Friday, April 14, 2023

What Does A Legal Thriller Need? Love Betrayal Murder

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: You know I adore legal thrillers. I grew up watching Perry Mason with my step-dad…he was tough and brilliant corporate attorney, and I learned so much from him!  But my sister and I were not allowed to ay a word during Perry—we had to wait until the commercials to ask “What does sustained mean? What does immaterial mean?

And we always always tried to guess who the bad guy was. And we learned how, after a while.

One of my most fun things as a kid to do was to go to my father's law office and play in the supply room. We'd stamp the corporate seal on everything, and pretend we were lawyers. I came as close to going to law school as anyone could come up until my father asked whether I wanted to actually practice law. I told him…probably not. That I wanted to work on Capitol Hill and change the world. 


And he told me something so interesting... he said law school teaches you how to find things out. And, he said, you already know how to do that.  (He also told me I should not take the spot of someone who actually wanted to practice. But maybe that's another blog.)


Anyway--stories about the law are my absolute favorites. (Anatomy of a Murder. Defending Jacob. To Kill A Mockingbird. WItness for the Prosecution.The Verdict. And on and on!) And that is why I am so delighted today to introduce you to Adam Mitzner. He not only went to law school, but he is also a big time successful lawyer (see bio below!), and knows his stuff when it comes to legal thrillers. 


Plus... lucky you... he's giving away a copy of his newest book, LOVE BETRAYAL MURDER, to one lucky commenter. We chatted via email.


HANK: Let’s start with something fun: what’s your very favorite legal thriller? Book? Movie? 



ADAM:
Legal thriller: Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow. My first legal thriller and still the best (imho).

Book: See above and The Great Gatsby.

Movie: The Godfather is the one I most often quote, but I’ve seen The Dark Knight a million times and have a lifetime love of all things Batman


Hank: The Dark Knight is a legal thriller? I will admit, I’ve never seen it. But it’s now on the list.  And The Godfather—what a great choice. Gatsby, too.  What made you want to be a lawyer?


Two things: (1) failing organic chemistry freshman year of college, which once and for all ended my parents’ dream that I become a doctor; and (2) the somewhat naive thought that I would be defending the innocent.

 

Hank: Ha. Part of being a lawyer, especially a litigator, is knowing how to tell a good story. Has that got to do in your writing? 


I consider being a litigator more problem solving than story-telling -- except if that problem cannot be solved without resort to a jury, then it is 100% story-telling.

Legal writing and fiction each have their own rhythm, but framing a theme is a through line in both my occupations.


Hank: Your path to publication was fascinating! Tell us a bit about that. 


There is nothing more satisfying than a second career -- especially a creative one -- when you’re in your forties. Sometimes I look back and think -- What on earth made me believe I could publish a novel when I had absolutely no experience in creative writing, no contacts in the industry and I was already working 50 hour weeks?


I don’t have an answer to that, but I know that what propelled me to try was the deep-seated need for a creative outlet. My children were young back then, and the first writing I did was stories for them. My favorite was about a princess trapped inside the book and in need of the reader’s help to get out


My journey to publication is also a story about how much help you need along the way. Not only encouragement from friends and family. After I was halfway through with my first manuscript, I was introduced to someone “in the business” who told me that he specialized in cookbooks, so he could be of no assistance. And then he provided me enormous assistance by introducing me to an editor (the same one I still use). In turn, that editor introduced me to my agent.


And to disabuse anyone thinking it was an easy road for me -- my agent loved my manuscript, but no one bought it. Eighteen months of hard work later, I gave my agent a new manuscript, and he hated it to the point he refused to send it out. Fast-forward another two years, and on my third attempt, I had a contract with Simon & Schuster.

 


Hank: We talk about perseverance here all the time! Your newest  book, LOVE BETRAYAL MURDER, comes out in about a month! What can you tell us about it? 


On the surface it’s about an office romance that goes bad, but it’s really about how differently people can perceive the same events. 


On the first page, right after one of the characters takes the oath given to all trial witnesses -- to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth -- she says that “I doubted very much that I’d be true to my oath, however. Not because I intended to lie. Rather, I no longer believe there was such a thing as truth between lovers. More than that, both my professional experience and the past year have taught me that there is even less honesty between litigants. When lovers become litigants, fact and fiction dissolve into nothing more than points of view.”


To me, that’s the core of the story -- and of life. Is there a single truth? Or is it always a matter of perspective?


Hank: People always ask--do your novels come from real life? And that is such a difficult answer. But was there one puzzle piece that began this book for you?


My wife and I met when we were both working at the same law firm, so that gave me some insight into the risks and rewards of an office romance. Given that there’s a murder in the book, I feel the need to emphasize that my wife is very much alive.


Hank: You have a marvelous piece on Career Authors this week about getting things right in legal thrillers. And one thing that was so interesting is… The courtroom tedium. The exhaustion of a complicated case. How do you decide what to leave out? And what’s important?

 

A close friend just finished a murder trial in which he lost, and yet I still felt the need to congratulate him because just getting through it is an accomplishment. If you’re writing from the lawyer’s perspective, and you want the book to ring true, that exhaustion is a key part of the experience. And if you’re writing from the defendant’s perspective, it is hard to faithfully describe the enormity of the stress. 


The most stressful moments of my life were standing beside a defendant awaiting the jury to announce its verdict -- and I was the lawyer! I can’t imagine what it was like for them, knowing that depending on whether they heard the word “not” they were either going to jail or home to their families.


Hank : What do you think is the theme of your new book? Did you know that when you started?


The epigraph of Love Betrayal Murder is “The Truth Will Set You Free” and the theme of book is -- Does it, really? 


I knew from the start that I wanted to write about how one’s perspective shapes conduct, and how everyone thinks that they’re doing the right thing, even though other people might be shocked at what someone else finds justifiable. 


My favorite part of the book -- and what I try to achieve in all my books -- is that everyone’s conduct fits within their own moral code. Sometimes that code is survival at all costs, and sometimes it’s adhering to your sense of right and wrong no matter the consequences, and at others its doing what you think someone else wants you to do. Even though each of those codes might lead to different actions, it is important that the characters feel like they are doing the right thing based on their specific sense of morality.

 

Hank: Now that you write fiction, do you look at your real life in a different way?


One thousand percent. My writing colors everything I do, for good and bad. 


On the plus side, I think about issues through the eyes of those around me much more, as if I’m looking for their character motivations the way I do my own characters. It makes me more understanding and compassionate (or at least I like think so). It also makes me a much better lawyer (again, I hope).


More negatively, perhaps, sometimes I don’t follow what people are actually saying to me because I’m focused on their speaking style to steal it for a character someday. For example, in books you often have speakers invoke the name of the person to whom they are addressing -- I’ve told you this before, Jim.  But in real life, at least in my real life, the only time people say my name when talking to me is when they’re mad at me. Adam, for crying out loud . . .


HANK:  SO funny—yes, it’s a way to let readers know who is talking—one that we don’t need in real life! So pleased you joined us today, Adam! And so eager to read your new book.  Reds and readers, let's talk legal thrillers. What's your favorite


And remember, a copy of  LOVE BETRAYAL MURDER to one lucky commenter! 



Adam Mitzner  is an author of nine thrillers, including the bestselling Dead Certain

and The Perfect Marriage, while also practicing law full time as the head of the litigation department of a prestigious Manhattan law firm. His books have been critically acclaimed for their realistic portrayal of the law as well as for their twists and turns. His work has been named best suspense book of the year (A Conflict of Interest) and a finalist for the ABA’s Silver Gavel Award (A Case of Redemption). Publishers Weekly says of Adam: “This gifted writer should have a long and successful career ahead of him.” Adam lives in New York with his wife, four children and a very, very nice dog.





LOVE BETRAYAL MURDER

Blackstone Publishing May 16, 2023


From Adam Mitzner, the critically acclaimed best-selling author of Dead Certain and The Perfect Marriage, comes your thriller of the summer… Love Betrayal Murder is a smart, twisty, post #MeToo era tale with a jaw-dropping conclusion!


About the Story 

Matthew Brooks and Vanessa Lyons are attorneys at a powerful New York City law firm and they’re in love. But their relationship is fraught with peril. For starters, Vanessa is married and her husband is suspicious of her long nights at work.


And then there’s the fact that Vanessa is up for partner, and to boost her chances, she’s assigned to work on the firm’s biggest trial, which places her directly under Matt’s supervision. When Vanessa is denied her partnership, despite assurances to the contrary from the firm’s senior partner, she can only assume that her affair with Matt was the reason.


Then, on a crowded Manhattan street corner, a knife flashes in the midday sun, leaving behind a scene of horror. But with so many having been betrayed, will the murderer be brought to justice?  


91 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Adam, on your new book . . . I think everyone has their own perception about things, so I’m intrigued by the theme of your story and looking forward to seeing how it all works out . . . .

    My favorite legal thriller? Harper Lee’s amazing TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD . . . .

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    1. Yes! Although the movie is so different from the book, right?

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    2. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements!

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  2. I can't remember exactly when I learned that eye witness testimony is unreliable. I know that Hank's Jane Ryland book What You See made quite an impression on me, with so many people in the area where a man was stabbed and nobody could tell exactly what happened. I'm mentioning this about eye witness statements because of your statement, Adam, " it’s really about how differently people can perceive the same events." I'm drawn to your book and its examination of just what truth is. Everybody's truth really is a little different. I am definitely adding Love Betrayal Murder to my TBR list. I enjoy books that make me think about something that seems simple but is far from it.

    Now, my favorite legal thriller. To Kill a Mockingbird was my first legal thriller and one of my favorite books, but Turow's Presumed Innocent is my favorite legal thriller.

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    1. Presumed Innocent is the absolute gold standard! Agreed.

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    2. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements!

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  3. I don't read a lot of legal thrillers, but I have enjoyed the Mickey Haller books by Michael Connelly.

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    2. Yes, love Michael Connelly -- books and the Bosch series!

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  4. Congratulations on your new book. I love the premise. And I so enjoyed this interview and learning about the world of the courtroom and how exhausting the process of a trial is for both sides. It's something you never think about outside the legal world. As for my favorite legal thriller, I'd have to say To Kill A Mockingbird, too. I've read it about four times and it's always totally engrossing. I also liked The Great Gatsby and have read that about five times. (I don't usually have time to read a book more than once, so that tells you something.) Best of luck with Love, Betrayal, Murder. I will try to order it from a European site (I'm in Portugal). Otherwise there's customs to deal with, and my husband and I still find that process quite challenging.

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    1. Oh, overseas shipping , either way! It's so...broken. Although I guess it's pretty amazing that it would work at all...

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    2. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements!

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  5. Congrats on the new book. I love legal thrillers. Reading them and watching them. I loved The Jagged Edge with Jeff Bridges and Peter Coyote. John Grisham's early books were good too. I'm putting your books on my TBR. Thank you for the chance at your giveaway. pgenest57 at aol dot com

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    1. The Jagged Edge...did I see that? Hmmm...

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    2. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements!

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  6. Thanks for sharing your insights, Adam, and congratulations on the new book. I haven't read a legal thriller in years, but I plan to break the streak by picking up your book.

    I have to ask - when do you sleep? I wrote my first three or four books around the edges of a full-time job (and NOT as lead litigator...). It's hard, and my sons were already out of the house. I left the day job ten years ago and am so glad I did. We all know there's so much more work to being an author than just writing and revising, I can't imagine how you fit it in!

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    1. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements! And for when I sleep -- at night! But my wife will tell you that I no longer go to the gym, which I did before I started writing. It's all about priorities, I guess!

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  7. ADAM: Congratulations on your new book. I remember reading DEFENDING JACOB a decade ago and that book has stayed with me. I have not watched the Apple+ TV adaptation.

    Another lawyer I like reading is Sheldon Siegel. His Mike Daley & Rosie Fernandez legal thrillers are set in San Francisco.

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    1. Oh, yes, Defending Jacob was an instant classic. The TV show is good, but very different. (His new book is terrific, too..)

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    2. Yes -- I love Sheldon Siegel's books and he's the nicest man.

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  8. My favorite "thriller" (in the sense that you get an eerie feeling throughout the book of strange unsettled things happening) is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
    Adam you book sounds so interesting. My husband is an appellate criminal defense lawyer. He has some interesting cases to be sure and witness identification is the least reliable. It is so wonderful that we now have DNA testing which pretty much seals the case of not guilty or guilt.

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    1. Me from above ^ I wanted to add that cell phone videos have had a major impact on "eye" witness police encounters as well.

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    2. SO agree! (My husband is a criminal defense attorney..so this is my life! xx)

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    3. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements!

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  9. Congratulations, Adam. You will be a new-to-me author, and to my husband as well. We read many of the same books and I will have one of your books here today!

    Your question-answer with Hank is very interesting. Of course everyone sees things differently, but it isn't something you think about unless you are writing a novel. So often those interpretations are the source of family feuds that go on for years...what you said... what he meant.

    A Time to Kill was probably my favorite legal thriller, although it has been years since I read it. It was a thriller in other ways as well. I have also enjoyed Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller books. When I really like a character, I am happy to read more in a series and that is something Connelly does very well.

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    1. Oh, yes, A Time T Kill. And so interesting that is was his first book, and didn;t do well at all..until The Firm. And then it was reissued.

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    2. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements! And A Time to Kill is my favorite Grisham!

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  10. Wow! This sounds like such a literary legal thriller. I am always fascinated when I read something and it leaves me thinking, & this appears to be right up that alley. My siblings and I often discuss events and how each of us experienced it differently. I can imagine this set of circumstances adding to the discrepancy!

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    1. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements!

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  11. Presumed Innocent is my favorite. It came out at the same time as I landed my first law firm job and having that behind the scenes look made it a fascinating read.

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    1. Yes, amazing. ANd he said he got the idea because his father in law was a gynecologist. :-)

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    2. I had a case with Scott Turow once and read his memos. They read just like legal memos, unfortunately.

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    3. What fun that you had a case with him. Legal speak is its own voice. And difficult to overcome!

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  12. Good Morning, Adam. Your new book was so tempting, that I just ordered a review copy.. My question: How does a lawyer progress from passing the bar to becoming known as a litigator?

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    1. Yes, you choose to have that as part of your practice.

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    2. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements! As for becoming a litigator, it is the area I focused on after graduating from law school. Some lawyers are "generalists" but I only do particular types of litigation (for example, I do not practice in personal injury or divorce).

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    3. Sorry -- that was me above!

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  13. Congratulations, Adam. I love legal thrillers--Presumed Innocent is a great book. A long time ago, in a world that seems far away now, I was considering law school, I even sat in on a few classes during a winter break visit to the east coast. A few months later, my sister started dating a young criminal defense lawyer. I remember having a conversation with him when he was musing about an armed robbery case he was working on. He was trying to come up with an explanation for why his client's finger prints indicated that the client had been behind the counter. My friend thought maybe he could tell a story of a possible romance between the client and one of the clerks. I was completely shocked that he would think about making something up like that, My thinking was if that's what you have to do as a lawyer, perhaps it's not for me. That young lawyer did not use that tactic in that particular trial and 40 years later is a well-respected expert on hate and anti-semitism and an all around great person and still a great friend of ours.

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    1. Fascinating story! All about reasonable doubt.

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    2. You should have shadowed several attorneys before making such a precipitous decision. Attorney work comprises at least fifteen different types of professions.

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    3. Nothing surprises me about what people will make up. NOTHING!

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    4. SO agree. My husband and I a=talk about this all the time in his cases--the things people assume you'll believe...yikes.

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  14. People who can write legal thrillers are just plain geniuses. I mean, most of the 'action' is taking place in a courtroom. No physical fights, no car or helicopter chases, and yet, in the hands of someone like Adam, we are glued to our seats by the tension as it rachets up in that courtroom. Congratulations, Adam, on yet another winner! My favorite legal thrillers are those written by the late great Anne Perry in her historical William Monk series.

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    1. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements!

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  15. Congratulations, Adam. So true, how truth is often tied to POV.

    Don't know if it's a thriller, but I love "12 Angry Men."

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  16. Congratulations Adam. Numerous favorite legal thrillers but James Grippando has written many which I have enjoyed.

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  17. Judgement at Nuremberg. Absolute best ever. Best wishes Adam on your amazing novel.

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    1. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements!

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  18. Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie is my favorite. I never saw the end coming!

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  19. Adam - people often discuss the choices for someone accused of a crime as either guilty or innocent. I've been on several criminal cases as a juror and the use of "innocent" is not a choice One is either guilty or not guilty, meaning the prosecutor may not have proved his/her case and therefor you are "not guilty" but could also be not innocent.

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    1. Yes, very wise! (and that's what the book I'm writing right now is about!)

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    2. Thats 100% right. A pet peeve of mine is the opening of Law & Order. "The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders." But DA's prosecute the accused -- they're not offenders until proven guilty.

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  20. Congratulations, Adam - your new book sounds great, and I am a fan of legal thrillers. I so agree on PRESUMED INNOCENT. And of course DEFENDING JACOB and THE LINCOLN LAWYER. I gather WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION was an Agatha Christie short story ... which I never read, but loved the movie (Charles Laughton, Marlena Dietrich, and I always thought it was directed by Hitchcock that I'm wrong on that). Robert Dugoni. The first mystery (AMNESIA) I wrote had a lot of courtroom scenes and I really had to read courtroom transcripts to get a feeling for the WAY courts work. And sit in on a trial or two. Fascinating and excruciatingly boring in equal parts. Got make it more of the former in a novel.

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    1. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements!

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  21. Hi Adam! I also want to know when you sleep! How do you work your writing schedule around such a demanding job? (Loved your Q&A with Hank.) I don't read a lot of legal thrillers but a couple that I've really enjoyed are The Verdict and The Lincoln Lawyer. I'm really looking forward to Love, Betrayal, Murder.

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    1. The Verdict was such a good movie, too!

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    2. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements! I loved the Verdict too -- but not the most realistic of plots!

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    3. And as for when I sleep, at night. Sometimes on Sunday afternoon too!

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  22. Besides books already mentioned, two that stuck in my mind were THE RUNAWAY JURY and THE RAINMAKER by John Grisham. Anne Perry, who just died, wrote a series around William Monk set in the Victorian era. Frequently it would be set up like a Perry Mason story. Monk did the investigating and a friend, Oliver Rathbone, would be the counsel in the trial. It was absolutely nailbiting when the investigation was still happening while the trial was progressing.
    Adam, your latest book sounds amazing!

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    1. Pat D, one of my all-time favorite series--William Monk and co.

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    2. That was Flora, above, Pat!

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    3. Thanks! If you read it, send me an email with your thoughts. My email is in the acknowledgements!

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  23. Welcome to JRW and congratulations on your novel!

    When I was at my mystery writing conference at Book Passage, one of the faculty was a mystery novelist who also is an attorney. Sheldon Siegel wrote mystery novels and the protagonist is an attorney.

    Regarding Perry Mason, my attorney grandfather LOVED the books! I used to watch the Perry Mason reruns on Cable TV when I had a working tv. I noticed something interesting. Sometimes the criminals stole money because they needed money to pay medical bills!

    Is Erin Brockovitch a legal thriller movie? I liked the movie. I also liked the movies based on the John Grisham legal thrillers.

    Diana

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    1. Thank you! My wife and I enjoyed the new Perry Mason on HBO. And yes, I consider Erin Brockovitch a legal thriller movie.

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    2. I should have added that Sheldon Siegel is great!

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    3. Yes, we thought the new Perry was...unusual. RIsky! LOVE Erin B.

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  24. Congratulations, Adam! I love how writing fiction has changed your perspective. Legal thrillers are my favorite "thinking" read, if that's a thing. I can't wait to pick up Love Betrayal Murder.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 14, 2023 at 11:48 PM

      Yes, of course, it’s a thing! Xx

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  25. As a Philadelphian, my favorite legal thrillers are anything by Lisa Scottoline, but as someone who spent much of her legal career dealing with Appalachian coal miners, I also loved Grisham’s “Grey Mountain”

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 14, 2023 at 11:49 PM

      Yes! Lisa! I love her beyond doll expression!

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  26. Adam, you're the first author I've seen addressing the intense exhaustion of being a trial attorney. My colleagues and I almost always got sick after a trial because we'd been running on adrenaline for so long our immune systems were shot. Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent is the best portrayal of the unspoken communication in a courtroom between the judge and the attorneys. After a federal district clerkship and 10 years as a federal litigator, I recognized the unspoken communication driven by the drive to keep the reporter's transcript apparently neutral, even where the judge isn't. A simple example: all litigators dread a judge complimenting your pleadings before ruling on a motion. To a bystander, it seems very nice. But all too often, the judge is about to give you a bad ruling, even unwarranted, but wants the record to show how nice they were.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 14, 2023 at 11:51 PM

      That is hilarious! And I have to say, absolutely, my husband worries about exactly the same thing!

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  27. Emily Cheang CatanApril 14, 2023 at 8:26 PM

    Thank you, Hank and Adam for this wonderful interview. This allows me to understand Adam and his coming soon legal thriller better.
    Love reading legal thriller (or watching such genre shows or movies) because I love to see how both the lawyers argue about the case! My favorite legal thriller is The Firm by John Grisham, and I think it nurtured my love of legal thriller. Thank you for the opportunity to know Adam and his books.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 14, 2023 at 11:52 PM

      So agree. Sometimes, it’s all about who’s telling a better story. The better version of what “happened.” Fascinating!

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  28. Adam I don’t know how you are a lawyer and author at the same time! I bet your days are filled with storyline opportunities but finding the time to write them must be hard. Many congratulations on your new book! I love legal thrillers, John Grisham’s early books, Lisa Scottoline’s series about a woman only law firm on the upper east coast, I love them all. I like reading about the ‘behind the scenes’ of a legal case although I know it is slimmed down from what actually happens to fit the story. As for my favorite legal thriller, John Grisham’s early books will always hold a special place in my heart as he introduced me to the legal thriller genre. Many congratulations on your book and as you are a new author to me, I’ll be adding several books to my TBR!

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  29. That tricky balancing act, to make dialog sound like real people talking and yet retain clarity in the absence of real life context clues. Formatting can help or (too often) confuse further.

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