Define 'Good'

filled star filled star filled star filled star filled star
infairverona Avatar

By

Long story short...
Man accused of murdering his wife hires lawyer and old friend to defend him and prove his innocence. Lawyer has her own marriage problems to deal with. Twists and turns of all shapes and sizes are encountered that have to do with the case and the lawyer's marriage. Man turns out to be a real dick. Lawyer does her due diligence as a good lawyer anyway. Flip-flops between actual innocence and guilt are questioned constantly. Possible suspects other than our main man are revealed. Lawyer's marriage and the details of the case collide in a very unexpected way. In the finale, everyone gets the ending they deserve.

Long story...
First let me say major points for the date the story begins! (It's my birthday lol). Second, thinking back to my first impression after reading the first look, I had to laugh out loud, literally, at how wrong I was about Zach (the accused) as a person.

A Good Marriage had a solid mix of crime thriller, legal drama, mystery, and marriage issues with a sprinkle of psychological trauma thrown in.
This book really raises the question of what really makes a good marriage? What even is 'good'? There's marriage drama all over the place between various couples of varying types of marriages, even an open one and I liked that none of it seemed extra or unnecessary. Everything was relevant. And I really liked that the characters we meet are believable. No ones personality or behavior seems unrealistic.

I also really enjoyed the layout of the book with chapters in Lizzie's (the lawyer) point of view and Amanda's (the victim) and then office memorandum, and grand jury testimony transcripts.

You can tell McCreight went to law school and did her due diligence using her knowledge/research of NYS law when writing this book. She even got the new discovery laws in there (briefly) and as a forensic scientist, I really appreciated the authenticity. Although, I am unsure of how much defense attorneys go out in the field like Lizzie does but the story did need those elements so I'm not knocking it one bit.

We get hit with a shit ton of surprises in this book but they're all awesome surprises. At a certain point in the last 3rd of the book, there was no option to stop reading. I had to follow through to the end. It was a crazy ride and it truly deserves 5 stars. I am 1000% satisfied with the ending and it has been a while since I could say that. I've got no unanswered questions and it all wrapped up nicely.