A Case of Redemption

By: Adam Mitzner

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The second electrifying thriller from the "gifted writer" (Publishers Weekly) and author of A Conflict of Interest.

A high-profile attorney in the middle of a leave of absence following a personal tragedy is drawn back into the legal arena amidst a media firestorm when he agrees to represent a popular rap artist accused of brutally murdering his pop star girlfriend. With its powerful voice, pause-resisting tension, and strong cast of characters, Adam Mitzner’s novels are reminiscent of such best-selling authors as Scott Turow and John Grisham.

©2013 Adam Mitzner (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Mitzner's courtroom drama is Grisham-like in suspenseful before-the-bench action....a wicked ride, with more loops and flips than Coney Island's Cyclone." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"Ah, the crucible of the courtroom! Adam Mitzner understands its appeal so very well. Devotees of legal suspense will find themselves happily at home, zinging with the intrigue, reeling with the twists, and ultimately well fed with a satisfying (if shocking) resolution. And if you've been away from the fictional halls of justice for too long, A CASE OF REDEMPTION is where you need to come back." (Jamie Mason, author of Three Graves Full)

Predictable, but not a complete disappointment

For a lover of lawyer-thrillers, this was a ordinary book. Plot was predictable. Nevertheless kept me interested with the style and characters. More like a well made B Class movie.

Great Plot Twists in the final hour

I've read two of Mitzner three books so far. This one and Conflict of Interest. Different characters but almost exact same "type of character / setting". Disenchanted Manhattan lawyer in a dehumanizing "Big Firm" / white shoe environment. Sound familiar to Grisham, Turow fans?

Both stories were solid and kept my interest with solid narrator. What the author does in both is "throws the reader/listener a curveball" in the last hour. The verdict comes in on "the big case" but then we learn "what we thought was, wasn't".

I have the 3rd book in my queue. Again, he uses "a formula" but it works.

Watch out for bruised and bleeding

A good friend of mine used to say "watch out for bruised and bleeding," meaning someone who is still in too much pain from the last heartbreak is not a good candidate for a relationship. It's hard to say more without giving too much away. I do think the author effectively used vulnerability as a motivator for more than one of the characters.

Several characters, especially the ADA and the judge, were one-dimensional and unbelievable.

Several reviewers have said the ending was predictable and obvious. I don't usually spend too much time trying to figure out the twist, so maybe that's why I missed it.

I didn't love the narrator--too earnest.

It was a good "read"--not great, but good. I recommend it.

Very readable

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

It depends; if they are like me and occasionally like a light, easy read...then yes.

If you’ve listened to books by Adam Mitzner before, how does this one compare?

Haven't listened to anything else by Mitzner.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator was fine - I'm not sure there was much more he could have done with this text.

Did A Case of Redemption inspire you to do anything?

Nope.

Any additional comments?

Hard to believe the central premise of this, which was that anyone would consider the case open-and-shut. The prosecution had no murder weapon, no physical evidence putting the suspect at the scene, and no clear motive. The only "evidence" against the suspect was a song which could, if you listened very selectively, sound like a threat to commit a crime (and not even the precise crime that was committed).

I would expect any defense lawyer worth his salt to knock that out of the park, but everyone acted like the suspect was completely doomed from the start. The main character is sympathetic, but does start to seem rather dense once you figure out what's really going on and he takes several more chapters to catch up.

Good listen!!!!!!!!!!!

What did you love best about A Case of Redemption?

It was was a good story, will find others to spend my credits on that are like this one.

Have you listened to any of Kevin T. Collins’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no, but enjoyed it alot

A good story, but WAY too much boring legalese

I liked the characters and the performance, and loved the story. However, have you ever asked someone what time it is, only to be bored with the details of how to make a clock?

This courtroom drama contained WAY too much detail. Don't even compare this author with Grisham, who knows just the right balance in and out of the courtroom.

That said, the story was good, the narrator was good, and I would cautiously recommend this book. After all, there are probably many out there who relish the details of clock-making.

At Last...A GOOOD Book

Would you consider the audio edition of A Case of Redemption to be better than the print version?

Yes, I download a sample of the book before purchasing the audio version. And the audio version was EXCELLENT.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoy every aspect of this story. I haven't been this enthused about a book in a long time. I don't have any complaints. The best part was the ENDING. I didn't see it turning out that way. I don't want to spoil it, but I was on to this one character early on. But the author made you love her, so it was hard to believe her betrayal in the END. OMG what a novel.

Which character – as performed by Kevin T. Collins – was your favorite?

Kevin was awesome. A great narrator. His best characters were the Judge and a weeping Nina.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, I literally GASPED when the Judge announced LD had died in prison. I wanted to cry. I was also moved when Dave let his love go...It took a strong man to do so... the power of the Poonanny.

Any additional comments?

I would highly recommend this book to all. There is something in this book for all readers. If you like legal suspense...THIS IS FOR YOU.

I was so surprised to be surprised!

What did you like best about this story?

I read legal thrillers very often, and I seldom get any type of surprise. The twist at the end was exhilarating, without feeling like a trick. I enjoyed this story immensely!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His whiny voice almost made me stop listening in the first 15 minutes. I am very glad I didn't, but I don't know that I could, or would, handle him again.

One of the best books I have ever listened to

A great story, twists, turns, kept me interested all weekend long. I hated for the book to end. If you like a good court/attorney story this will be perfect for you.

Let us down at the end.

My first reaction on finishing A Case of Redemption is that it reminds me, in a formulaic sense of some of the J.P. Beaumont novels of J.A. Jance -- in particular the one in which Beaumont found out the love of his life, Ann Corley, was an avenging angel, aka a killer, and he had to shoot her. What a stupid plot twist that was, and it ruined that particular novel.

The same can be said of the present one. I thoroughly enjoyed the buildup of suspense right up until the time the accused, "Legally Dead" or "LD", as he was called, was going to testify in his murder trial. How much better the book would have been if Mitzner had followed through on that and nailed the real killer through his testimony. (I had a premonition something was going to go wrong when we got a preview of L.D.'s testimony before it was to happen). Then the book took a very wrong turn, in my opinion, and became a boring, sappy melodrama that had me groaning, ugh, ugh, ugh all the way to the end.

I also agree that in the real world there was no physical evidence linking L.D. to the crime, and the judge was right on when she told the courtroom, anyone who talks about murdering a singer with a basebat bat in a rock song and then actually goes out and does this is about the stupidest person on the planet. That alone points the finger strongly at someone else trying to set L.D. up. Plus, we never find out in the book at all why the killer murdered Roxanne in the first place.

Kevin Collins did a good job on the characters' voices, especially L.D., Judge Pielmeier, and the lawyer Benjamin Ethan. His first person narration of the protagonist, Daniel Sorenson, was a bit whiny and effeminate, but that fit the character well.