Well, I wasn't super impressed with this installment. I'm still not a fan of Samantha, but she was toned down considerably from what I remember. It ended up just being something I listened to on my commute. I did want to know who did what, but other than that . . . whatever.

RATING: 2 STARS
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)
(Review Not on Blog)

I am too sad to review this one. I love the Rachel Knight series, and I have really tried with the Samantha Brinkman series. I have been generous in my reviews, rating and expectations. I read and finished this one only because I requested this and felt guilty. I did not like the plot, the main characters are blah and honestly as soon as I finished the ending I forgot what happened. I am not requesting the next book, unless it's Rachel Knight. It really feels like this is written by a different author.

A case of inconsistencies and coincidences...a good lawyer knows that there is no such thing as coincidences.

This is my third run with Samantha Brinkman and her tribe of characters. Samantha a defense lawyer; with her private investigator, Alex and her office manager and long time friend Michy. The relationship between them is the driving force to the plot and the character development. You read as you are part of the 3 amigo's. You become the silent amigo.

The introduction of the plot lays it heavy as a young woman is desperate to leave her possessive boyfriend. Alicia a college student that as achieved much back home and with high expectations for the future. Her future comes to abrupt end as she is found murdered in her bath tub and her boyfriend Roan is the prime suspect. Several days later Roan is found dead in a apparent suicide. Brinkman becomes involved when Alicia's father Graham was seen at Roan's apartment the day of the suicide. Graham and Samantha are in the same circles and Samantha naturally comes to Graham's defense to lay the ground work of a possible arrest.

What makes this read so enjoyable to me is the plot is driven by the evidence. Each twist and turn. Layer after layer, you connect to Brinkman's team and to Brinkman herself as she takes each case personally. She has wit and grit. There are two cases going on in this one as well. A continuation from the two previous books that still has not been resolved but continues to be a thorn in her side and a fear that she must always be looking over her shoulder. She shares this with her father. A detective that she in the first book learned his identity. Brinkman is a complex character. She is black and white but operates in the gray.

A Special Thank You to Thomas Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

I look forward to the release of a new book from Marcia Clark. Samantha Brinkman is a lawyer with personal standards but this time it seems even she will bend the rules to save a client she feels doesn't deserve to be convicted.

This is the third installment in Marcia Clark's Samantha Brinkman series . I enjoyed the entire series and highly recommend each installment . This was my favorite of the series and a very exciting read. Marcia Clark is one of my favorite authors and has a masterful style of building suspense and surprising the reader.
In this next in series Sam is defending a client that brings a new series of troubling events. This book does not take place in the courtroom but outside the courtroom with drama, twist and turns and excitement. As Sam builds her case she shows her innate toughness and ability to .find clues among the gritty backdrop of the legal system. The action takes off as the excitement builds to the thrilling conclusion.
It is always thrilling to read one of Marcia Clark''s book and I look forward to the next in series. This is a excellent legal drama and a do not miss series for all thriller readers.
Thank you for the ARC which did not influence my review.

Thank you Netgalley. I am a huge fan of Marcia Clark and I again wasn't disappointed. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish! Highly recommend.

In Snap Judgement we see the return of our protagonist and sassy female lead, Samantha Brinkman. This time she is investigating the murder of a promising young college student, but as is usual in the world of Samantha Brinkman, nothing is quite as it seems. Although this book didn’t grip me in the same way the first two did, I still enjoyed it, and looked forward to the twist at the end that we have come to expect within these novels. Another good book from Marcia Clark, I look forward to what comes next. I was kindly sent a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have been reading Marcia Clark's books for a little while now. Well, since the beginning. It took a little bit to get used to her writing style because there is always a few different subplots to each book. Then, she ties them all together and puts a pretty bow on them for you. I love how she wraps up everything at the end of every book. There aren't loose ends, but there are also little loops left open for the next story.

I love this series by Marcia Clark. Samantha Brinkman is a defense lawyer with a heart who may have some slight well-intended, psychopathic tendencies. I enjoy her relationship with her work family, Alex and Michy; and her relationship with her father, Dale. I hope Ms. Clark doesn't stop at book 3 in this series.

Clark is back in this third installment of the Samantha Brinkman series.  Though this is a series, you do not have to have read the previous two books to enjoy this one.  Samantha takes on the case of a fellow lawyer in this mystery.  His daughter has been killed and her ex-boyfriend appears to be a suicide case a few days later.  Sam's client is worried that if it is decided the ex-boyfriend did not commit suicide he will be the prime suspect for killing him since he blames the ex-boyfriend for his daughter's death.

Clark's experience as a lawyer allows her to write nearly flawless mysteries.  This one, like others of hers that I have read, is plotted well and keeps you guessing and turning pages.  Samantha Brinkman is a very likable character.  She sometimes steps outside the law, but it is always for a good reason.  She comes across as down to earth and relatable.  The supporting characters such as her police officer father, Dale, and investigator, Alex are good additions to the novels.  My only criticism would be that some of the parts where Sam and Alex interview suspects became a bit repetitious.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this mystery.

This is the third book in the series, which by the way was a good series. This book is about a young lady who breaks up with her boyfriend, finds naked selfies on the internet and turns up dead. Boyfriend is the killer, right? Wrong, he ends up dead days later. Of course, someone is charged and thus the ride begins. The main charecter, Lawyer Samantha Brinkman. Yes, she crosses the line at times and some of the scenarios are a bit much, but you cannot stop reading. This book has many twists and turns and will keep you engrossed. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Samantha Brinkman is the kick-ass hero criminal lawyer you've been missing in your life, unless of course you've already discovered how amazing Marcia Clark's protagonist is through her first two books, Blood Defense and Moral Defense. The third novel in the series, Snap Judgment, shows that she just keeps getting better and better at this. 

Alicia Hutchins is a fairly average college kid. Maybe a little smarter, maybe a little more in need of letting off steam after surviving a very full schedule of high school classes, sports, and extracurricular activities controlled by her helicopter parents. But she was handling it pretty well. She was working hard in her first semester of classes, wasn't going too wild, and found herself a boyfriend. But the boyfriend got a little demanding of her time, and after she asked for a little space, she found out that not only were her naked selfies posted to a porn site, the post included her home address and asked for help fulfilling her rape fantasies. Sadly, she was found later, killed in her apartment. 

It's her boyfriend, Roan Sutton, who is accused of posting her selfies to the internet and possibly killing her himself. But he commits suicide before he can be questioned by the police. Or did he? Samantha's longtime friend and rival, fellow attorney and father of Alicia, Graham Hutchins is accused of killing Sutton himself, and it's up to Sam and her colleagues to figure out what happened to Alicia and Roan while trying to keep Graham out of the limelight and protecting herself from her other, less respected clients. It's a delicate juggling act, but you know Sam is on it. And with the help of her investigator and former(ish) computer hacker Alex, her best friend and office manager Michy, and her homicide detective father Dale, Sam just might be able to scrape by again, finding the killer (killers?) and bringing the justice. 

If you only know of Marcia Clark as the former prosecutor from the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, the one who tried O.J. Simpson among others, then you know she has the legal chops to create a realistic picture of criminal law. But if you've been paying attention to more of her work, you'll know that she wrote Without a Doubt about her experience with that trial and also another series of novels, The Rachel Knight series. She is an accomplished author, and her experiences in the D.A.'s office as well as all her experience with the media greatly informs her novels and bring a sense of realism to Samantha's world. So if you care about Clark's past or not, there is no denying her ability with a story. Snap Judgment is a fantastic legal thriller, and Samantha Brinkman is as smart as you can get. 



Galleys for Snap Judgment were provided by Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

"The beauty of being a defense lawyer is that I don't have to prove anything. All I have to do is poke enough holes in the People's case to give the jury reasonable doubt."

Marcia Clark is no stranger to the world of high-profile legal battles. Her role as the lead prosecutor on the infamous OJ Simpson trial and countless others provides her with an intimate understanding of all the going ons of that world. For us readers, this wealth of knowledge has translated into some stellar works of fiction. I had the pleasure of reading the first few novels in her Rachel Knight series years ago. When her publisher offered me an advanced copy of her latest novel Snap Judgement, I was happy to oblige.

Alicia Hutchins is reveling in her newfound freedom. As a college freshman, she has finally escaped the limitations of her overprotective parents. But with this freedom comes the realization that she may not be ready to handle some of the things her parents desperately tried to shield her from. She's just ended things with her boyfriend Roan. Roan isn't happy. In an act of revenge, he posts nude photos of Alicia to a porn site. In a addition to the photos, he includes her address and an invitation to come and rape her. Alicia is soon murdered, and Roan is found dead of an apparent suicide.

Roan's mother is convinced that her son did not kill himself. Instead, she has accused Alicia's father, a prominent attorney, of killing Roan in retaliation. Enter Samantha Brinkman, an accomplished lawyer in her own right, who comes to the aid of her friend. While she is hesitant to take on another high-profile case, she's been struggling to keep up with her bills and knows Graham Hutchins has the money to compensate her nicely. Using her contacts with the police department and her brilliant investigator Alex, she seeks to find any means to prove Graham did not murder Roan.

Snap Judgement perfectly combines Marcia Clark's expertise of the criminal justice system with the affable wit that makes her writing a pure delight to read. I haven't read the previous two novels to feature Sam Brinkman. While I was never lost in this plot, I do think reading the other books would help to fill in the gaps in some of her history. Amongst the action and suspense, of which there is no shortage of, Clark truly shines by producing believable characters who each compliment each other. I was hooked with this book from start to finish and highly recommend it.

Though a bit more convoluted than the previous 2 Samantha Brickman novels, the third book in Marcia Clark's latest series was still a solid read. I enjoy the grey areas that Sam seems comfortable working in to achieve the greater good. She's a compelling character and I look forward to her continuing adventures.

Although this is book number three in her Samantha Brinkman series, you do not have to have read the other stories in order to fully enjoy this one. There is just enough back story given from the other novels to fill in any blanks the reader may have.

Once again, Ms. Clark has manged to weave together a gripping tale unlike anything I have read before. Filled with betrayal, deception and a whole ton of intrigue Snap Judgement will pull you in and keep you glued to the pages until the very last word. Each novel I pick up from this author is better than the last (seriously, its rare that I find a novel like this one where I find myself waking up in the middle of the night just to go sit and read for a little bit). This one had some definite twists and turns that I did not expect, and that I did not see coming!

Even though there are two very separate and distinct story-lines going on here, the author manages to balance them almost perfectly so that the secondary plot, while given some time in the spotlight, does not by any means overshadow the main plot. Nor did it become confusing at any point on which case Samantha was working on.

Overall, I am sure this story will still appeal to those who enjoy a well-written thriller novel.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

Clark has written another well done installment in this series (although you can read this as a standalone.) As always, there's a topical thread- this time revenge porn- and you'll learn a bit (sad to say) about it and the legal issues. Sam's smart, she's determined, and she's good at untangling secrets, which are rife as she works to prove that her colleague Graham is not guilty of the murder of his dead daughter's ex. How sad that a college freshman is dead and how awful are the circumstances her father must deal with. The dialogue and situations are very realistic, there's not too much courtroom drama, and you'll find yourself engaged with the mystery. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm looking forward to the next book!

Snap Judgment is the third book in the Samantha Brinkman series by Marcia Clark. Yes, THEE Marcia Clark from the O.J. Simpson trial. Attorney Samantha Brinkman probes into the deadly secrets of a prominent family and is compromised by a threat from her own past.

The daughter of a civil litigator is found murdered with her throat slashed. It's always the husband/boyfriend. But when he dies in what appears to be a suicide, authorities focus on a new person of interest: Samantha's friend and colleague. She will do anything to win the case including bending the law. But how much can she really trust her new client?

Before I reached the halfway mark, I lost interest. I understand the storyline was to confuse the jury; but as a reader, I was confused too. Where exactly was this story going and can we get there quicker? The author's writing style wasn't necessarily the issue for me; it was the blah plot. I recommend this book only for continuity purposes. Let's hope it picks up in the next installment.

Happy Early Pub Day, Marcia Clark. Snap Judgment will be available next Tuesday, August 29.

This is my first Clark book but it won't be my last. I will be buying her other books when I am done with this review. This book could have been a headline in any paper. I think I missed my calling I should have been a cop I love this stuff. Ms. Clark kept me riveted and it didn't feel phony like some books do maybe because she has actually seen this stuff. Either way you won't be disappointed. Now I need to go purchase my books. Thank you to the publishers, Ms Clark and Netgalley for giving me this chance.

This book is the 3rd one in the Samantha Brinkman, and it is a great addition to the series. It is more of a psychological thriller type, rather than an action type book. It is longer than the first two books in the series, but that is a good thing. The story slowly builds up to the conclusion. There are ups and downs, but the storyline is great. Ms. Clark is very talented at knowing how to build the storyline. The characters are well-rounded and styled very realistically, as if you could really know them as people. I love her style of writing. I am hoping that she does continue with this series. It feels as though it could continue on in a good way.

After Alicia broke up with her boyfriend, he posted naked selfies of her on a revenge porn site---with a note that she was into rape fantasies. Days later, she was found dead, her throat slashed. The ex is obviously a suspect but wasn't arrested...and later, he's found dead (suicide via hanging). Except maybe it WASN'T a suicide. Maybe Alicia's father did it.

This is the third Samantha Brinkman novel and my favorite of the three (a high bar; all are excellent). I love that, though she is...we'll go with "morally ambiguous," she uses her powers for good. So while yes, she may use very sketchy means, bad people get punished. (Team Sam.)

I recommend binging the series, as I did, but now I miss her. But I think there will be another one (and hopefully soon).

Highly recommended.