SYNOPSIS
Joe Lattimore, homeless and trying desperately to provide for his young family, agrees to fight in a no-holds-barred illegal bout, only to have his opponent die. Lattimore now finds himself at the mercy of the fight's organizers who blackmail him into burglarizing a house. However, when he breaks in, he finds a murdered woman on the floor and the police have received an anonymous tip naming him the murderer.
Robin Lockwood, an increasingly prominent young attorney and former MMA fighter, agrees to take on his defense. But the case is seemingly airtight—the murdered woman's husband, Judge Anthony Carasco, has an alibi and Lattimore's fingerprints are discovered at the scene. But everything about the case is too easy, too pat, and Lockwood is convinced that her client has been framed. The only problem is that she has no way of proving it and since this is a death case, if she fails then another innocent will die.
Robin Lockwood, an increasingly prominent young attorney and former MMA fighter, agrees to take on his defense. But the case is seemingly airtight—the murdered woman's husband, Judge Anthony Carasco, has an alibi and Lattimore's fingerprints are discovered at the scene. But everything about the case is too easy, too pat, and Lockwood is convinced that her client has been framed. The only problem is that she has no way of proving it and since this is a death case, if she fails then another innocent will die.
Title: A matter of life and death
Author: Phillip Margolin
Series: Robin Lockwood #4
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: March 9, 2021
REVIEW
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
What an absolute page turner! I had just started it and when I realized I was already halfway through!
Former MMA fighter turned attorney Robin Lockwood is back in the fourth installment in the series with a case that, as the title indicates, is a matter of life and death. When a homeless guy is accused of killing a judge's wife, Robin is convinced he's being framed so she must give it her all if she doesn't want an innocent to die.
This was action packed from page one. The author doesn't lose time with unnecessary details, going straight to move along the plot, encompassing what irl could take several months into just a few pages. It's a plot driven story and character development is at a minimum. That's why I seriously recommend to read first the other three books in the series to get to know Robin better. It felt as if I was watching a legal drama tv-show episode. While that made me keep flying through the pages, it also made me miss a bit more development in some scenes and characters.
Although the plot was pretty straightforward from the beginning and it was pretty clear who was responsible for the murder from the start, it was really interesting to see how the trial developed and learning about the differences between a death case and a "normal" one. I'm a sucker for courtroom dramas and there's nothing I like more than a good cross examination scene.
There were some twists towards the end that were tremendously satisfying (take that, motherf*****!).
Another great addition to the series, with a really entertaining plot and a pretty likeable heroine.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
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