The "Super Bowl Murder" was all caught on security camera: the murderer's face and clothing, his getting the attention of the victim before shooting him, the theft of all the jewelry in the shop, and the license plate and make of his car as he drove away. Roy Dillard was arrested later that day. It seemed like an obvious, easy case. However, he insisted to his attorney, brand new assistant public defender Ken Melzer, that he trusts in the justice system and believes that the jury will find him not guilty. And that's all he'll give his defense team to go on. Will his prediction come true, or is this the easy slam dunk for the prosecution it appears to be?

I did not care for this book. It definitely kept you reading, but sometimes it was just to get through it. It got very repetitive at times. It was full of extremely strong language. The violence (the murder in the beginning, flashbacks to the aftermath of a tornado) was very descriptive and gory. The premise and all the blurbs in the book description made it sound like you'd never see the ending coming. It was a multi-part twist, and I completely predicted part of it without even opening the book. The other part was very tricky and unpredictable but not at all satisfying, so it didn't leave me impressed.

Also, almost no one in the book was likable. Obviously our perpetrator is a problem because he's (most likely) a murderer, and an egregious one at that. The prosecutor is good at what he does, but he's a blackmailing sleazeball in real life. The only decent person is Ken Melzer, the public defender. (His boss is ok.) He really wants to do some good in the world and help people. However, he gets wrapped up in this case to unhealthy levels, so that's not great either. His wife was annoying. Every conversation started with her claiming to be proud of him wanting to do good in the world and ending with her complaining that he needed to switch to private law that pays better for the sake of their future children (but really you know it's because she misses the cushy lifestyle she grew up in as the daughter of an attorney). It was just a weird mental disconnect to decide if you were rooting for the sleazy prosecutor with justice on his side or the kind-hearted public defender representing a murderer.

The one highlight of this book was in a flashback. Ken Melzer remembers the crisis of faith he went through as a teenager, and he recounts a conversation he had with his pastor father about it. I thought it was delicately handled and very well done. Other than that, I can't think of anything I really enjoyed about this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.

Bam! Titled well, this is a slam dunk for sure. I haven't read the first book, there's a third book coming and I will warn you, it's hard to leave this book and do other things. While not that style, I was as hooked as if I was watching a strong Perry Mason or another super show. The characters are very sound and I want more.

My copy came from Net Galley. Thank you! My review is my own, left of my own volition.

This was an amazing book! I could not put it down once I started it! This book really makes you think! I was constantly questioning the characters and trying to figure out what was going to happen. This book is extremely well written. You can see the amount of research that went into this! You will not put this book down, I promise you!

Twists and turns in this book from the beginning to the end. How does he really think he can get away with it?The evidence is plan to see and even a great lawyer is going to have a hard time .....and especially since his hands are tied to the end of the trial.

What a plot! I found myself waking up in the night and reaching for my kindle to read more. This was definitely a page turner for me. Thank you NetGalley for an ecopy of this book!

What appears to be an open and shut armed robbery and murder case becomes anything but that in this mystery. While I wouldn’t call it riveting, the backstory of the robbery proved interesting. The main character is very likable and I wanted him to succeed, but I felt a little sad for him at the end of the book.

Wonderful twist! I couldn't figure out what was going to happen.


reviewed on amazon as barth gimbal

This book is a little out of my normal reading material but good nevertheless. It’s a mystery with quite a bit of humor and philosophical talks about God and the right and wrong way of justice. I really liked this book and found an easy connection with the characters especially the main character Ken Melzer who is fresh out of law school and passing the bar in Florida. As most new lawyers he starts out in the public defender’s office and ends up getting a capital murder case because the accused demands the newest lawyer in the office. From then on Roy Dillard the defendant runs the way he wants Ken to defend him which is literally not doing a thing but just keep saying he has faith in the justice system. There is a lot of background information on Ken and at the end on Roy too. A good read I would gladly recommend. Thanks to #NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

No, not for me. The first day as an attorney just seemed so over the top that it made me annoyed. How many times can you call someone by the wrong name? Yes, intentional, but really grating. Ok, so as a retired attorney maybe it annoyed me more than most.
I did keep on with it, but it was just not cutting it even as other characters were brought into the story. It was supposedly a slam dunk murder/robbery case, but instead just seemed almost a comedy of errors so I stopped reading it.
Thank you NetGalley for the advance reader copy in return for an honest review.