Dead Even

By: Brad Meltzer

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sara Tate, Manhattan district attorney, has grabbed a case that could make her career. She¹s smart, tough, and sure to get a conviction ...until Jared, her husband and a powerful defense attorney, is hired by the other side. But Sara doesn¹t know Jared has been warned to get his client off or she will be killed. Hiding desperate motives, the two begin a vicious battle in court and at home. For Sara has a terrible secret too ...and both soon face an unthinkable truth: No matter who wins, the other may die.

©1998 Forty-Four Steps, Inc. (P)2008 Forty-Four Steps, Inc.

The Best Meltzer

Brad Meltzer has come into his own with this book. The plot twists were perfect. My iPod was blazing with this book - I finished it in three workdays - which is nearly a record for me. You won't want to put it away.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

Captivating listening and story!!!!

What made the experience of listening to Dead Even the most enjoyable?

The story twists and turns, keeping one guessing and the narration from Scott Brick electrifying drawing the listener into each character. Love all Mr Meltzers books.Have listened to many narrations by Mr Brick and always intrigued by his voice and his portrail of the characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Guff, Sara and Conrad.

Which scene was your favorite?

All of them, just could not stop listening to find out what was going to happen next.

Any additional comments?

Keep the books coming with Mr Brick as narrator.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great story

What did you love best about Dead Even?

I enjoyed this book. I usually listen to the books when I take my dogs for a walk, this one kept me out walking longer. Excellent story, enough suspense to keep you guessing. Well developed character. The ending a bit disappointing, but the story was so good I did not mind a bit of a let down in the end.

This is my second book by Brad Meltzer and I have not been disappointed yet. I now moving on to the 3rd read by Meltzer - The First Councel. Hope it is as good as the first 2 I finished.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Scott Brick is fantastic as usual.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

One of Meltzer's best

If you could sum up Dead Even in three words, what would they be?

tense, gripping and surprising

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dead Even?

When Jared and Sara confided with each other.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice carries the story well.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

He said, She said.

Any additional comments?

I haven't heard or read a bad Meltzer book yet.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Just Average from a Exceptional Author

Coming off a high after reading The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer, I had great expectations for "Dead Even". Alas, it was a big disappointment. New ADA Sara Tate, her job in peril from announced budget cuts, steals a case earmarked for a senior, highly-respected ADA in hopes of gaining attention and job security. Her husband, a defense attorney, winds up on the opposite side of the case when he is forced to represent the defendant and ordered to win the case by nefarious principals who threaten to kill his wife if he loses. Sara, in turn, is approached by her own thug, a "sunken-cheeked" man, who issues a similar threat, proposing to kill her husband if SHE loses the case. Uh-huh. And, of course, in order to protect the other, neither spouse reveals their respective threats to each other, setting up one debacle after another.

There are a number of things wrong with this book, starting with the fact that neither one of the protagonists are especially sympathetic or likable characters. They never felt "real" to me, they made incredibly dumb decisions for highly-educated people, and in the end, I wasn't invested in whether they triumphed or not. That's a huge problem to overcome. And the end of the story unraveled rather than unfolded. Everyone - protagonists and antagonists alike - started making ridiculous speeches and bone-headed moves (reminded me of the line of some movie: "If you're gonna talk, talk; if you're gonna shoot, shoot!"), and I didn't buy a second of it. The last hour was fairly excruciating but somehow, I slogged through it.

This book will undoubtedly appeal to some, and to you, I say I'm happy for you. But it didn't work at all for me. Especially from such a talented author as Brad Meltzer. Scott Brick does his best, as always, with the performance. I just wonder if he was as bored during the reading of it as I was with the listening.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Overall a good book

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

No shortage of twists and turns

Any additional comments?

I found the music to be distracting and a little to loud.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Meltzer & Brick

I've enjoyed Brad Meltzer's decoded on the history channel and thoroughly enjoyed so figured it's time to listen. Meltzer's story and Scott Brick's performance has me waiting to listen to the next one.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ridiculous

I have listened to several Brad Meltzer books but I was ready to stop listening to this one after Part 1. I persevered and finished the book but it did not improve. I love Scott Brick as a narrator but this story was so ridiculous in that both of the main characters acted as the lone ranger despite murders, death threats, etc. and one of them was an assistant DA. In reality both of them would have contacted the police or someone and the bad guys would have been apprehended easily. Too many mystery books have unbelievable heros/heroines but I thought that this book went overboard.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Boring

This book starts slow and never gets any better. Too predictable. I found it hard to finish, but have a policy to finish what I start. Spend your money elsewhere. I did enjoy the narration.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

Definite page turner but not the best I've read

I'm a little bias because I've read every David Baldacci book and have pretty high expectations. This book definitely kept my interest and I would recommend it to readers. The plot of the story was great but I think it could have been done differently. I like when stories include seemingly random incidences that tie in throughout the story. Kind of like the character falls into a trap. At times, the events in this story made me think "oh please."

However, the book makes you question who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. I just wish the story led the reader to question each character rather than the characters telling you who to question.

to long

this story was far to long. i became bored as it seemed to get know where very slowly.