I had no idea that Marcia Clark was also a novelist until about two years ago when a friend recommended her Rachel Knight series. I quickly read all of those and moved on to the Samantha Brinkman books. I was immediately struck by Clark’s talent as a writer – she creates honest, compelling characters tackling incredibly interesting cases with legal and social implications. What I particularly love about Samantha Brinkman is that though in theory she fights for “justice”, she defines it in her own way and it often changes as she investigates each case. Sam lives in the gray area. Things aren’t black and white for her, instead she understands the nuance and takes incredible risks to get to the truth.

Snap Judgment is the third book in the Samantha Brinkman series. Without giving away too much about the plot, the book centers around the death of Alicia, a college student and daughter of a prominent local lawyer Graham Hutchins. Days later, the young woman’s boyfriend – and prime suspect in her case – is also dead and Graham fears he will be arrested for murder and there is only one person he can trust. Enter Sam and her fabulous team including best friend/office manager Michelle, investigator/hacker Alex and dad/former client/police detective Dale. Together, they find themselves in the middle of a much larger case that hits very close to home – family drama, revenge, secrets and danger.

Sam is a compelling and complicated character. She believes in doing the right thing. She has a clear sense of what is right and wrong – even if her definition isn’t quite the same as others. She believes in doing everything she can to help the people that she loves.  She believes in the law. However, she knows the system has flaws and that you can’t always follow the rules. She also knows that sometimes you can do the wrong thing for the right reason and that often the ends justify the means. What is most intriguing about Sam is that she doesn’t stop fighting for what she believes in – even when it puts her in danger and even when she doesn’t have things all figured out. She follows her gut. Even when you don’t agree with what she does, you can understand why she does it. Clark makes you root for Samantha, her team and for justice.

As Sam tries to keep Graham away from law enforcement, she also fights to find out what really happened to Alicia and hold those accountable responsible. Snap Judgement is a great read and a reminder that things – good and bad – aren’t always what they seem.

* I received access to an advanced copy of Snap Judgement as a reviewer for NetGalley. Thank you!