Dead Even

Rating:
Summary: A definate must read
Review: Great book. You won't be disapointed

Rating:
Summary: Great story, suspenseful from page one till the end
Review: How anyone who reads in this genre could give Dead Even less than five stars is completely beyond me. This is a great story, combining a compelling premise with brisk pacing and straightforward writing without one wasted word. I noticed from some of the other reviews that readers wrote off Jared and Sarah as self-involved yuppies and I disagree completely. Jared's a very likeable urban guy. And Sarah, who mentors a teenager from a tough neighborhood, has a wonderful sense of humor and a toughness that charms. The best aspects of their personalities are illuminated by the premise itself. Jared loves his wife and is put it a terrifying situation to save her life. Sarah, likewise. The tension between them is believable, and it brings a terrific undercurrent of intrigue to the rest of the story. People magazine's comparison of Meltzer to John Grisham and David Baldacci is shallow. Baldacci's books are twice as long as they should be. And as evidenced by "The Street Lawyer," John Grisham no longer seems very concerned about plot, story, tension, prose or anything else that's expected to hold a reader's attention. Sorry to sound pissy, but books these days are expensive. It's a bummer when you spend big bucks because of the hype on a book jacket. But when you do get your money's worth, you have to hand it to the writer who created the magic. Take my advice. Buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Original plot, great characters, but too much melodrama.
Review: I plowed through the book in about two days. I was totally engrossed in the characters, and you never really knew who side anyone was on. Meltzer is a very good writer, not on par with Richard North Patterson in this genre, but getting there. The originality of the plot line is what drew me to the book. The plot twists and the well written characters kept me reading. My only gripe is that it seemed very melodramic at certain points. A little overly mushy at times. Otherwise, a well written book that's worth a quick read.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of fun!
Review: While some of the other reviews seemed to consider this book too light and lame, I thought that that was what made the book a lot of fun. I relieve enjoy his witty and funny dialogue. Granted the plot was similar to the first book, if you want to have fun, read DEAD EVEN!

Rating:
Summary: IT DIDN'T DISAPPOINT ME-- NOT AT ALL WHAT I EXPECTED.
Review: Jared and Sara have been happily married for six years. They are both talented attorneys. Sara,who had been unemployed for six months, recently landed a job as a DA. Desperate to keep her job after rumors of job cuts circulate, she takes a case away from another lawyer. At first, it's a lowly robbery case, but when Jared, who works for a prestigious law firm, is assigned to the case as the defense attorney, things get dangerous. Both of them are threatened by outside forces. The threat: Win or your spouse dies. In their struggle to protect one another, Jared and Sara practically destroy their marriage. Not only is Jared being constantly assaulted but Sara is tempted by another man. Wow, talk about problems! Their turmoil is so convincing. Throughout the story, we get to know the couple's enemies and come to expect their reactions, but when Jared and Sara finally get to fight back, literally, one just cannot seem to help but cheer them on and hold one's breath. Fortunately, the couple's love proves to be strong in the end and they manage to survive. Though I'm usually partial when it comes to male authors, I must admit that Brad Meltzer proved to me that he is insightful and very detailed with his work. DEAD EVEN, is a book that is well written, giving the reader a very good look into the legal world and into the minds of two desperate people. I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Light-weight airport reading
Review: If I'd recognized the name of the author of The Tenth Justice, I might not have bought Dead Even. In this book, Meltzer recycles the characters from his first book - we have the same snappy (or is that "sappy?") dialogue between the same cardboard characters. Sara Tate is supposed to be a hard-driving attorney, yet she is also a mass of self-doubt and vulnerability who so doubts her ability to get a job that she has to cling to her position as an ADA, even when her husband's life is threatened. The same can be said of that husband, Jared (where does he get these names?), who, we are asked to believe, deeply loves his wife, but wouldn't dream of quitting his job, even though doing that job is putting his wife's life in danger. This is the sort of book that you might try when you're stuck in an airport and you're desparate for reading material.

Rating:
Summary: It grabs you from the very first page. But...
Review: Very interesting plot. Unfortunately the last pages don't have the same force as the rest of the book. For the last two chapters of the book, when Meltzer gets away from the courtroom and legal thriller the plot loses its strength and starts to fall at some common fights and shootings.

Rating:
Summary: Shallow, utterly stupid premise, worthless characters.
Review: I am only halfway through this book and I doubt that I'll even finish it. I'm really sorry I bought it - even tho' it was only $4.39! I feel like it was written by a 5th grader. The characters are totally unbelieveable - the husband is a sap and the wife is an airhead who is supposedly the stronger of the two. I actually find her character totally offensive to women who are in the legal field - or any field for that matter. I can't imagine how this book got any rave reviews. From reading your other customer comments it sounds like Brad Meltzer's prior book, The Tenth Judgement, was much better. Perhaps I'll give it a try. I keep hoping this one will improve but all hope is gone now! I wanted to check out some other customer reviews to see if anyone felt as I do - it appears that many do. I think the author should refund us our money or at least print an apology for writing such a time-waster. I don't expect every book I read to mimick real life - but some degree of plausability is expected and this has absolutely none. My rating is actually -0 but you don't give that option.

Rating:
Summary: A Disapointing Let-Down After The Tenth Justice
Review: I enjoyed The Tenth Justice, so I had hoped that this title would divert my attention for awhile. (After all, I did not get bored with Grisham until his fourth or fifth book.) Dead Even, though, failed to deliver any enjoyment. It was not that I had plausibility problems with the plot; instead, I just did not care what happened. The events failed to interest me. The characters failed to interest me. Like most of the other people who have posted reviews, I would not recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Sophmorish drivel
Review: I enjoyed The Tenth Justice. Even though I felt the premise of Dead Even was outlandish, I decided to read it. Bad choice. What a sorry bunch of jerk it this way, jerk it that way. None of it is plausible and it doesn't hang together.