Sammantha Brinkman is finally taking a vacation and is in a good place with Nico until their relaxation is interrupted by news that the investment group Nico recommended to his friends and family has lost everyone’s investment. Shortly after arriving home Nico’s mother is hospitalized, one of the investors is dead, the other is missing and Nico is looking like the prime suspect. When Sam starts investigating she has to face some unexpected truths that may change her relationship for good.

Marcia Clark has created a compellingly flawed character who seeks justice at any cost and I have enjoyed each of the Samantha Brinkman books and Final Judgement does not disappoint and the ending left me wanting more. I highly recommend this series for anyone who enjoys stories featuring smart, strong women.

My Favorite Morally Challenged Defense Attorney Again Is Challenged Both Professionally and, As Expected, Morally

The novel opens with Sam, the morally-challenged defense attorney, on the beach in Bora Bora with her love interest, Niko. Upon return to reality, she learns from Niko that he lost a bundle when his investment firm loses everything in a cryptocurrency trade. He can absorb the lost, but he had convinced his mother to invest her entire life savings with this investment firm. Even though Niko reassures his mother that he will cover the loss, she suffers another and very serious stroke. Then, one of the firm’s owners is murdered and the other disappears and suspected also to have been murdered. What little evidence that exists all point to Niko. The novel launches from this starting point. Sam not only is juggling her love life and her future with Niko, trying to defend Niko and find another plausible suspect, but she is defending a repeat offender before a very unforgiving judge, and trying to find a rapist of a madam’s young daughter.

My attention was captured quickly. I wanted to keep reading at every chance I had. There are plenty of twists, turns and misdirections that in the beginning seem to be digging a deeper hole for Niko. Returning are her lovable officer manager and best friend, Michy, her investigator and hacker, Alex, her biological father, a detective in the LA Police Robbery/Homicide Division, and an evil from her past.

The B-storylines are rich and extensive. Various aspects of Sam are revealed in her dealings with her office mates, her father, and especially Niko. The author wove these storylines into the main storylines seamlessly, and usually in normal discussion that occur between these characters. I have read the previous three novels in this series, I learned more, may be relearned a little, about all five characters.

There is some sex, but not graphic. Vulgar and questionable language is at a level that some readers may feel uncomfortable. I did not have any problems with the level of these. The violence is described second hand, so that should not be an issue. If you have read and enjoyed the previous novels, this next issue should not be a problem. I mentioned this issue in my first sentence above. Sam is quite morally challenged as well as two other of the main characters. Sam routinely makes the wrong decisions and seems to be fine with it. Reader beware.

The reading of this novel was easy as the action flowed. There were many dead ends that may make it seems to be slower. I enjoyed how the author wove the three main storylines to show how harried Sam was during this novel’s timeline. While it is a common technique, I liked Sam’s sharp and cutting asides. Lastly, all the hanging threads were tied up by the end of the novel.

Overall, this novel was a very satisfactory read for me. I rate it with five stars. Also, if you have not read any of the previous novels, do not fear starting with this one first. Adequate background has been provided so you should not have a feeling that there is something missing.

I have received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Thomas & Mercer with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

I was excited to read Marcia Clark’s latest book “Final Judgment”, because I have really enjoyed her Rachel Knight series, and a main character who is a lawyer really appealed to me.

Having never read any of the prior books in this series, there were parts of the book that referred to prior books that I hadn’t had the pleasure of reading. Despite that, I didn’t find it too confusing, and I didn’t feel that it restricted my enjoyment of the story in any way.

The beginning of the book starts off strong, with the main character, criminal lawyer Samantha Brinkman, enjoying a lovely vacation with her boyfriend before being called back after her boyfriend’s stock investment crashes. To make matters worse for her boyfriend, he had encouraged his elderly mother to invest heavily, creating a significant amount of emotional turmoil for the boyfriend’s character. Samantha and her boyfriend return to Los Angeles to look into what happened, and they mystery unfolds from there.

I was reminded of Michael Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer series as I started reading this book. There are a lot of Los Angeles references, and the author does a good job describing locations and impressions of the main character as she interacts with others. The descriptions really allowed you to feel like you were there, and I could almost feel the Los Angeles heat as Clark described some of the locations. The storyline of the stock investment was interesting, and seemed like a unique issue to weave into the larger mystery.

As the book progressed, for me, it lost steam. I found some of the decisions of the main character to be frustrating, and didn’t think a lawyer in real life would make the same choices. While no one ever wants to read a book where the main character is flawless, I just felt that some of her decisions seemed unbelievable, and some of her actions made her less likable for me. I won’t go into specifics, for fear of spoilers, but the conclusion of the book just seemed too far out for my liking.

I’m sure that, as a lawyer, I am harder to please with books about lawyers, but I just felt that this book missed the mark for me. It seemed that it would have been better suited for a detective or PI story, rather than one featuring a criminal lawyer so centrally. I felt like it was missing aspects of Samantha that were related to her role as a lawyer, rather than her focus on an investigation. I would have liked to learn more about her legal approach and practice than was offered.

Overall this was an ok read for me, and I was glad I finished the book and wrapped up the story. Even though this book wasn’t my favourite of hers, I will certainly read more Marcia Clark books moving forward, as there were enough things I liked about this book to bring me back again. I also loved her other series, so I think that it is worthwhile for me to check out more Samantha Brinkman stories.

I thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a digital copy for my honest review.

This is the first time I have read a book from Marcia Clark. After loving her television series that was cancelled after one season, I decided to bite the bullet and read one of her books. In Final Judgment, which apparently is the fourth in a series, Samantha Brinkman, a criminal defense attorney, finds herself in love and facing the challenge of whether or not the man she loves is actually the man she loves. The book starts off fast paced. Sam and Nico are on a beach vacation and she had just decided they should stay longer. However, their vacation gets interrupted by the news that an investment program that Niko, his mother, and countless others went sideways. They return home and the book takes off. It is fast paced with lots of great supporting characters. Alex, the computer whiz, who is Sam's main side kick. There is Michy, the office manager, who keeps Sam's life running. And Dale, a detective, who I think Sam really has sparks with. The book dragged a little in the middle and then seemed rushed in the end. I highly recommend the book otherwise.

It’s great to finally have another book in the Samantha Brinkman series by Marcia Clark. Whilst not my favourite in the series so far, it was solid with character development and the interaction between Sam, Michy, and Alex. However, I was a bit bored with the Niko storyline and it did seem to drag on for much longer than needed. I understand it was highlighting how far Sam had come since Book 1, but it could have had a fair bit less focus. The relationship between Sam and Dale would have to be my favourite part. Hopefully there will be a Book 5! Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with the ARC.

Samantha Brinkman is back for her fourth adventure as an L.A. defense attorney in this series penned by famed former prosecutor Marcia Clark. She has a serious romantic relationship for the first time in her life, one that is jeopardized when he becomes the prime suspect in a double homicide precipitated by a huge financial swindle that leaves his mother on the brink of death.

So that's one sentence that includes multi-million dollar financial fraud, two murders, and a dying mother. And that doesn't include multiple sexual assaults on underage youth both male and female, and a couple of past deaths that come back to haunt our hero and her beau. Plus, there is Sam's regular caseload which brings in more criminal activity. So yeah, there's a lot of lawbreaking going on, not to mention mention Sam's own disregard of legal boundaries.

I've enjoyed Clark's Brinkman series for the most part, having read all three prior entries. And that despite feeling that they are the equivalent of a decent episode of a TV legal thriller. I remain disappointed that there is less and less actual court time in each entry -- a shame, because this is supposed to be a legal thriller and that is supposed to be Sam's strength.

Instead, Sam spends the entire book investigating first the fraud, then one murder, then another, then the other thing (no spoilers). That includes one scene after another of Sam and her investigator interviewing people, playfully bantering with each other at every turn. And between interviews, Sam ruminates at length and repetitively over how her guy being a murder suspect will affect their romance.

The big problem with the storytelling arises when Sam learns her boyfriend's hidden secrets. He feels betrayed when there really is every reason for her to dig into his past -- all she ever has to say (but never does) is that, as his lawyer, she has to know, because the police are sure to find out.

In fact, I believe she is tipped off to all his secrets by her police detective father, and why are the lead investigators talking so freely about their case in front of the defense attorney's father? Sam's investigative powers are strictly limited to having her father tip her off and having a tech wiz of an assistant investigator who easily finds out everything she ever needs to know.

And yet the one big thing that she should have easily been able to intuit -- because we as readers can see it immediately, that's how obvious it is -- never crosses her mind until it is revealed via one of these mini-deus ex machina discoveries by her assistant.

So yeah, problems. Plot holes. A lot of wasted time. And a doozy of a resolution -- I can't decide whether I like it because it's so clever or whether I hate it because it's so heinous (even though people get what they deserve either way). I lean toward liking it because it is the one big thing Sam does on her own and in character.

As much as I enjoyed getting sucked into the story and plowing through it -- it's a quick fun easy read -- the objective dissector of plot devices in me couldn't get past the logical flaws and the over-reliance on investigative interviews, employee-employer banter, tortured inner monologue, and tidbits of information dropping into Sam's lap through no fault of her own.

I feel like it's been such a long wait for more Samantha! It was great to finally read more with her! She's such a great character, and I really enjoyed the relationship between she and Niko. I also liked that she seems to be becoming a bit more comfortable with her dad.

In this one, Niko's life has been upended by what seems to be an investment scam. While Niko is facing a loss in his personal life, he's soon under investigation when one of the investment company owners is murdered. It is up to Samantha to find out what really happened. As this case begins to tie back to Samantha's own history and past abuse, things become much more complicated and much is at stake.

This was another great installment in the series that had me engrossed from the beginning.

I received this book through the ReadNow program in NetGallery.

This is the 1st book of the series that I have read, but it definitely won't be the last. The story has Samantha on vacation with her boyfriend Niko. Samantha does not normally take a long vacation, but is willing to make an exception. Unfortunately, Niko gets a call from his friend Tom and they need to leave and get back right away. The reason was that a financial venture that Niko had recommended and gone sour and all of friends has lost all of their money. One of the investors was Noko's mother who was completely wiped out. The stress that this brought on led to her having a stroke.

Samantha and her team started to look into this venture and discovered that it was really a scam and that the partners of the firm Gold Strike had pilfered the money and put the funds in an offshore account. As a result Bryan wound up murdered and Tanner disappeared at the same time. Samantha and her team chased down all of the information that they could find and started to unravel who the murderer was. At the same time, Angelina, who was involved with setting up parties for Tanner, had a party where her sister was assaulted. Samantha and her group also took on finding out who the guilty party was.

With all of the clues that her team developed, she began to suspect one of her acquantainces was the killer. She ultimately got a confession from him, but she did not want him going to the police. In discovering the culprit who assaulte Angelina's sister, Sam planted evidence which would implicate this person in the murder of Tanner. Sam had a reason for doing this which you will need to read the book to discover.

TRhe characters in this were well done and the ending meshed all of the parts that were uncovered. Again you need to read this book to get the entire story and I highly recommend it.

I enjoyed this book and found it real easy to read. I suppose it could have been a little far fetched but isn't that what a book is for to take you away from realty. As I say I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend

I am always impressed by Marcia Clark's books and the Samantha Brinkman series is one of my favorites. In this most recent installment, Samantha's boyfriend Niko is in need of defense after he loses money in a financial investment gone wrong thanks to some shady "friends" and investors. Making matters worse, Niko's mother is also a victim of the scheme. As people go missing and the evidence piles up, Sam finds herself questioning Niko's innocence and their relationship. When her investigation unearths connections to her own past, she must uncover the truth. The best part about Sam - and about Clark's books - is that justice is rarely presented as black and white. There is so much gray to consider - particularly when it comes to right vs. wrong, vengeance vs. justice, and how we protect ourselves and those we love. Can't wait for the next book!

The Samantha Birnkman series is one of my favorites and this newest book didn't disappoint. The plot and storyline moved right along, and it was really heard to guess how the story was going to end. I was glad that Sam's relationship was able to survive this test, though I wonder if it will in the future. I'm not sure how he will react when he really finds out what she has done in the past. I can't wait to see what happens in the 5th book.

Samantha Brinkman, LA attorney, finds her vacation with new boyfriend Niko interrupted by the news that a risky investment has gone awry, and everyone has lost fortunes. The investment advisers, Bryan and Tanner, blame each other, but when they both disappear, it's time for Sam to investigate. Sam, who survived a childhood trapped with a pedophile stepfather, finds that the abuser from her past was one of the investors. Was the investment really bad, or did someone just run off with the money? This is an incredibly well-plotted page turner filled with fascinating characters and a satisfying ending--highly recommended! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Great read! I really like Marcia Clark's writing. I enjoy seeing the real side of being in the legal profession. I often wonder if Samantha isn't a part of who Marcia is in real life :) I thought the mystery in this story was interesting, and the revenge angle was quite satisfying. I like the loyalty of her friends and staff. They are true blue and put up with each others faults, which is hard to find sometimes, cliché or not. I look forward to the next installment.

While I enjoy the Samantha Brinkman series, this was probably my least favorite book in the series. The beginning was a little slow going and honestly pretty meh until the middle of the book. From there is was an absolute page turner. I do wish a couple more threads would have been tied up by the end of the book. But all and all it was an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to book #5!

I was so glad when I saw that she had brought out this book, because I read and loved the first three , and when I saw this one I knew that I wanted to request it and read it and once again I wasn't let down at all , I loved everything about it , and it was like meeting old friends again, can't wait to see what happens next .

Involved and intelligent as the author takes us on a legal ride that is certainly not dull. All the characters are strong and damaged but that is not what the series is about. Finally!!! Marcia Clark has this new one for us. Although I could empathize with Nico I thought the character acted rather weak in this one.

When an investment scheme goes wrong, there are many suspects. Was it a Ponzi scheme or just a bad investment? That’s the latest question to be answered in this latest Marcia Clark thriller ! I could hardly put this one down.!! The ending will surprise and make you question what you would do in a similar situation. Go get this book!!!

I really wanted to love this book. I'm a huge fan of Ms. Clark, and count as one of my best moments in my career the time, after an impassioned plea for leniency for a client, two of his aunts came up and hugged me and said, "You sounded just like Marcia Clark."

But I found the book to be surficial and glib. For example, she can't even have a cup of coffee. It has to be a vat or a tub. I. Get. The. Point. And Alex . . . . The new cliche seems to be the sidekick who is the hot gay man of color who is in a cozy domestic arrangement. Come on. How about a bear with stains on his tie?

I also had an issue with how glib she was about her own murders. In my experience, people who kill, even when the victim deserved it, are usually haunted and uncomfortable about it, unless they are sociopaths. I don't trust characters who are glib about it.

I guess that was my problem with Samantha. I was never sympathetic for her or empathetic with her. The book was twisty enough that I kept reading although somewhere around the 40% mark, my only thought was, "Niko is a red herring." I didn't hate it.

#Final Judgement #NetGalley #Thomas & Mercer

This is the fourth book in the Samantha Brinkman series and Ms. Clark delivers another edge of your seat thriller. The story starts with a investment scheme gone bad, murder, rape and revenge with Samantha's boyfriend Nikko looking like the number one suspect in a murder. . Samantha and her associates Alex and Michy, with plenty of help from Dale, Samantha's police officer father are hard at work investigating all leads to prove that Nikko is innocent and keep him out of prison. Samantha has bent the law in the past to see that justice is served when the courts have failed her. Will she bend the law again to save Nikko from a life sentence in prison? Plenty of twists and turns this is a very enjoyable read. I am already hoping that Ms. Clark will write more books in this series.

This is the fourth novel in the Samantha Brinkman series by Marcia Clark. Marcia Clark is well-known for her unsucccessful role in the O.J. Simpson prosecution for the alleged murder of his wife and her boyfriend. Subsequently Clark has become a successful author of legal thrillers.

Samanatha Brinkman and her boyfriend Niko Ferrell are relaxing at a South Pacific resort when he receives a phone call alerting him that an investment that he recommended to his mother and some friends has gone badly awry. They go rushing back to the States to try to sort things out. It turns out that the two individuals in the Gold Strike scheme, Bryant and Tanner, have "lost" everything and they each blame the other for the debacle. Niko's mother Sophia has lost her life savings and ends up in hospital after a stroke. Bryant ends up murdered and Samantha and her colleagues at Brinkman and Associates decide to pitch in and investigate what has happened. Matters become more complicated when the second principal in the scheme, Tanner, goes missing and the police are unable to locate him. As a result of some circumstantial evidence Niko becomes a person of interest in the police investigation and Sam digs into his past in an attempt to exonerate him. But she learns things which make her suspicious. The plot thickens before matters are resolved. An interesting novel. A good read.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this novel.