The Best Friend is one of the best legal thrillers I have read in a long time, a cracking wonderful story with a cast of great characters, brilliant court scenes, shocks and some real twists you don’t see coming.
The depth of this story holds your interest throughout, the term ‘page turner’ has never been so apt.
The plot is unusual and compelling, narrated by the three main characters, defence attorney Chris Borden, his wife Anne and his best friend from childhood Nick.
Gradually the layers of the story are peeled back and revealed, there was one small statement, a sentence really, that shocked me to the core, so much so I had to take a deep breath and stop reading until my heart rate settled, it came out of the blue and my heart went out to Clint.
I can’t praise the standard of writing enough, well done indeed Mr Mitzner.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

Book Review: The Best Friend (Broden Legal #3) by Adam Mitzner
(Published by Thomas & Mercer)

4.25 Stars

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.."

With smooth transitions in alternating first person narratives, the author weaves a compelling tale through three decades, from sea to shining sea - 1986, 2003 and 2020 in the Big Apple, the Hamptons, and the West Coast, with fully developed characters, complex relationships, at times amicable even familial, heartwarming, at times antagonistic, and as it turns out, with good reason to be.

Although "The Best Friend" is the third book in a legal series, I read the novel as a standalone, my first of the author, a Manhattan attorney - and what a read!

Presented in all of 300-plus pages, F. Clinton Broden and Nick Zamora, in an abbreviated way, brings to mind those epic tales presented in volume segments over years. Think Jeffrey Archer's Abel Rosnovski and William Kane. Even Harry Clifton and Gile Barrington. Or perhaps, Irwin Shaw's Jordache siblings.

Family and friendship, and vitriol and bitter rivalry; courtroom drama, legal techniques - refreshingly unrecycled, and capital crime cases, once or twice removed. Whodunnit? The answer seems obvious, and yet it pops out of nowhere. With Adam Mitzner's protagonists, indeed, as the French saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Review based on an e-galley ARC from Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley.

In his afterword, Adam Mitzner writes that his wife thinks this is the best of the books he's written. I agree wholeheartedly. It is, in fact, one of the best legal thrillers I've read. By changing time and character Mitzner has been able to give us a fully developed and complex stories, characters that are real, and the kind of courtroom tension that keeps the readers on the edge of their seats. Huzzah Mr. Mitzner This is a tour de force.

This is an excellent novel with a legal theme, and a rather unusual plot. The storytelling and the characters are great, making the book easy to read and very unpredictable and interesting. Normally I don't like changing first person POV, but here it's almost acceptable because they are in a few big sections. I still would have preferred third person.

The Best Friend by Adam Mitzner is one of the best courtroom dramas I've read in some time. I should be sorry that I wasn't familiar with Mitzner's writing before now but I'm not, because now there are all of his other books to look forward to!

The story is broken down into four parts and is narrated by three different characters, attorney Clint Broden, his wife Anne, and his best friend Nick Zamora.

Part 1 begins in 1986, when Nick is accused of a serious crime. Clint defends his friend in court, and the story progresses from there, as does Clint's career. I was caught up in the story line immediately, as the book was well-written and although I thought I knew where it was going, I was interested in how it would play out. Ah, was I in for a surprise.

Part 2, beginning in 2003, takes everything to a new level, as Anne begins to narrate, and layers are peeled back to reveal details that deepened my interest level and made me realize I didn't have a clue where this story was going. I was hooked.

Part 3, set in 2020, is narrated by Nick, and it yanked the hook tighter as a new era in his life is presented. An older and maybe (or maybe not) wiser Nick becomes embroiled in another drama, and Clint reappears after 34 years to help his friend once again.

Part 4 brings us back around to Clint. I was still guessing in this section how everything would play out, and I wasn't disappointed in the surprise factor. Clint is indeed there for Nick, but things have changed, and somehow everything old is new again.

The Best Friend is a story so intriguing and so well-written, that I could sense the depth of feeling from each character toward the others. I may not have truly cared for all the characters, and I might have disagreed with some of their choices - or even all of their choices - but I never, at any point, failed to understand why they did what they did, and I never questioned their emotions.

With much gratitude to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer, and especially Adam Mitzner for an ARC in exchange for my review.

5+ stars

Wow. Just wow. Not that I'm terribly surprised, mind you - I've read two other books by this author (although not in this series) and loved them both - but this one pretty much blew me away.

In 1986, struggling defense attorney Clint Broden lands an unexpected client: His best friend, Nick Zamora, who's been charged with the murder of his new wife Carolyn, a successful attorney in her own right. Nick, an aspiring writer, insists he's innocent; out of loyalty if nothing else, Clint agrees to serve as his attorney - even though he has a few misgivings. But he makes his living defending people he strongly suspects are guilty; after all, they, too, are entitled to a fair trial.

What happens in the courtroom changes both men's lives; 30 or so years later, Nick has left New York for Los Angeles, realizing his lifelong dream of becoming a respected writer of novels, screenplays and other lucrative assignments. Clint, who gained fame at the conclusion of Nick's trial, is in demand as well; he and his wife, Anne, have two mostly grown daughters (one a talented singer who takes after her mother) and all's right with both men's worlds.

Until it isn't. What are the chances that lightening will strike twice? Nick and Clint haven't spoken since Nick moved to the other side of the country, but now they must as Nick once again is desperate for legal help from his old friend. But many other things have changed, especially in Clint's mind. Old suspicions die hard (pun intended), so will he be able to let bygones be bygones at any cost? Chapters shift from Clint to Nick to Clint's wife, Anne, giving readers insights into what's really going on (including plenty of surprises). I wish I could be more specific, but revealing much more would spoil the excitement for other readers.

So for now, all I can do is profusely thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. I'm still trying to catch my breath - highly recommended!

I dare say this is the best pure legal thriller since PRESUMED INNOCENT. It draws on some of the same sorts of twists, surprises, and conflicts that made PRESUMED INNOCENT great and presents them in a fresh, new way. It's an extraordinarily good book. Read it as soon as you can.

I received a copy from NetGalley for my honest review.

Very good book. Grabs the reader from the beginning and keeps delivering all the way to the end. I read a lot of books and this book is one of the best in quite a bit of time.

The characters are well developed. There are good and there are bad qualities to all.

The plot is developed over many years and displays the highs and lows of friendship.

I highly recommend this book. I am looking forward to reading other offerings from Mr. Mitzner.

“Twenty-seven-year old women are not supposed to drown in the bathtub.”

The Best Friend is the third in the Broden legal series, but it easily a standalone novel. The story begins in 1986 with the bathtub drowning of a 27-year-old bride. The drowning is determined to be a homicide, and of course it’s always the husband. New defense attorney, Clint Broden, is the accused’s best friend. Even though Clint’s firm is struggling, he decides to represent Nick’s defense at trial.

Clint is the father to Ella and Charlotte, whose stories were told in the previous novels. Since the story begins in 1986, we get to see both girls as young children. The story is told in four parts, over more than 30 years’ time, with each part being a different character’s point of view. I loved this technique because we got to see some secrets before the other characters learned the truth.

The book is fast paced and becomes difficult to put down! I highly recommend this and the others in the series. I’ll be checking out this author’s other works too!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, and to NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third in a series - I had not read the first two, but had no problem reading and enjoying this as a stand-alone. The author tells a story that is ostensibly a legal thriller, but which devolves into an intricate web of friendship, love and betrayal between the three main characters. Not so much thrills, but a very satisfying read. The characters are well-drawn and I loved the way the perspective alternated between the three main characters, with each telling part of the story from their point of view.

My only criticism is that the last 1/4 of the book slowed considerably, but the ending was well done and wrapped up everything, while still leaving room for a continuation with the characters - without being obnoxious about it.

The Best Friend by Adam Mitzner. A story of deaths, the trials and tribulations of long term relationships and ultimately a love story with a unique twist. Reliable characters, realistic interaction between the characters and tense courtroom drama make this one of the best legal thrillers that I have read in a quite some time. Will be looking for Mr. Mitzner's backlist and future books.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Best mates?

Clint Broden and Nick Zamora are best friends, having grown up together after Clint’s parents were tragically killed. Clint is a struggling attorney and Nick a wannabe author and notorious womaniser. Both are married. Clint to Anne and Nick, more recently, to Carolyn, a bride of a few weeks who dies in the bath in the first few pages. This is the story of how they interact during that particular crisis and how their lives pan out afterwards.

The story is written in sections – each from the POV of the three main protagonists, Anne, Nick and Clint. It’s a formula being used increasingly by authors these days; some more successfully than others. In “The Best Friend” it works well but the writing in each section is very similar and I would have liked to have seen some differentiation. The plot is straightforward and very easy to follow and is more one of the relationship between the two men rather than a murder/mystery but is none the poorer for that. Whilst the number of characters involved is restricted to a minimum, the complexity comes in the form of the interaction and relationships between the main figures. The reader is unfailingly drawn towards the denouement to discover whether the truth will eventually be revealed and whether the friendship will survive.

This is the third in the Broden series. It’s not an issue coming to this novel without having read the preceding two as it’s a stand-alone in its own right and the author doesn’t make life difficult for the reader with oblique references to the other books in the series. However, whilst it can by no stretch of the imagination be described as lightweight, it is also not a book which requires deep thought or concentration. It’s one to take on holiday and leave for others by pool when finished with. Worthy but not sensational.

mr zorg

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

I haven´t read the previous book in this series and it didn´t make a difference. I love legal thrillers and this book was no exception! The story is told from each of the main characters point of view and it involves the feelings of love, betrayal, deception, friendship, moral values, family relationships and loss. It´s interesting as each one of the characters uses the above feelings in a different scale to support their views and to command their lives. It also enlightens the reader with a very clear view on how the proceedings on a courtroom legally happen.
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

. The only reason I couldn’t read it Straight through was because of very tired eyes. 😊
Great Book! Loved the plot, loved the development of characters, story line and sequencing.
I read 2 or 3 books a week and for sure you are one of my top 3 favorite authors!
I love that the author hasn't seemed to fall into
A “formula” habit for his stories. They are refreshingly engaging. Very hard to put down.
Looking forward to “The Perfect Marriage”.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the 1st book that I have read by this author, but it definitely won't be my last. This story begins with Clint's friend Nicky calling him to let him know that his wife had drowned in the bathtub. Clint went directly to his friends to be with him and when he got there the police were already on the scene. As the story went on, Nicky was ultimately arrested for his wife's murder. Clint represented him as the case went to trial. Ultimately the case was decided in Nicky's favor. This portion of the story ended with Nicky going to California to write.

The 2nd portion of the story was about Clint's wife during the last year of her life. This story follows her bout with 4th stage cancer the she initially tried to overcome with a treatment trial that would extend her life. Unfortunately, the treatment did not work and she decided to forego any more Chemo and live out her life on her own terms. During this time, she contacted Nicky who was still living in California to talk to him. They met and discussed events that had occurred many years earlier. In the end, Anne went into a Hospice where she ultimately died.

The 3rd story had Clint getting back in touch with his friend Nicky several years after Anne had died. During this time, Nicky was once again accused of killing his wife Samantha. The police arrested Nicky while Clint was in California and he was brought back for trial to NY since the murder had occurred at the Hamptons. Nicky was once again the lawyer for his trial with assistance from Maggie, a former colleague in the Public Defender's office where he first started. The trial ran all the way through the verdict being rendered by the Jury.

To find out what the verdict was and what portion of the story related to the events which occurred during the death of Nicky's 1st wife, then you must read this story.

In this novel, we follow Clint, a novice defense attorney and his best friend Nick. This story is about friendships and betrayal. I loved it. Kept me reading and wanting to know more.

Love a good legal thriller. This absolutely did the job. This is the third book in the Broden series, & the Author didn’t let me down. I didn’t find the court room scenes to drag on as many legal dramas do. I found myself sitting in the scene, holding my breath, waiting for the critical calls from the judge.

This novel has it al. The character development is superb, the plot beyond intriguing and captivating, packed with drama and fast paced cataclysmic events that intertwined two suspicious cases.

I will continue to be a fab of Adam Mitzner, and look forward to his next thrill ride.

* Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy for my honest opinion.

I want to start off by saying thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book, it was a very good read easy to follow along with storyline and characters. This was a new author for me but I very much enjoyed it, thank you for the opportunity and I look forward to reading more by this author again. I highly recommend this book to everybody.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book spans decades and revolves around the relationship between Clint, a defense attorney, and his best friend since childhood, Nicky, who was accused of killing his wife in 1986. Clint defends Nicky but the two lose touch following the trial, until an event brings them back together in the current day and past truths are revealed.

I read and enjoyed Adam Mitzner’s first novel and for some reason never read another one until now. I am so glad I read this one. I was drawn in from the start and was never bored nor was I disappointed with the ending. I thought the characters were pretty well developed and the story was really well written. I will definitely be circling back on the first 2 books in this series.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This book has it all: long-term friendships, suspicious deaths, courtroom drama, and heart-breaking scenes. The characters were well drawn and the mystery continues until the very end.