Snap
Judgment by
Marcia Clark is another winner. With each installment her
books get better and better as she blends a riveting story
with legal nuances. In this book she manages to cover a multitude
of subjects from revenge porn to child sexual abuse to human
trafficking.
Clark spoke about the increase in revenge porn and how it
“is becoming a common way for “exes” to
smack the people who reject them. When I was working I dealt
with people like that. The boyfriend is seen as the knight
in shining armor who gives complete devotion. It is an ego
and security boost, but then turns sour. Because they are
naïve and are now sucked in the victim does not know
how to get out of it. In this case Alicia had no street experience
and falls down the rabbit hole when that devotion turns to
obsession. People are getting abused and violated on a daily
basis because technology permits it. It should be for that
person’s eyes only. This is just another way where someone
can have enormous power over someone else. People are not
wrong to expect it limited to the one person it was sent to.”
Although billed as a legal thriller the concentration is on
the prep work done by a defense attorney and not on the courtroom
battles. Through the main character Samantha (Sam) Brinkman’s
eyes readers see that the focus of a defense attorney is on
the investigation, what needs to be done to get her client
off: should she poke holes in the prosecutor’s case,
look for inconsistent statements by witnesses, find another
suspect, or do all of the above? Of course, to make the story
interesting Sam goes a little farther than most defense attorneys.
Clark wrote the character Samantha as being “complicated,
twisted, less bound by ethics/rules, and someone I could push
the boundaries with. Sam does have a dark side with emotional
scars from her childhood. She is impulsive, reckless, has
trust issues, and loves to push the envelope. At the end of
the day Sam is achieving justice in her own way and many times
it is not legal.”
The plot begins with a letter written to herself by USC freshman
Alicia Hutchins. She is proud of herself for getting out of
an abusive relationship. Her boyfriend, Roan Sutton, used
to boost her ego by being completely devoted to her until
he started to get more and more possessive to a point where
it became creepy. Unfortunately, soon after she broke it up
it appears that he humiliated her through revenge porn, posting
nude selfies she sent to him on-line along with her address
and an invitation for site visitors to help Alicia realize
her rape fantasies.
Clark
explores how someone’s privacy is affected by the posting
of these personal photos taken for his eyes only. Nothing
screams payback more than this until Alicia is found with
her throat slashed. But, after Roan, the prime suspect is
found dead Alisha’s father becomes a person of interest,
accused of avenging his daughter’s death. He hires Sam
to prove his innocence. The deeper she digs on his behalf,
the more entangled she becomes in a thicket of family secrets,
past betrayals, and multiple motives for murder.
The sub-plot is a continuation of a storyline from the previous
two novels in the series. She is in debt to a crime boss,
Cabazon, who wants Sam, with help from her police officer
father Dale, to locate the only witness to a murder committed
by his nephew, It becomes clear he wants to make sure the
witness, Tracy Gopeck will never testify. Sam is forced to
cooperate to ensure that her life, her dad’s life, and
her office staff lives are not endangered. In the course of
the investigation she finds out that Tracy was actually rescued
by the murder suspect from a human trafficking ring. Although
this plotline has nothing to do with the main one, Clark is
able to weave it into the story in a very natural way that
is not distracting.
As with all her novels, Clark is able to combine an intense
plot with facts about the justice system while sprinkling
some very funny and witty dialogue. Readers will enjoy going
along for the ride with Sam and Company.
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