Dead Even

A Novel

By: Brad Meltzer

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

“Heart-stopping intensity.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Meltzer has come up with a gem of a plot….It breezes along in high gear….[A] highly recommended suspenser.” —Chicago Tribune

In this second novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer, husband and wife face off in a legal thriller that poses the most chilling question of all: How far would you go to save the one you love?

Sara Tate, a Manhattan assistant DA, is on the brink of losing her job. But then she takes a case that may be able to secure her future. Trouble is, it’s much more complicated—and deadly—than it initially appears. While forces within her own office plot against her, an outside threat takes things to another level: Win the case or her attorney husband, Jared, will die. But Jared has received threats, too. Forced to defend the opposition, he learns that, if loses the case, Sara will be killed. With everything on the line for both of them, husband and wife battle it out—at court and at home—while maintaining the terrible secret behind their motives. Caught in a struggle of rollercoaster emotions and shocking betrayals, Jared and Sara must face the unthinkable: No matter who wins, one of them may die.

©2011 Brad Meltzer (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

Was released prior to the date shown.

Looked forward to hearing this book. 1/4 way through realized this was a book released years ago. Hate when this happens. Book was awesome no issues other than release date misleading.

Nice read

Good twist and turns. Slow at some points.
Always enjoy listening to Scott Brick. He was great as usual.

Awesome twist and turns

Great Book. Action and tension front to back! Characters are believable and involved in multiple lines that all come together

Meltzer and Brick winning combo

Great story and reading. Can’t wait for sequel. Love the twists and turns of Meltzer

Great Read

Some of the dialog was tedious and repetitive. Overall, this title is worth recommending.

Not great

This story line was unbelievable and the main characters were both pretty unlikeable. Not what I expected from this author.

Dead Even

After a slow start, a riveting and exciting read.Loved it! Love Scott Brock’s reading of it!

Not Exactly Tracy and Hepburn

Anyone remember the classic Tracy and Hepburn comedy Adam's Rib? Spencer Tracy is a Manhattan ADA, Kate is a defense attorney, and of course they end up going against each other in a court of law. Well, they're Tracy and Hepburn, they're reading lines written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, it's about a murder case, and it's a comedy.

I like Brad Meltzer, he's a good enough writer, but he's not writing anything that good. His protagonists, Sara and Jared, a newly minted Manhattan ADA and a defense lawyer, respectively, going against each other in court, are not Tracy and Hepburn, not by a long shot, certainly not given the dialogue Meltzer has put in their mouths. And their case is not a murder, it's a burglary, and it's not funny in the least.

And that's the least of the problems in Meltzer's second novel, published in 1998, not in 2021 when this audio edition was released. The big problem is the McGuffin, the reason behind the burglary, and the threats that drive both Sara and Jared, and all the other shenanigans (not funny shenanigans in the least) that I won't spoil.

The McGuffin would have Occam taking his famous razor to his own throat, it so defies credulity (no spoilers), and even if it were believable, it just doesn't rise to the level where it is of any interest at all to us readers. There is no Holy Grail or Knights Templar here like in The Da Vinci Code that turns an ordinary double chase into a most interesting read.

The only positive I can report is that Scott Brick is not as insufferable as he usually is -- quite the backhanded compliment there. And yet, despite all the above negatives, Meltzer is good enough at his craft of writing thrillers that this is still a worthy listen which you might find more interesting than me.

Great story. Lots of turns to it. I loved the book.

Scott was wonderful. He really bring a story a live
to a reader. Hard to second guess the ending.

what is with the music?

I really enjoyed this book however, the music was distracting and not needed. I hope that maybe they will remove it for future listeners.