Review: The Ex by Alafair Burke

The Ex

by Alafair Burke

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 304

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Twenty years ago she ruined his life.

Now she has the chance to save it.

Olivia Randall is one of New York City’s best criminal defense lawyers. When she hears that her former fiancé, Jack Harris, has been arrested for a triple homicide—and that one of the victims was connected to his wife’s murder three years earlier—there is no doubt in her mind as to his innocence. The only question is, who would go to such great lengths to frame him—and why?

For Olivia, representing Jack is a way to make up for past regrets and absolve herself of guilt from a tragic decision, a secret she has held for twenty years. But as the evidence against him mounts, she is forced to confront her doubts. The man she knew could not have done this. But what if she never really knew him?

Kritters Thoughts:  My fourth Alafair Burke book and I am officially a fan!  

Olivia hurt a man a long time ago and a relationship went bust in a bad way, she feels guilt and he re enters her life in an interesting way and she has the chance to right the wrongs that she thinks she inflicted on him.  Jack the man in question, needs her help to get him out of a real bad situation - arrested on suspicion of murder and he is hoping that her trust in him is still strong and she can get him out of the mess.

This book lies in where the truth is.  Any lawyer must trust their client to give them the whole truth to help in their case, but in this book Olivia has to not only confront the present but the past and make sure through it all she is seeing the truth.  I loved that seeing the book through Olivia's eyes I never was satisfied and fully feeling the truth.  Not until the very end did I not know where the truth really is, thank goodness the author reveals it all in the end!

The other thing that set this book apart for me was that the entire thing took place during the investigation.  There wasn't a ton of courtroom drama, instead it was the defense and prosecution looking for clues to support their sides, I liked that most of the book took place outside of the courtroom in discovery, it made it feel different to me for some reason.

After reading four books by Alafair Burke and all of them being 4 or 5 stars, I will now read anything she writes without reading one word of a synopsis.  I love that most are stand alones completely so you can pick up her books whenever they come your way!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.