What do You think about Dead Even (2002)?
This is my second disappointing stab at reading a Meltzer novel. I'm simply underwhelmed with his weak writing ability. The actual story behind "Dead Even" is really quite good, but Meltzer's characters are so utterly annoying that reading about them is the literary equivalent of enduring nails raking down a chalk board. Ugh! In "Dead Even" the female protagonist, Sara, is a complete witch (or think of a rhyming synonym) but we, as readers, are supposed to sympathize with her. Her husband, Jared, in contrast, comes off as a spineless wimp (who needs to discover the word "assertive") instead of portraying the loving and protective husband. The plot: Sara, an unemployed lawyer, finally lands a job at the NYC DA's office. However, major City budget cuts are announced on her first day of work and she fears for her job. As the rookie, she's desperate to prove herself so she takes on a few cases. One of those cases, however, was a home robbery misdemeaner earmarked for a more prestigious and well-regarded Assistant DA, but she takes it anyway. By that small act of legal thievery, Sara becomes entangled in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game full of crooked public employees, psychotic murderers, and heartache as the defendent "hires" Sara's husband to represent him. Both Sara and Jared are told, without each other's knowledge, that they must win the case or the other will die. Thus, the thrilling circus begins. And it is a great story; one that would have been marvelous had a better writer set upon it. Awful dialogue and irritating characters do not a great book make.
—Linda I
Husband and wife team Jared and Sara are both attorneys. In Sara’s first case as a new ADA, guess who is defending counsel? You guessed it, Jared. But that is the only guess you can make in this tense legal drama. Sara was fired from her last firm and took six months to find her new job. But the day before she starts, the NY Times publishes an article about budget cuts and downsizing all over the city, including the DA’s office. But Sara is determined to keep her job, so she her assistant find a way to “steal” a big case from a more experienced ADA.Little does she know what the case will bring terror, death, and discord not only to her life, but the lives of her coworkers and Jared. Who can she trust as this intense, serpentine drama unfolds? It is worth your time to find out. This is a really well written book that keeps you guessing.
—Joanne
Dead Even is a romance-novel-ish legal thriller and a step or two above qualifying as an airport book. It’s not so much a whodunit as a "who'll do it," with the primary question being who's going to bring down whom.I’m always ready to look askance at female protagonists written by men because in my literary experience such characters are usually stereotypical and shallow. Author Brad Meltzer seems to have tried hard to make heroine Sara extra tough but her internal voice isn’t realistic and comes across as juvenile and flighty.The story proceeds nicely toward the finale when there’s a massive exposition dump with seemingly endless pages of dialogue to explain and wrap up loose ends. The dump follows a climax which barely amounts to more than a pile-on of guns and absurd coincidences.Unfortunately, what begins promisingly as a clever nail-biter ultimately finds itself reading as a corny soap opera. Meltzer remains however one of my go-to writers whenever I want a non-challenging read that will hold my interest.
—Debbie J
