Aaron Littner is a highflying attorney, chairman of his firm and earning a large salary. Married with two children, he has stayed faithful to his wife with one exception. He had an affair with the judge trying his case and when he lost the case his client had a harsh sentence imposed. The affair ended and Aaron thinks it was completely secret. However when a manipulative criminal tries to get Aaron to blackmail the judge to help his case things start to go wrong. The judge is killed and Aaron is tried for her murder.

The legal whodunnit is not really a genre I have read a lot of because it tends to be fairly formulaic and this novel is. Whilst Aaron is not perfect we know he didn't kill Faith. The twists are that Aaron does go to trial and the outcome of that, plus the reveal of what happened on the night in question. I guessed the perpetrator fairly early in the book and, although there are clues implicating others, it seemed fairly obvious. Having said that, this is an enjoyable and quick read. Most of the characters are cardboard cut-outs but the pace is fast. ( )

Losing Faith
By: Adam Mitzner
Published By: Gallery Books Pages. 368
Copy Courtesy of The Reading Room
Advanced Reading
Reviewed By: doseofbella

It is absolute chaos when Aaron is accused of murder!

Aaron Littman attorney, meets Nicolai Garkov who is accused of many crimes. Even though Garkov admits his guilt in laundering funds for the Russian Mafia, and killing many people he has no fear of punishment. Aaron has no intention of representing Garkov… until he receives an offer he could not refuse.
Honorable Faith Nichols will be handling Garkov’s trial. Should she sentence Garkov, he will expose both Aaron and Faith’s secrets to the public. Their personal and professional lives will be in ruins. Will they be exposed, or will a known and feared criminal be set free?

Twist and turns at break neck speed. A stellar plot and amazing characters will show you just how dirty a criminal and attorney can manipulate all the players. Nothing is secret. There is always a way to find any and all information on someone at any given time. So if you think your safe…think again.

A captivating read. Adam Mitzner is an absolute wonder. I found myself breathless at times, and so astonished at his insight into the world of the elite. I now realize that no matter how well you protect yourself…it is an illusion. No where is safe.

4/5 ( )

Aaron Littman, 51, is the top white-collar criminal defense lawyer at Cromwell Altman, a prestigious New York law firm controlled by Aaron and his mentor Sam Rosenthal. Aaron’s services come at the rate of $1500 an hour, with a million dollar retainer. Yet this doesn’t stop Nicolai Garkov, a notorious criminal and Russian billionaire, from insisting Aaron represent him on multiple indictment charges being brought against him by the U.S. Government. Aaron demurs in spite of the money proffered by Garkov, until Garkov’s representative tells Aaron that Garkov has damaging information on Aaron that Aaron would not want to have publicized.

For four months, Aaron had an affair with Faith Nichols, a federal district court judge, in spite of both of them being married, and, in Aaron’s case, happily. Moreover, Nichols did not recuse herself when she heard a case brought by Aaron in her court. Soon after the case, however, Faith stopped speaking to Aaron altogether, and he never knew why. Nevertheless, a big part of him was relieved. But as soon as Garkov’s offer comes through, Aaron understands that his affair was not as clandestine as he had supposed, because Garkov’s case has been assigned to the court of Judge Nichols.

When Aaron is forced to confess to Rosenthal why he feels he has to take on the Garkov case, Rosenthal tells him why Nichols ended the relationship, which also explains why Garkov wanted Aaron on the case.

But everything gets immeasurably complicated when Nichols is murdered, and the U.S. Attorney’s office is looking at Aaron for the most likely perpetrator.

Discussion: This is a very competently written legal procedural, but I did have a few objections (so to speak).

I can’t believe that alternative scenarios (involving other possible perpetrators or even a random criminal) for the murder would not have been presented by the defense.

I can’t imagine the jury coming to such a quick verdict given that no alternative possibilities were even discussed.

I did not find it believable that all of the three women involved with Aaron looked “like models,” nor did I see why that was a necessary plot element. There really wasn’t a lot of character development either, and no real indication why all these women were so wild about Aaron; we sort of had to take it on “faith” (so to speak).

Finally, the story never explained how Garkov knew about the affair.

Nevertheless, the “legal procedural” part of the book is exceptionally well done - the background and explanations for legal elements are well-integrated and not too info-dump-ish.

Evaluation: Overall, this was like reading a good episode of "Law and Order". And I loved the interactions between Aaron and his children. I bet this author would do a great job on a YA book! ( )

I am a fan of Mr. Mitzner. His first book, A Conflict of Interest was a good showing and I was drawn to Adam and his relationship with Faith. So with Losing Faith I was interested to see how Adam and Faith were doing. If anything in this book Adam has grown with his wealth of knowledge and is a force to be recognized with. Although I did like Adam, this was not enough to fully captivate me into fully embracing this story. It was not in your face with the intensity but it was still an enjoyable read. There was a twist that I did not see coming until it was revealed. The way that Adam solved it all was what did keep my interest peaked. This book is a quick read that ended on a good note. ( )

Aaron Littman, attorney, in his rise to the top of his profession and corporation, is handed a most difficult case dealing with a notorious Russian mogul who will challenge his legal being. Moreover he will also have to face a judge with whom he has had more than jurist relations. As he journeys his way through the thicket of jurisprudence and conniving lawyers of the justice system murder of a judge takes place and almost ends his career. The author cleverly leads you along in this legal mystery and the end will surprise you. ( )