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 counsellor, 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. N Lombardi Jr. is the author of compelling and heartfelt novel The Plain of Jars.
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[Bruntfield, New Jersey, just another banal town in a part of the country that nobody thinks about, was about to become famous; or rather, more aptly put, infamous]***
(Roundfire Books, 22 February 2019, 336 pages, ebook, review copy from the author and voluntarily reviewed)
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Justice Gone exceeded all of my expectations. The book is very intense and quite dark at times, quite a bit more than I was expecting. The brutal killing of a harmless, homeless war veteran is intensely written and unpleasant to read, yet compelling. I have no doubt this event is quite realistic and has probably happened sometime somewhere. The author does a fantastic job of creating, developing and maintaining tension. I was drawn into the story from the dramatic opening and it pulled me attention all the way through. Justice Gone is packed with twists and turns and surprise me many times over. I thought this was a great book. I look forward to reading other books in the series.
