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Broden Legal #2
Never Goodbye
A thriller of murder, redemption, and breakneck twists by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Dead Certain.
After her sister was murdered, Ella Broden meted out her own punishment, then abandoned her career to pursue her passion as a singer. But another murder that hits close to home draws her back to seek justice.
Dana Goodwin is the newly appointed deputy chief in the Special Victims Bureau, replacing Ella. For her, the case is also personal, but behind Dana’s relentless pursuit, her motives might be running deeper than anyone can see. Her secrets too.
Connecting the two women is Ella’s boyfriend, Gabriel Velasquez, who has teamed up with Dana to investigate the murder.
At first, Ella thinks all she has to fear about this case is what she knows—that she could be the next target of a man’s obsession. But the closer she works with Dana, the more she starts to believe that the most dangerous thing of all is what she doesn’t know.
After her sister was murdered, Ella Broden meted out her own punishment, then abandoned her career to pursue her passion as a singer. But another murder that hits close to home draws her back to seek justice.
Dana Goodwin is the newly appointed deputy chief in the Special Victims Bureau, replacing Ella. For her, the case is also personal, but behind Dana’s relentless pursuit, her motives might be running deeper than anyone can see. Her secrets too.
Connecting the two women is Ella’s boyfriend, Gabriel Velasquez, who has teamed up with Dana to investigate the murder.
At first, Ella thinks all she has to fear about this case is what she knows—that she could be the next target of a man’s obsession. But the closer she works with Dana, the more she starts to believe that the most dangerous thing of all is what she doesn’t know.
341 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 24, 2018
About the author
Adam Mitzner
18 books533 followersI grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey, which is about an hour outside of New York City. I graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. and M.A. in politics, and from there went directly on to law school at the University of Virginia.
After law school, I joined the litigation department of a large New York City law firm, and after a few more stops, am currently the head of the litigation department of Pavia & Harcourt LLP, which is located in midtown Manhattan. Pavia & Harcourt.
I have written 8 novels -- A Conflict of Interest (2011); A Case of Redemption (2013); Losing Faith (2015); The Girl From Home (2016); Dead Certain (2017); Never Goodbye (2018); A Matter of Will (2019); and The Best Friend (2020).
Nothing pleases me more than hearing from readers, so please email me at adam@adammitzner.com
After law school, I joined the litigation department of a large New York City law firm, and after a few more stops, am currently the head of the litigation department of Pavia & Harcourt LLP, which is located in midtown Manhattan. Pavia & Harcourt.
I have written 8 novels -- A Conflict of Interest (2011); A Case of Redemption (2013); Losing Faith (2015); The Girl From Home (2016); Dead Certain (2017); Never Goodbye (2018); A Matter of Will (2019); and The Best Friend (2020).
Nothing pleases me more than hearing from readers, so please email me at adam@adammitzner.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews
April 1, 2018
Never Goodbye is the sequel to Dead Certain, by Adam Mitzner. You can read Never Goodbye without having read it's predecessor without a problem but I suggest reading both books, since they are both so good. Former prosecutor, Ella, is back, singing in a club several nights a week, and in a serious relationship with Gabriel, the detective that worked to solve her sister's murder. In this book, someone else close to Ella is murdered, causing her to feel fragile after two losses so close together. While dealing with those feelings, she is asked to be special prosecutor on the trial of the person who is accused of murdering her former boss.
The story is told in Ella's voice and in the voice of the woman who replaced her at her old DA job. I enjoyed reading both viewpoints and getting to see Ella and Gabriel through someone else's eyes. I look forward to reading the third book in this series, which comes out next year.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.
The story is told in Ella's voice and in the voice of the woman who replaced her at her old DA job. I enjoyed reading both viewpoints and getting to see Ella and Gabriel through someone else's eyes. I look forward to reading the third book in this series, which comes out next year.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.
May 19, 2019
An OK legal thriller that sees our protagonist, Ella, prosecuting a fellow ADA for the murder of a close friend. It follows the usual formula of red herrings, lies and deceit, but was a bit too transparent. I picked the killer very early on in the book, and while it was an enjoyable read, it lacked the wow factor I like in a legal thriller.
May 24, 2018
You can read an expanded review here: https://macsbooks311.wordpress.com/
Never Goodbye is a genre bending tale of suspense that will capture your attention with the character development in the beginning and then take you on a legal thrilling ride at the end. The story is told from dual points of view: Ella/Cassidy (I know that seems confusing but it isn’t) and Dana, both prosecutors, who are grappling with the murder of their mentor/friend Lauren. Ultimately, Dana is arrested for the murder and Ella is tasked with prosecuting the case. However, prior to this point in the story, Mitzner does a superb job of creating characters in which you become well invested. Having never read any of his previous novels, I didn’t realize that he wrote legal thrillers and I assumed this was going to be a book about these women, a narrative tale, not a legal one. It was a surprise when the book went off in that direction. In addition, Ella’s boyfriend is the lead cop investigating the murder so this is a bit like the television show, Law and Order, with the characters and investigation up front and the courtroom drama in the end. It works and it works very well. What works even better is the ending! Do not be prepared for a neat and tidy wrap because there is not one. Like many things in life and most court cases in the real world, there is no resolute ending in this case. The book is not a cliff-hanger but there is no nice, pat finale in the case either. This actually made me enjoy the book more, not less.
Never Goodbye is a sequel to Mitzner's very popular book, Dead Certain. I didn’t realize this when I was offered the book for review. There are references to the first book and the characters, of course, are the same but this could be a stand-alone if you choose. It certainly didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the story for me and I doubt it will for you either. I definitely will read the first one now and will pick up more books by this author. If you like crime fiction, legal thrillers or books with really good character development then this is a book for you!
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for review.
Never Goodbye is a genre bending tale of suspense that will capture your attention with the character development in the beginning and then take you on a legal thrilling ride at the end. The story is told from dual points of view: Ella/Cassidy (I know that seems confusing but it isn’t) and Dana, both prosecutors, who are grappling with the murder of their mentor/friend Lauren. Ultimately, Dana is arrested for the murder and Ella is tasked with prosecuting the case. However, prior to this point in the story, Mitzner does a superb job of creating characters in which you become well invested. Having never read any of his previous novels, I didn’t realize that he wrote legal thrillers and I assumed this was going to be a book about these women, a narrative tale, not a legal one. It was a surprise when the book went off in that direction. In addition, Ella’s boyfriend is the lead cop investigating the murder so this is a bit like the television show, Law and Order, with the characters and investigation up front and the courtroom drama in the end. It works and it works very well. What works even better is the ending! Do not be prepared for a neat and tidy wrap because there is not one. Like many things in life and most court cases in the real world, there is no resolute ending in this case. The book is not a cliff-hanger but there is no nice, pat finale in the case either. This actually made me enjoy the book more, not less.
Never Goodbye is a sequel to Mitzner's very popular book, Dead Certain. I didn’t realize this when I was offered the book for review. There are references to the first book and the characters, of course, are the same but this could be a stand-alone if you choose. It certainly didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the story for me and I doubt it will for you either. I definitely will read the first one now and will pick up more books by this author. If you like crime fiction, legal thrillers or books with really good character development then this is a book for you!
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for review.
April 27, 2018
The full review of Never Goodbye is now live on 5171 Miles Book Blog
3 Stars
**I received an eGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
As in the previous novel, I enjoyed the short chapters here as well. They add to a faster pace and want to make you read the book even quicker.
Never Goodbye was definitely heavy on the legal parts, which was slightly different than in Dead Certain . Nevertheless, the legal parts were interesting but more importantly comprehensible because Adam Mitzner, an attorney himself, made it his mission to explain legal terms, legal phrases and legal proceedings to us non-readers.
The narrative alternated between the first person POV of Ella and the first person of Dana which I enjoyed. However, I had the feeling that the book was more about Dana than about Ella and Dana. Even though Ella had her own POV and the reader found out a lot about what she has been up to after her sister's murder six months ago, she seemed to play the role of a secondary character in my opinion.
I don't know what I expected after reading the blurb to be honest, but I had expected the story to go in a different direction. I'm not saying this to downgrade the story or the author himself because the storyline was great and well plotted. It's just a fact that I realized while reading the book.
Another thing I didn't expect was the ending of the book. It was unusual to say the least but I am really glad he ended it this way. At first I couldn't quite understand it because it was not fair in my opinion. But after reading the reasoning at the end of the book it makes total sense.
As much as I was looking forward to this sequel, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. It was very slow at times and it seemed like the story was not making any progress. Also, I figured out the plot twist very early on. Call it a hunch, but I was right.
Nevertheless, Never Goodbye is a nice and solid read which is why I give it three stars.
**********
Not as suspenseful as book 1 but okay.
RTC!!
3 Stars
**I received an eGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
As in the previous novel, I enjoyed the short chapters here as well. They add to a faster pace and want to make you read the book even quicker.
Never Goodbye was definitely heavy on the legal parts, which was slightly different than in Dead Certain . Nevertheless, the legal parts were interesting but more importantly comprehensible because Adam Mitzner, an attorney himself, made it his mission to explain legal terms, legal phrases and legal proceedings to us non-readers.
The narrative alternated between the first person POV of Ella and the first person of Dana which I enjoyed. However, I had the feeling that the book was more about Dana than about Ella and Dana. Even though Ella had her own POV and the reader found out a lot about what she has been up to after her sister's murder six months ago, she seemed to play the role of a secondary character in my opinion.
I don't know what I expected after reading the blurb to be honest, but I had expected the story to go in a different direction. I'm not saying this to downgrade the story or the author himself because the storyline was great and well plotted. It's just a fact that I realized while reading the book.
Another thing I didn't expect was the ending of the book. It was unusual to say the least but I am really glad he ended it this way. At first I couldn't quite understand it because it was not fair in my opinion. But after reading the reasoning at the end of the book it makes total sense.
As much as I was looking forward to this sequel, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. It was very slow at times and it seemed like the story was not making any progress. Also, I figured out the plot twist very early on. Call it a hunch, but I was right.
Nevertheless, Never Goodbye is a nice and solid read which is why I give it three stars.
**********
Not as suspenseful as book 1 but okay.
RTC!!
April 27, 2020
Excellent legal mystery/thriller! Lots of intriguing info about court prep and procedures which were new to me. Had it figured out about 1/2 through, yet that really made no difference since hearing how the person responsible was arrived at through the process of the legal proceedings was fascinating. Incredibly well written and detailed for the layman's (such as myself) understanding and with much appreciated precision.
Read
April 24, 2018Are you looking for a really good legal thriller? Then queue this one up and prepare yourself for a dizzying whirl of a ride! Better yet, read the first book featuring one of the characters (this is a sequel -- which I did not know and I am so sorry to have missed out) titled DEAD CERTAIN. And a little endnote tells me that there may be another one. Definitely for you if you're a fan of Law and Order or any of the other crime dramas featuring special victims.
It doesn't get much better than this -- lies, secrets, betrayal and great courtroom action with all the authentic legalese that only an author who knows it can tell it. I loved the details! This author is new to me, but I intend to rectify that by going to the backlist.
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law"
Ella Broden, former sex crimes prosecutor with the Manhattan DA's office, now lounge club singer, is in therapy recovering from the fallout after the murder of her younger sister. She's trying to get her life back together and is working on her relationship with Lieutenant Gabriel Velasquez of the NYPD.
Though she misses the practice of law, she needs this break.
Dana Goodwin has Ella's old job and is working under the tutelage of Lauren Wright, the chief of the Special Victims Bureau. Dana is married to Stuart and they have a 5-year-old son. Dana loves her new job and gets some information that allows her to dream of taking over as head of the office soon.
But -- NO SPOILERS -- things change as an explosion of events dramatically shift everything and this puts the two women at odds with each other. In the courtroom. I don't want to say any more and hope that you enjoy the twists and turns of this story as much as I did!
I can't wait for more! Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this e-book ARC to read and review.
It doesn't get much better than this -- lies, secrets, betrayal and great courtroom action with all the authentic legalese that only an author who knows it can tell it. I loved the details! This author is new to me, but I intend to rectify that by going to the backlist.
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law"
Ella Broden, former sex crimes prosecutor with the Manhattan DA's office, now lounge club singer, is in therapy recovering from the fallout after the murder of her younger sister. She's trying to get her life back together and is working on her relationship with Lieutenant Gabriel Velasquez of the NYPD.
Though she misses the practice of law, she needs this break.
Dana Goodwin has Ella's old job and is working under the tutelage of Lauren Wright, the chief of the Special Victims Bureau. Dana is married to Stuart and they have a 5-year-old son. Dana loves her new job and gets some information that allows her to dream of taking over as head of the office soon.
But -- NO SPOILERS -- things change as an explosion of events dramatically shift everything and this puts the two women at odds with each other. In the courtroom. I don't want to say any more and hope that you enjoy the twists and turns of this story as much as I did!
I can't wait for more! Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this e-book ARC to read and review.
March 22, 2018
I've read all of Mitzner's books and this one way my favorite!! I couldn't put it down all weekend and ended up finishing in 2 days! Highly recommend!
March 15, 2018
How the story unravels in this book made me feel like I was watching a double bill episode of Law and Order. It's just that intense, witty, full of suspense and it gave me courtroom drama with a strong heroine, Ella.
When Lauren is found murdered and everyone wants to hang her husband Richard for the murder, a string of messages on her iPhone reveal a secret affair. This news sees, the ADA assigned to the case, Dana, arrested for a murder which she clearly didn't commit and as time goes, Ella cannot help but feel guilty, sad and responsible for the death of a woman she admired and who mentored her in her career in law.
I loved the twist and turns in this book because I learned that sometimes the person who commits a crime is the most sane and loving person that you'd never pin it down on them. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC, this is a great read for fans of crime, mystery & thrillers and who wouldn't mind some Gabriel!
PS: I love the cover too.
When Lauren is found murdered and everyone wants to hang her husband Richard for the murder, a string of messages on her iPhone reveal a secret affair. This news sees, the ADA assigned to the case, Dana, arrested for a murder which she clearly didn't commit and as time goes, Ella cannot help but feel guilty, sad and responsible for the death of a woman she admired and who mentored her in her career in law.
I loved the twist and turns in this book because I learned that sometimes the person who commits a crime is the most sane and loving person that you'd never pin it down on them. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC, this is a great read for fans of crime, mystery & thrillers and who wouldn't mind some Gabriel!
PS: I love the cover too.
May 12, 2018
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. I did not know that this book was a sequel, but I didn't feel like I was missing the back story and thought it worked well as a stand alone. One of my biggest pet peeves, however, is when authors write characters in the first person and still keep secrets from readers. In my opinion, if it is in first person, the reader should know everything that the character knows. This book, in particular, could have been better, had more tension and depth, if what Dana knew was presented to readers up front. I feel like it is disingenuous to use cryptic and/or shrouded language with a character who is thinking in the first person. When real people have thoughts, they do not try to mask the truth in their own heads. It's a shitty plot device that is used to make the "gotcha" moment more dramatic, but, at least for me, it only serves as a major irritation.
May 23, 2018
An easy quick read about the murder of the head of the special victims unit in New York. Told from the perspective of two women who had worked for the deceased. Unfortunately, the narration didn't work well as there was no differentiation between the two voices. This is a sequel and I haven't read the book introducing these characters so that may have failed to enhance my reading. The court scenes are pretty detailed. But like the fictional jury, I found myself glazing over and peeking up occasionally. There are few suspects to the murder and I guessed the guilty party. Overall, a weak entry in the vast genre of mysteries and procedurals.
Copy provided by the Publisher and Goodreads
Copy provided by the Publisher and Goodreads
April 27, 2018
Mitzner at his worst. A dragging, uninteresting yawn fest.
April 19, 2021
Adam Mitzner's legal thrillers rely heavily on relationship melodrama, but in this one he spends the last half of the book leaning on courtroom procedural drama before pulling a twist that I saw coming early.
In Never Goodbye, he has apparently decided to create an ongoing character out of former District Attorney Ella Broden, who in Dead Certain had to solve the murder of her sister Charlotte through a shifting POV told through the narrative device of her dead sister's unfinished manuscript.
Now Ella Broden returns as one of two POV characters. The other is Dana Goodwin, who has replaced Ella as assistant DA to Ella's old boss, Lauren. Dana's picture perfect life with her sweet husband Stuart and her little boy Jacob comes apart when Lauren is murdered. Initially we shift back and forth between Ella and Dana's perspectives as they both investigate the murder: then Dana is suddenly arrested for the murder, and Ella is offered her old job back to prosecute her. The rest of book is shifting between Dana as defendant and Ella as prosecutor.
So there is a murder mystery here which the author keeps cagey about by denying us access to information that Dana knows. There were obvious hints early on that her marriage was not the perfect image it was represented to be, and the red herrings are obvious, but I found it a bit of a cheat for Dana to not "reveal" crucial facts to the reader until the climax, even though she's known them all along, in order to preserve suspense about whether or not she actually killed her boss.
That said, this book still delivered a satisfying resolution, and I enjoyed it enough to start the third Ella Broden mystery.
In Never Goodbye, he has apparently decided to create an ongoing character out of former District Attorney Ella Broden, who in Dead Certain had to solve the murder of her sister Charlotte through a shifting POV told through the narrative device of her dead sister's unfinished manuscript.
Now Ella Broden returns as one of two POV characters. The other is Dana Goodwin, who has replaced Ella as assistant DA to Ella's old boss, Lauren. Dana's picture perfect life with her sweet husband Stuart and her little boy Jacob comes apart when Lauren is murdered. Initially we shift back and forth between Ella and Dana's perspectives as they both investigate the murder: then Dana is suddenly arrested for the murder, and Ella is offered her old job back to prosecute her. The rest of book is shifting between Dana as defendant and Ella as prosecutor.
So there is a murder mystery here which the author keeps cagey about by denying us access to information that Dana knows. There were obvious hints early on that her marriage was not the perfect image it was represented to be, and the red herrings are obvious, but I found it a bit of a cheat for Dana to not "reveal" crucial facts to the reader until the climax, even though she's known them all along, in order to preserve suspense about whether or not she actually killed her boss.
That said, this book still delivered a satisfying resolution, and I enjoyed it enough to start the third Ella Broden mystery.
September 3, 2020
Just a middle of the road legal non-thriller. It moved too slow and the court scenes made me wish I had a law degree. It was too detailed - to text or not to text???
I DO NOT get the “Cassidy” thing, it adds nothing to the story and makes Ella a real creep. As a matter of fact, I didnt like any of the characters!! Descriptive lesbian sex didn’t sit well with me either. Please, just close the door!
I usually like Mitzner, but not this time.
I DO NOT get the “Cassidy” thing, it adds nothing to the story and makes Ella a real creep. As a matter of fact, I didnt like any of the characters!! Descriptive lesbian sex didn’t sit well with me either. Please, just close the door!
I usually like Mitzner, but not this time.
May 21, 2018
This was an interesting story that explains the trial process and the inner feelings of the prosecutor and the defendant. Ella already dealing with the loss of her sister and now her good friend.
March 30, 2018
I was first introduced to this author through Kindle's monthly first reads program, where I received Dead Certain. I really enjoyed that book, and quickly read everything else by Mr. Mitzner.
This book is a sequel to Dead Certain, but that book does not have to be read first, and Never Goodbye stands alone.
Never Goodbye focuses on Ella, a lawyer turned singer recovering from the murder of her sister and Dana, the lawyer who took over her job in the district attorney's office. Whatever ideas that summary gives you are probably wrong, but many of the twists and turns are way too delicious to give more hints about.
That said, I was slightly disappointed to immediately recognize this book as a spiritual sister to A Conflict of Interest, but maybe since I liked that book so much, I'm making a tenuous connection into something more.
Adam Mitzner writes extremely well, and I enjoy his characters a lot; for a man often writing about female main characters, he does a great job. I also enjoy his way with details, and often finds he mentions things in such a way that I can clearly envision Per Se or a mid-century modern apartment.
For those of you who enjoy great fiction that moves quickly, offers characters with believability and likeability, and has a legal plot, Mitzner should be on your list.
I look forward to his next book.
Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy.
This book is a sequel to Dead Certain, but that book does not have to be read first, and Never Goodbye stands alone.
Never Goodbye focuses on Ella, a lawyer turned singer recovering from the murder of her sister and Dana, the lawyer who took over her job in the district attorney's office. Whatever ideas that summary gives you are probably wrong, but many of the twists and turns are way too delicious to give more hints about.
That said, I was slightly disappointed to immediately recognize this book as a spiritual sister to A Conflict of Interest, but maybe since I liked that book so much, I'm making a tenuous connection into something more.
Adam Mitzner writes extremely well, and I enjoy his characters a lot; for a man often writing about female main characters, he does a great job. I also enjoy his way with details, and often finds he mentions things in such a way that I can clearly envision Per Se or a mid-century modern apartment.
For those of you who enjoy great fiction that moves quickly, offers characters with believability and likeability, and has a legal plot, Mitzner should be on your list.
I look forward to his next book.
Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy.
May 12, 2018
Book Review: Never Goodbye by Adam Mitzner
A Manhattan ADA, with PTSD from a personal tragedy, abandons her career, pursues her passion as a night club singer, climbs to near club stardom with her first composition "Never Goodbye", then gets pulled back in as special prosecutor. Her replacement ADA gets into a tryst with the boss who is murdered. It's a well-written humdrum of a whodunit, a bit over-cliched. "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!" - Michael Corleone.
The severe emotional transformation of one who precipitously gives up a stressful legal career, etches a relatively easy life with a non-living wage as a singer in a bar, then ever so eagerly steps back into white-hot limelight as an ill-prepared, out-of-focus prosecutor in a high profile, fast-tracked capital murder case, isn't convincingly developed.
The sparkling gem, a tour de force of the author's legal prowess, is found in the astute depiction of legal techniques as in those which may be found in cases currently foremost in the public eye, and in deliberations and dissections of the nuances and the letter of the law as applied to relevant contemporary legal issues, i.e. the battle between Apple and the federal government over the unlocking of iPhones -specifically the phone of Syed Farook, the San Bernardino shooter, the admissibility of text messages as evidence, judicial decisions under the dictate of stare decisis, and so forth.
The narrative is at times so scholarly, readers such as myself, may mark the Kindle version up with so many highlights it'd resemble one dogeared back in college, except digital.
"It's important that you not tell me anything that I haven't asked. I don't want you to taint me with information that makes a particular defense outside the ethical boundaries.... In other words, he is open to my committing perjury so long as he's not guilty of suborning it."
"Good. That, in a nutshell, is what makes your case triable: the age-old question of "why"."
"If you go on the Internet, you see all sorts of theories. Some articles claim that Farook's cell phone was cracked by freelance hackers. Others say that Cellebrite did it. The cost of the work is also hotly debated... the FBI director at the time said that it cost more than his entire salary for the remaining years of his tenure, which would be in excess of a million dollars... I know how we do it. And I know it isn't cheap, but it doesn't cost a million dollars either."
And then:
"This is indeed an interesting issue... as technology advances, the rules of evidence have to advance as well, or else they will become obsolete... Indeed, the text message at issue here is the lynchpin of the prosecution's case. So much so that excluding it from evidence could well result in a directed verdict, and double jeopardy having already attached, the prosecution would have no right to appeal my ruling. By contrast, admitting the text message will preserve this issue for the appellate courts to consider. Of course, that only occurs in the event of a guilty verdict, but if acquitted even with the admission of this text message, then ruling it admissible obviously had no prejudice to the defense. And so my ruling might be considered either Solomonic or cowardly, depending on your point of view. I will accept the text into evidence, and thereby preserve this issue for appellate review... I will, however, give the defense latitude to maintain its argument that someone other than the defendant could have authored those texts, and the jury is free to acquit on that basis."
Textbook perfect.
Same sex trysts may not appeal to everyone, and the legal gems are mostly in the last third of the book. And although the technique is put to good use, I'm not a big fan of alternating first person narratives. Nonetheless, a pleasure to read.
Review based on an advance reading copy presented by NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.
A Manhattan ADA, with PTSD from a personal tragedy, abandons her career, pursues her passion as a night club singer, climbs to near club stardom with her first composition "Never Goodbye", then gets pulled back in as special prosecutor. Her replacement ADA gets into a tryst with the boss who is murdered. It's a well-written humdrum of a whodunit, a bit over-cliched. "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!" - Michael Corleone.
The severe emotional transformation of one who precipitously gives up a stressful legal career, etches a relatively easy life with a non-living wage as a singer in a bar, then ever so eagerly steps back into white-hot limelight as an ill-prepared, out-of-focus prosecutor in a high profile, fast-tracked capital murder case, isn't convincingly developed.
The sparkling gem, a tour de force of the author's legal prowess, is found in the astute depiction of legal techniques as in those which may be found in cases currently foremost in the public eye, and in deliberations and dissections of the nuances and the letter of the law as applied to relevant contemporary legal issues, i.e. the battle between Apple and the federal government over the unlocking of iPhones -specifically the phone of Syed Farook, the San Bernardino shooter, the admissibility of text messages as evidence, judicial decisions under the dictate of stare decisis, and so forth.
The narrative is at times so scholarly, readers such as myself, may mark the Kindle version up with so many highlights it'd resemble one dogeared back in college, except digital.
"It's important that you not tell me anything that I haven't asked. I don't want you to taint me with information that makes a particular defense outside the ethical boundaries.... In other words, he is open to my committing perjury so long as he's not guilty of suborning it."
"Good. That, in a nutshell, is what makes your case triable: the age-old question of "why"."
"If you go on the Internet, you see all sorts of theories. Some articles claim that Farook's cell phone was cracked by freelance hackers. Others say that Cellebrite did it. The cost of the work is also hotly debated... the FBI director at the time said that it cost more than his entire salary for the remaining years of his tenure, which would be in excess of a million dollars... I know how we do it. And I know it isn't cheap, but it doesn't cost a million dollars either."
And then:
"This is indeed an interesting issue... as technology advances, the rules of evidence have to advance as well, or else they will become obsolete... Indeed, the text message at issue here is the lynchpin of the prosecution's case. So much so that excluding it from evidence could well result in a directed verdict, and double jeopardy having already attached, the prosecution would have no right to appeal my ruling. By contrast, admitting the text message will preserve this issue for the appellate courts to consider. Of course, that only occurs in the event of a guilty verdict, but if acquitted even with the admission of this text message, then ruling it admissible obviously had no prejudice to the defense. And so my ruling might be considered either Solomonic or cowardly, depending on your point of view. I will accept the text into evidence, and thereby preserve this issue for appellate review... I will, however, give the defense latitude to maintain its argument that someone other than the defendant could have authored those texts, and the jury is free to acquit on that basis."
Textbook perfect.
Same sex trysts may not appeal to everyone, and the legal gems are mostly in the last third of the book. And although the technique is put to good use, I'm not a big fan of alternating first person narratives. Nonetheless, a pleasure to read.
Review based on an advance reading copy presented by NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.
July 23, 2018
I have yet to find an Adam Mitzner book that I didn't like, such is the same with Never Goodbye. I felt like there was more to the story and at the end...BAM...Mitzner slaps you with his twist!
Excellent!
Excellent!
April 11, 2026
3.5 stars
May 19, 2018
Wonderful book
I didn’t realize is was a sequel until I read the credits at the end. It stood on its own very well.
I want to thank Adam and Goodreads for the opportunity to read this book through the giveaway program.
The book is written back and forth between 2 characters, Ella and Dana. At first this transitioning was confusing, but sequed to brilliant. What a wonderful whodunit! It kept you guessing until the end. I cannot say more without giving spoilers. Just read the book. Wonderful story and great story writing.
I didn’t realize is was a sequel until I read the credits at the end. It stood on its own very well.
I want to thank Adam and Goodreads for the opportunity to read this book through the giveaway program.
The book is written back and forth between 2 characters, Ella and Dana. At first this transitioning was confusing, but sequed to brilliant. What a wonderful whodunit! It kept you guessing until the end. I cannot say more without giving spoilers. Just read the book. Wonderful story and great story writing.
September 10, 2018
While reading this book, I thought that it was good, but I liked the first book "Dead Certain" better. I read a lot of mysteries and like to try and figure out who the perpetrator is before the big reveal. I must confess that I was surprised when it was revealed who did the crime. Kudos to Adam Mitzner. You got me.
April 20, 2018
Well done, with lots of twists and turns and the opportunity to see the story from two sides- Dana and Ella. Ella's out of the law and singing in clubs after serious trauma over the death of her sister but she's pulled back in. Who really murdered Lauren? Was it Dana, Ella's friend and successor at the Special Victims Bureau? This is the sort of novel that's hard to review because of spoilers but be clear that those secrets and lies will come back. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. You don't need to have read the first book to appreciate this one- the back story of Ella and Gabriel is clear early on.
July 24, 2018
Prosecuting comes with the occupational hazard of seeing people actually become their worst selves. On some level, I always knew that would someday be true of me too.
A sequel of Dead Certain, Ella Broden has stepped away from the prosecuting table and is now in front of a different audience. Living her fantasy of Cassidy. A singer by night that is nothing like prosecutor Ella Broden by day. After her sister's death, she takes a step back. She is retrospective and with the help of her love interest detective Gabriel, he has become her North Star in all the confusion of who she is, what she wants and what truly matters.
When her mentor Lauren Wright invites Ella and Gabriel to dinner with her and her husband, Ella is excited and hopeful that Lauren will meet Gabriel. A step forward to right what has gone terribly wrong with the murder of her sister. Unbeknownst to Ella, this is the last time she will see Lauren. Lauren is brutally murdered. Lauren's deputy Dana Goodwin and Gabriel team up to gather evidence of the crime.
Dana Goodwin working relationship with Lauren Wright has been more of a partnership then a boss and employee. Dana Goodwin has reason to bring Lauren's killer to justice. Working with Gabriel, the evidence brings up a double life of Lauren Wright and the twists and turns begin.
The narration is done with Dana and Ella. Each voice is compelling. Dana and her husband's relationship was a relationship of convenience for her but her husband's devotion to her was unnerving. Her relationship to her son was her north star and seemed to be the driving force of what mattered. (at least in her own mind). Her actions later speak differently.
With the death of her mentor, Ella once again come to the table of justice. For her friend and for herself.
A Special Thank You to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
A sequel of Dead Certain, Ella Broden has stepped away from the prosecuting table and is now in front of a different audience. Living her fantasy of Cassidy. A singer by night that is nothing like prosecutor Ella Broden by day. After her sister's death, she takes a step back. She is retrospective and with the help of her love interest detective Gabriel, he has become her North Star in all the confusion of who she is, what she wants and what truly matters.
When her mentor Lauren Wright invites Ella and Gabriel to dinner with her and her husband, Ella is excited and hopeful that Lauren will meet Gabriel. A step forward to right what has gone terribly wrong with the murder of her sister. Unbeknownst to Ella, this is the last time she will see Lauren. Lauren is brutally murdered. Lauren's deputy Dana Goodwin and Gabriel team up to gather evidence of the crime.
Dana Goodwin working relationship with Lauren Wright has been more of a partnership then a boss and employee. Dana Goodwin has reason to bring Lauren's killer to justice. Working with Gabriel, the evidence brings up a double life of Lauren Wright and the twists and turns begin.
The narration is done with Dana and Ella. Each voice is compelling. Dana and her husband's relationship was a relationship of convenience for her but her husband's devotion to her was unnerving. Her relationship to her son was her north star and seemed to be the driving force of what mattered. (at least in her own mind). Her actions later speak differently.
With the death of her mentor, Ella once again come to the table of justice. For her friend and for herself.
A Special Thank You to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
August 3, 2018
Gave it four hours of my life and that'll do me. I love Mitzner's stand alone novels, but this series leaves me flat, much like the characters in this book. Two dimensional, cardboard cutout, formulaic and boring. Give this series a miss, and read the non-series books instead.
September 14, 2018
BORING!!!
November 3, 2018
This wasn't my favorite book ever. The twists and turns were too much for me. It was an okay read I just didn't love it.
October 24, 2019
Could have been a good book. Very poor character development and terrible ending. Very disappointing.
January 17, 2025
This author was a GR recommendation and I don't think I've finished an author's works so fast. The first book wasn't that great (Kenny brothers) but the others were solid 4 stars. The writing is always easy to read and get into and the characters pleasant. Most of the books finish fast despite a lot of courtroom action and I usually find that slow. I seldom give 5 stars because the ending is never great. However, there are always major twists somewhere and the book never goes where you think it's going to go. I'm not a great fan of the last obligatory twist though as you know the obvious culprit is never the obvious one. I'm sorry that this is the last of his books and I hope he will continue to churn out more books as he's probably my favorite active author at the moment.
Spoilers ahead. This is book 2 in a 3 book series but you don't have to read them in order. I read them in the order of 1, 3, 2 and it certainly didn't make any difference.
This book splits into 2 POVs, something I'm never fond of but Mitzner makes it work here. Ella is a former ADA working under Lauren. She retired after 13(?) years, worked for her father's high powered law firm for 3 years after that, didn't like it and is now pursuing a singing career under a fake name at a music club and thinking about making it big. Her boss Lauren is planning to run for office (DA) and planning to ask Ella to come out of retirement to take her place (chief of a department).
Dawn is an ADA currently working under Lauren. She thinks/hopes that Lauren will promote her to her position when she leaves. However, she soon realizes that Lauren is planning to recommend Ella instead.
Then Lauren is found murdered. She was shot in the head at around 1:30am near her apartment. Dawn and Gabriel (a NYC detective who is Ella's boyfriend) are given the task to find Lauren's killer. The top 3 choices seem to be Lauren's husband Richard, who is a higher flyer in NY construction and seem to have mob connections. Their marriage may not be going so well. The second suspect is Drake McKenny, the DA who Lauren is planning to challenge and run against. It seems a far stretch to me for a DA to murder someone gunning for his position... The 3rd suspect is Chesterman, a man who raped his family. Lauren had put him away but he is out now having served time and who had vowed to get Lauren back.
Only a small amount of investigation takes place before Dawn is arrested for the crime. Lauren's iPhone has been found and after the password was broken, the investigators found that Lauren and Dawn were having an affair (Dawn is married to Stuart and has a 5 year old boy) and Dawn had texted to meet Lauren at the time and place where she was killed. The motive was speculated to be passion or Dawn's non-promotion.
The rest of the book is courtroom action where Ella is appointed to be special prosecutor. It all comes down to the text from Dawn's phone to Lauren as the only factual evidence whereas the defense tries to blame Lauren's husband to create reasonable doubt that someone else had the means and motive. The defense is that the phone was not password locked and Richard could have been the one who sent the text after finding Dawn's phone at her office.
The book comes to a close fairly quickly when Ella has a lightbulb moment where she realizes if the phone really wasn't password locked then Dawn's husband could have seen all the romantic messages between Dawn and Lauren and murder his love rival. They quickly check CCTV images again and finds someone looking like Stuart taking public transport at the appropriate location and time to kill Lauren.
Ella does the right thing and drops the charges against Dawn. It appears that Stuart did indeed kill Lauren and thinks they can be a happy family because Lauren is dead but Dawn was truly in love with Lauren and wants nothing to do with him after this.
There are a few logic jumps in the whole book where the author glosses over some points to make the story go fast but apart from that I enjoyed the book and the fast pace. Too bad it's the last book.
Spoilers ahead. This is book 2 in a 3 book series but you don't have to read them in order. I read them in the order of 1, 3, 2 and it certainly didn't make any difference.
This book splits into 2 POVs, something I'm never fond of but Mitzner makes it work here. Ella is a former ADA working under Lauren. She retired after 13(?) years, worked for her father's high powered law firm for 3 years after that, didn't like it and is now pursuing a singing career under a fake name at a music club and thinking about making it big. Her boss Lauren is planning to run for office (DA) and planning to ask Ella to come out of retirement to take her place (chief of a department).
Dawn is an ADA currently working under Lauren. She thinks/hopes that Lauren will promote her to her position when she leaves. However, she soon realizes that Lauren is planning to recommend Ella instead.
Then Lauren is found murdered. She was shot in the head at around 1:30am near her apartment. Dawn and Gabriel (a NYC detective who is Ella's boyfriend) are given the task to find Lauren's killer. The top 3 choices seem to be Lauren's husband Richard, who is a higher flyer in NY construction and seem to have mob connections. Their marriage may not be going so well. The second suspect is Drake McKenny, the DA who Lauren is planning to challenge and run against. It seems a far stretch to me for a DA to murder someone gunning for his position... The 3rd suspect is Chesterman, a man who raped his family. Lauren had put him away but he is out now having served time and who had vowed to get Lauren back.
Only a small amount of investigation takes place before Dawn is arrested for the crime. Lauren's iPhone has been found and after the password was broken, the investigators found that Lauren and Dawn were having an affair (Dawn is married to Stuart and has a 5 year old boy) and Dawn had texted to meet Lauren at the time and place where she was killed. The motive was speculated to be passion or Dawn's non-promotion.
The rest of the book is courtroom action where Ella is appointed to be special prosecutor. It all comes down to the text from Dawn's phone to Lauren as the only factual evidence whereas the defense tries to blame Lauren's husband to create reasonable doubt that someone else had the means and motive. The defense is that the phone was not password locked and Richard could have been the one who sent the text after finding Dawn's phone at her office.
The book comes to a close fairly quickly when Ella has a lightbulb moment where she realizes if the phone really wasn't password locked then Dawn's husband could have seen all the romantic messages between Dawn and Lauren and murder his love rival. They quickly check CCTV images again and finds someone looking like Stuart taking public transport at the appropriate location and time to kill Lauren.
Ella does the right thing and drops the charges against Dawn. It appears that Stuart did indeed kill Lauren and thinks they can be a happy family because Lauren is dead but Dawn was truly in love with Lauren and wants nothing to do with him after this.
There are a few logic jumps in the whole book where the author glosses over some points to make the story go fast but apart from that I enjoyed the book and the fast pace. Too bad it's the last book.
May 31, 2019
4.25 to 4.5 stars
Mitzner is becoming one of my favorite legal thriller writers. If you liked Law & Order, pick up this book. It’s written in the same way those episodes play out.
Like those types shows, there are limited characters which makes it unusually neat and tidy.
There are two parallel and related stories in this book, which seems to be Mitzner’s speciality (a subsequent story within a story). The overarching story follows Ella, a former prosecuting attorney who had taken a break from the law after her sisters murder. She is dating a cop, who was the investigator on her sisters case.
The other narrator is Dana, who took Ella’s place in the special victims office. She loves her job and is married to a teacher. They share a young son.
The story begins with Dana working late, and being surprised her boss (Lauren) is still in the office AND her husband (a millionaire, political strong arm whose construction empire isn’t squeaky clean). We learn they are headed to dinner with friends, which turns out to be Ella and her cop boyfriend.
At dinner we learn Lauren plans to run for office and she wants Ella to come back to the department AND take her old job.
The next morning Lauren is found murdered. Dana and the cop boyfriend are put on the case investigating... the husband is suspected (no surprise) but then in a shocking turn of events Dana is arrested. Ella is asked to come back as a special prosecutor and she’s ready to capture her friends killer.
The book follows Lauren’s case, shows some aspects of Ella’s personal life, why Dana was arrested (it gets into Dana’s backstory) and then during trial everyone starts to figure out who killed Lauren.
I didn’t like this as much as the authors other books, but it kept me entertained. There was definitely a lot in the story that seemed unnecessary filler/could have been edited out, and a few of the characters fell flat and needed more development but overall it’s a Law and Order episode.
The audio, however is very disappointing. There is no voice change between narrators so you have to play close attention to whose chapter it is.
Mitzner is becoming one of my favorite legal thriller writers. If you liked Law & Order, pick up this book. It’s written in the same way those episodes play out.
Like those types shows, there are limited characters which makes it unusually neat and tidy.
There are two parallel and related stories in this book, which seems to be Mitzner’s speciality (a subsequent story within a story). The overarching story follows Ella, a former prosecuting attorney who had taken a break from the law after her sisters murder. She is dating a cop, who was the investigator on her sisters case.
The other narrator is Dana, who took Ella’s place in the special victims office. She loves her job and is married to a teacher. They share a young son.
The story begins with Dana working late, and being surprised her boss (Lauren) is still in the office AND her husband (a millionaire, political strong arm whose construction empire isn’t squeaky clean). We learn they are headed to dinner with friends, which turns out to be Ella and her cop boyfriend.
At dinner we learn Lauren plans to run for office and she wants Ella to come back to the department AND take her old job.
The next morning Lauren is found murdered. Dana and the cop boyfriend are put on the case investigating... the husband is suspected (no surprise) but then in a shocking turn of events Dana is arrested. Ella is asked to come back as a special prosecutor and she’s ready to capture her friends killer.
The book follows Lauren’s case, shows some aspects of Ella’s personal life, why Dana was arrested (it gets into Dana’s backstory) and then during trial everyone starts to figure out who killed Lauren.
I didn’t like this as much as the authors other books, but it kept me entertained. There was definitely a lot in the story that seemed unnecessary filler/could have been edited out, and a few of the characters fell flat and needed more development but overall it’s a Law and Order episode.
The audio, however is very disappointing. There is no voice change between narrators so you have to play close attention to whose chapter it is.
May 16, 2018
A Good Read But Not As Good As Mitzner’s Previous Books!
After reading this author’s four previous books Mitzner became one of my "don't miss" authors, and so I was very pleased to be given an advance copy of Never Goodbye (the sequel to Dead Certain) by NetGalley and the publisher to review.
Having finished Never Goodbye, my overall opinion is that Mitzner continues his streak of writing credible, well-paced, attention-holding thrillers/mysteries, with well-developed characters.
Having said that, while I consider Never Goodbye to be a good read, it was my least favorite of this author’s four previous books, each of which I consider to be excellent or very good books.
The primary reason for my three star rating of Never Goodbye is that despite Mitzner's best efforts to keep you guessing about who the killer is, I was able to guess who it was almost immediately after the arrest of the character arrested for the crime (although I didn't really know WHY until much later). I think part of my ability to figure out who the real murderer is stems from my now being very familiar with Mitzner’s style of writing, in which the person who either “seems too good to be true “ or had been a minor figure in the story until near the end of the book turns out to be the actual killer. The second factor for my overall rating is that a few of the subplots in Never Goodbye were intentionally left unresolved, since the author plans to write (at least) a third book featuring the main character. The third factor was the plot's narrative, which regularly shifted between some key characters, at times became a little hard to follow.
I hope this review is of help in deciding decide if Never Goodbye is a book for you.
After reading this author’s four previous books Mitzner became one of my "don't miss" authors, and so I was very pleased to be given an advance copy of Never Goodbye (the sequel to Dead Certain) by NetGalley and the publisher to review.
Having finished Never Goodbye, my overall opinion is that Mitzner continues his streak of writing credible, well-paced, attention-holding thrillers/mysteries, with well-developed characters.
Having said that, while I consider Never Goodbye to be a good read, it was my least favorite of this author’s four previous books, each of which I consider to be excellent or very good books.
The primary reason for my three star rating of Never Goodbye is that despite Mitzner's best efforts to keep you guessing about who the killer is, I was able to guess who it was almost immediately after the arrest of the character arrested for the crime (although I didn't really know WHY until much later). I think part of my ability to figure out who the real murderer is stems from my now being very familiar with Mitzner’s style of writing, in which the person who either “seems too good to be true “ or had been a minor figure in the story until near the end of the book turns out to be the actual killer. The second factor for my overall rating is that a few of the subplots in Never Goodbye were intentionally left unresolved, since the author plans to write (at least) a third book featuring the main character. The third factor was the plot's narrative, which regularly shifted between some key characters, at times became a little hard to follow.
I hope this review is of help in deciding decide if Never Goodbye is a book for you.
May 29, 2018
3.5 stars- I enjoyed this book, but was REALLY disappointed to learn in the authors notes at the END that this is actually a SEQUEL.
Granted, It explains why I kept thinking the author should’ve given a bit more information about the main character and her backstory. (It’s likely those details are found in the first book.)
I’m not sure why Goodreads and amazon don’t list this book as #2 in a series, but I’d recommend that change soon. I now fear I know too much about book one to fully enjoy it and that’s just a big disappointment, to say the least.
Aside from that, it was an easy read and I liked Ella. The short chapters and 5 part outline worked well for me as a formatting style... and I also enjoyed the back and forth between Dana and Ella. I would definitely revisit Adam Mitzner in the future.
Granted, It explains why I kept thinking the author should’ve given a bit more information about the main character and her backstory. (It’s likely those details are found in the first book.)
I’m not sure why Goodreads and amazon don’t list this book as #2 in a series, but I’d recommend that change soon. I now fear I know too much about book one to fully enjoy it and that’s just a big disappointment, to say the least.
Aside from that, it was an easy read and I liked Ella. The short chapters and 5 part outline worked well for me as a formatting style... and I also enjoyed the back and forth between Dana and Ella. I would definitely revisit Adam Mitzner in the future.
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