Publication Date: May 16, 2023
From the bestselling author of Dead Certain and The Perfect Marriage comes a smart and twisty legal thriller about love, life, and truth that careens to a shocking conclusion you won’t soon forget …
Matthew Brooks and Vanessa Lyons are a perfect love match, both attorneys at a powerful New York City law firm. But there’s a hitch: Matt just made partner, and Vanessa is coming up for partner next year. And Vanessa’s husband has his suspicions.
Vanessa is assigned to the biggest case at the firm, the one that will determine her future. Unfortunately, Matt has been working the case for years, leaving him no choice but to supervise his lover in violation of firm policy. When Vanessa is denied her partnership, despite assurances to the contrary, she can only assume that her affair with Matt was the reason.
Then, on a crowded Manhattan street corner, a knife flashes in the midday sun, leaving behind a scene of horror. But with so many having been betrayed, and no one telling the truth, will the murderer be brought to justice? Even after hearing the gripping courtroom testimony, readers will be unsure who is the betrayed and who is the betrayer, right up until the culminating jaw-dropping reveal.
Vanessa Lyons has meticulously checked all the boxes in her efforts to be named partner at a prestigious law firm. She’s put in the hours, built up a strong network, and has been told by a reliable source that she’s a lock for the coveted spot.
Sounds like a fairly routine plot…unless author Adam Mitzner, himself a full-time practicing attorney, is stirring the pot. And stir, he does! The end result is Love Betrayal Murder, three words that indicate only a fraction of the drama within the book.
Add in an affair with a fellow attorney, Matt, who later makes partner and ends up supervising Vanessa on a case, along with an anonymous call to the firm alleging the two are having an affair. Their future starts to look much different.
As the primary breadwinner in the family, Vanessa is relying on her future partnership salary to help fund her husband’s lavish lifestyle and support their young daughter.
A twist to the storyline lands Vanessa and Matt on opposing sides in the courtroom, just as the #MeToo movement began. There’s a fine line between a truth and a lie.
For the first half of the book, I felt great compassion for one of the characters, cheering as things seemed to be going in the right direction. However, the author executes a course of action that had me gasping in disbelief. How could he do that in the middle of the story?
From that point on, the narrative changes, and readers get a front-row seat in criminal court. While packed with intensity, there’s no time for readers to take a break. This is one of those books where you need to buckle in and hold on tight.
By the end, I had to re-evaluate my earlier perceptions of the characters. Think of it as a book where the main characters fall into gray areas of awfulness. No one emerges squeaky clean.
Love Betrayal Murder is hands down one of the best legal thrillers I have read. The story could practically be ripped out of the headlines, but the author adds a personal touch that makes it stick with you long after the last page.
Adam Mitzner, a lawyer by day, is the author of Losing Faith, A Case of Redemption, and A Conflict of Interest. He lives with his family in New York City.
Intriguing review. It’s a treat to run across a story so laced with nuance that your own take on the characters mirrors that nuance. Thanks for sharing!