Happy Publication Day!!
I dedicate this review to Yesha. If she had not posted her spotlight post for this book, I would have forgotten about this one. Thank you Yesha!!
Check out her blog, her reviews are detailed and fabulous.
The captivating highly engrossing plot, the flamboyance and flair of the defense lawyers, and the plight of the war veterans homeless and suffering from PTSD all caught me in an emotional fray from which I was loathe to escape.
The story was thus, a homeless man was beaten to death by cops, public wanted cops to be prosecuted, a sniper killed the cops, an innocent man was arrested as the cops had no suspects, the lawyers embroiled in a legal drama to prove him innocent ==> hung jury with mistrial. Then came a revelation…
Every scene written by Nicholas Lombardi produced a visceral reaction in me. The emotions drawn left me vanquished. The mystery and the drama were well played. The plight of the war veterans touched my heart so deep that I was speechless after the book was done. I was in a state of turmoil.
The scenes which affected me the most
Police brutality on a homeless man on a call from a bartender who didn’t know the truth – the way they brandished their batons and hit that poor man, 6 cops against a lone unarmed man who called out for his father, just about chilled me. They pulverized him so much that he was just meat with no recognizable features. I won’t be able to sleep for days now!! HE WAS A WAR HERO!!
Legal drama – one of the best in recent times made me sit up and follow every point made my visually impaired Nat Bodine. There was an excitement in the air when he entered the scenes. I loved the psychological analysis he conducted on every person and he was not above using reactions from people on his side, including Tessa.
Plight of the war veterans – soldiers sent to unnecessary wars who return back less than what they were along with the mental torture and nightmares – they made my heart laden with a heaviness that seemed to seep right into my core and stay in my bones.
This is one book which will stay with me for a long time. Nicholas Lombardi has taken a relevant topic and the social issue and wrapped it cleverly in a fictional tale which is probably neither fiction nor a tale just the HONEST TRUTH about JUSTICE GONE.
I received a digital copy of the book from the author, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!!
All my reviews can be found here.
Have you read books based on social events which has affected you do much in recent times?
Author Nick Lombardi Jr. has spent over half his life in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and he speaks five languages. He is the author of Journey Towards a Falling Sun and Plain of Jars, both published by Roundfire. An event in California in 2011 in which a homeless man was beaten to death lead Nick to write his newest novel, Justice Gone. Nick now lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down. A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran’s counselor, is caught up in the chase. Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa’s patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers get there first, leading to Darfield’s dramatic capture.
Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge? Justice Gone is the first in a series of psychological thrillers involving Dr Tessa Thorpe, wrapped in the divisive issues of modern American society including police brutality and disenfranchised returning war veterans.
Publication Date: 22nd February 2019
Publisher: Roundfire Books
40 Responses
Fun to this this reviewered here today, as well. Good to see it getting lots of publicity.
Oh yes… I remembered to read the book because I saw all the posts 🙈🙈🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️😂
enjoyed the review! I like it when a book truly affects us 🙂
I was quite affected by all of it
great review, Shalini!
I would have forgotten about this book if I had not seen your post. So thank you for the sweet reminder
You are damn fast reader. 😮 How do you do it! I want that talent. I didn’t accept to review this book as I didn’t have enough time.
Hahaha this was a good book and I started at 2 finished by 5…i was supposed to read for only half hour post lunch… 😂 😂
It depends on the book. If it is exciting then I forget the world… 🤷🏻♀️
But credit for this review goes to you
no need to mention it. I did nothing seriously
It is done… 😍😘
😊❤
Yay – it has been a while since you’ve had a 5-star book. Lovely review, Shalini!
Thank you my darling… ❤️
What an incredibly, heart-felt and thoughtful review Shalini! The book sounds very well done and timely.
It brought its shivers too Mackey ❤️
This sounds like a super tough book. I don’t think I could read it, tho I am glad you liked it! Does it portray all cops as evil? Or does it realize that there are good and bad cops just like any other profession?
It is about one incident of police brutality which went on to bigger things. And the ending does show that there are cops who don’t like such brutality..
Wow. High praise from you! I featured this book the day before yesterday too. Will have to provide a link to your review then!
Yayyy… I forgot I had the book… Mush brain.. 😂 😂
Hahahaha. I’m glad you enjoyed it so much.
YES! see there? we can SOOO agree on just exactly what constitutes a fab 5 star book. i reviewed on my blog the end of December. glad i saw your post today as i’d forgotten to mark my calendar to go back to Amazon with it today.
Ladies, don’t forget to take your reviews to Amazon. This book should be getting some attention.
Top rating from my favourite reviewer. This is something 👍
This was brutal… Imagining the scenes just about shivered me up
Oh my God. That’s quite something
Wow, fabulous review! I love it when books have a legal side, and all topics here are relevant and so important! I need to read this! xx
This was extremely hard hitting.. Kept me awake
That’s a good sign! Usually!
Excellent review. There are so many deep threads to this book, but it sounds like they were moving without being overdramatized for the sake of effect.
Wow,this sounds heavy but with such important scenes.That scene you described with the homeless man tells me just how emotional this one is.Definitely a title that I’d like to read.Great review.
This book is going to be with me for a long time… Imagining that scene =shudders
I’m reviewing this one soon. Knowing you loved it so much makes me positive that I will love it too!! I’m excited. Lovely review as usual. ❤
Thank you darling.. Hope you like it.. Some scenes are brutal
This book sounds intense!! Thanks for the rec, I’m adding it to my TBR now 🤗
I hope you like it… Some scenes are brutal 😘😍
Wonderful review, Shalini!!! You always know the best way to describe a book!
Thank you so much Mackie… You are too kind. But this was an honest book