Book Review: Dead Even

Sara Tate is a lawyer in the Manhattan D.A.'s office. Due to budget cutbacks, she's in danger of losing her job and takes on a case meant for another prosecutor. Sara's attorney husband, Jared Lynch, also gets involved in the case--on the side of the defense. Sara is soon informed that if she loses, Jared will be killed. He receives a similar threat. In a battle of roller-coaster emotions and shocking betrayals, Sara and Jared must face the unthinkable truth: No matter who wins--one of them may die.

Dead Even by Brad Meltzer was published in May 1998 by William Morrow Publishing.

I first read a copy of this novel a few years after it was published. I also got the pleasure the meet the author, for the first time, at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2005. I have definitely enjoyed his work over the past several decades. When picking titles for my library's monthly mystery book club discussion, I saw this one was recently re-released in mass-market paperback format so I picked it for our group to talk about in August.

I find reading a book again after a long gap means it all comes at me as if it were fresh (i.e. I've forgotten a good bit of the plot specifics after so many books in-between). It really allowed me to look at it again with "fresh" eyes.

Plot-wise, Meltzer did a good job unfolding a layered story. I appreciated that he found ways to explain legal and medical terms through character dialogue that felt natural and not forced. I also too appreciated the subtle and not so subtle comic book related Easter eggs in the story (Jared's boss Thomas Wayne, Sara's grandfather Pops Tate, even the autopsy doctor being named Fawcett); knowing how much of a comic book fan Meltzer is, these were nice nods.

After all the build-up and all of the action, the ending (the closing chapter) fell a little bit flat for me. It felt like he might be setting things up for a potential sequel, but one has yet to surface in the last decade and a half.

I am sure my group will have plenty to discuss in our meeting next month.