at the Supreme Court (The Tenth Justice) with this sleek, suspenseful, only slightly unbelievable story about two young New York lawyers in love and in danger. Sara Tate and Jared Lynch are married to each other and to their legal careers: he's a rising star for the defense in a big firm; she's just starting as an assistant district attorney after six months of job seeking. On her first day, Sara hears that a budget cut could put her back on the unemployment lines, so she swipes a burglary case earmarked for a top man in the pecking order. But this is more than a routine burglary, and a powerful villain named Oscar Rafferty wants it to go away. He hires Jared to defend the accused, a sadistic monster called Tony Kozlow, telling him that unless Kozlow walks, Sara dies. While Jared grapples with the moral issues involvedand avoids telling Sara about the threat for hundreds of pagesanother nasty type (whose fingerprints match several dead criminals) pushes Sara's grandfather down a flight of subway stairs and says he'll do worse to Jared unless Kozlow is convicted. Fearing for each other's safety, their marriage cracking under the strain, Sara and Jared joust in front of a grand jury and then get ready for trial, with Sara helped over some serious speed bumps by a nicely sketched young assistant and a tough prosecutor with a romantic interest. Several murders and a subway shoot-out eventually resolve this somewhat overlong but definitely compelling tale of legal and extralegal adventure. Author tour. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
After months of searching, Sara Tate has finally found a job as an assistant district attorney in New York City. But on her first day, she gets notified that, owing to budget cuts, she is going to be terminatedunless she can land and win a big case. Through some sleight-of-hand, Sara manages to grab the perfect case, but there's a catch: her husband, Jared, is the defense attorney. Dark humor (provided chiefly by Sara's trial preparatory assistant, Guff), legal action like Grisham, and nail-biting suspense make this a thriller in the true sense of the word. Meltzer (The Tenth Justice, LJ 2/15/97) gives the reader well-rounded characters; demonizing neither prosecution nor defense, he shows both as human beings doing a job. Recommended for all suspense collections.Alicia Graybill, Lincoln City Libs., NE (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A very aptly titled gripper (received too late for a full review) that will have Grisham slapping his wife's wrist in pique over the breakfast toast when he discovers Meltzer's plot for his second novel (The Tenth Justice, 1997). Attorney Jared Lynch's Manhattan finn takes on the defense of a psychopath and hands the case over to Jared, who soon finds that he'll die if he loses this case. Meanwhile, in the assistant district attorney's office, Jared's wife Sara has the same case passed down to her and a similar stricture applies: She'll also die if she loses. And further, although prosecutor and defense attorney sleep together, the law forbids any Wading of information between them, despite the lethal warnings that neither can tell the other about. To top all this off, author Meltzer is an attorney himself, which lends the novel's dialogue a sparkling undercurrent of real-life chitchat, not to mention the mutual saber-sharpening that readers will quickly pick up on and enjoy as a bonus. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
