A mystery novel playing out in a court room drama. The characters were great and the plot was very well thought out.

Well, all in all the book is readable. The story is good. The unravelling, not so. There are so many pointless and very long passages (thoughts, plans, actions of the main character) that have no bearing on the story. I had to flip pages and flip pages.

The mystery is good. However, it is not very clear how the hero gets to the point of it. He, the hero, is a nice guy, not your usual crime-novel-centre. He is healthy, has no PTSD of any kind or any sceletons in his closet. He even has a successful relationship with a woman and has lots of fiends. He is liable beach bum, who cannot get lawyering out of his system.

Helping his girlfriend's aunt to get out of a tight place is what he does for the whole book. The mystery in the book is as much about the murder as it is about old wounds, secrets and revenge.

Sounds interesting? It does. So bear with it if you can.

Is this a really bad cozy mystery, an irrelevant thriller, or a truly lame courtroom drama? It's all three so decide which of these descriptions dismays you most and then triple it.

The cozy part comes from the aimless and nearly endless description of the hopelessly banal life in the paradise which is west Florida around Sarasota. Matt Royal retired there at an early-ish age and loves it and loves it and it's so perfect he loves it. Endless beer and sunshine and the caresses of his sweetie who is so perfect except she loves him for some unfathomable reason. Endless descriptive text of sunrises and sunsets and jogs on the beach and beer with his buddies.

The thriller bit is drawn from Matt's irrelevant prior military service (green beret, medal winner) and his buddy the super spy (who has a direct line to the US President for gosh sake), three, count them three unrelated characters who work for military intelligence. Gloried worship of ex-military personnel, and two of the the most pathetic shakedown attempts in print.

The courtroom drama is a simple recitation of the steps of a murder trial of a woman who should never have been arrested. In it we find out that a huge amount of work had been going on off screen without our knowledge. Piles of depositions taken "weeks before" at some never explained spare moment. The defendant's laptop is found and processed without our knowledge (I had already done a text search to be sure that Royal had not collected it when it popped up in the courtroom.)

And finally, the solution to the mystery is so improbable that you will want to cry out in anguish at the lost hours of your life.

I received a review copy of "Vindication" by H. Terrell Griffin (Oceanview) through NetGalley.com.

An engaging whodunnit set in a village of retirees. Protagonist Matt Royal is himself retired. Having been a successful lawyer, he is now dedicated to being a beach bum who does not want the aggression needed in the courtroom to poison his newest love interest.

However, when a successful new author within the nice, respectable village community is murdered, the finger firmly pointing at the sixty-something relative of Royal's girlfriend, Matt Royal is happy to swing again into action. The bestseller had not been the work of the victim, but the plagiarised work of the accused: another book club member had written it off, only to forward it onto her equally unscrupulous friend. Unfortunately, this only serves to provide motive alongside means on the part of the hapless aunt.

Royal's partner goes undercover to unmask who the suppose to be the real villain among the society of genteel lady amateur would-be authors. Both unearth a series of old grudges and wrongs that go back decades.

It is always pleasant to imagine most of us might live to see old injustices and wrongs redressed. This book explores how a major injustice may in time warp and poison the entire life of some individuals.

Vindication should appeal to those readers who enjoy a whodunnit on the one hand and a good courtroom drama story on the other.

I really wanted to love this book but it was just okay. I am a huge John Grisham fan so when I saw the blurb comparing the two I was sucked in. It just felt, stilted? There wasn't enough emotion or flow to the story for me. It was a quick read to pass the time and entertaining enough. I would try another book by the author.

Vindication was a perfectly adequate novel, but it was just that. Adequate. I felt the author was really trying to explain things to death, going in to way too much detail and not leaving much mystery or anything to really gauge our interests in where it was going. That being said, I come from a legal background at work so perhaps I just found it tedious everything being explained so thoroughly. I also found that I had guessed the ending pretty early on.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very well-written mystery/legal novel. It is part of a series but it is my first encounter with Matt Royal, lawyer, now a retired beach bum in Longboat Key, Florida. Apart from fishing he hangs out with police deputy J.D. Duncan. The novel is written in a lyrical yet laid back style.

Most of the story occurs in a Central Florida retirement community called The Villages. One morning a body is found in the town square. It is the corpse of a best-selling female author who is in town for a book signing and talk about her novel. She is supposed to have left the previous evening but en route to the airport with a friend she receives notification that her flight has been cancelled. Much of the plot revolves around a local book club and the various personalities. J.D. Duncan's aunt Esther claims that the murdered author had stolen a novel she had written and passed it off as her own. This occurred via another member of the book club who had read Esther's draft and responded that it was not publishable. Esther sees the published novel and accuses the author's friend of having slipped her a copy.

This provides Esther with a motive and some additional evidence, i.e. the murder weapon being Esther's, point to Esther as the prime suspect. J.D. persuades Matt Royal to go to The Villages and represent her aunt. She then takes a leave of absence from her job and goes to The Villages masquerading as someone's niece to assist Matt in uncovering the real killer, assuming that Esther is innocent.

There are many twists and turns in the plot and a number of red herrings strewn around which suggest possible killers. But we do not reach a reasonable conclusion until the trial is underway. Just as it looks like Esther is going to go down for the murder, Matt Royal pulls a rabbit out of a hat, so to speak, and the real culprit is tagged.

An entertaining novel which motivates me to read more of this series. A copy of this book was provided by Oceanview Publishing via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. All comments here are my honest opinion.

An easy enjoyable read. This is the first book that I have read in this series. There is a lot of action packed into this story. There are a lot of threads that all come together at the end. I thought that the murderer was obvious but that did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.

I thought the story was a little "light" and airy. I did enjoy the setting since I am familiar with the locale. People who live in the Villages will adore this book!

Vindication was a book I loved. Fast paced , courtroom drama, murder mystery, skeletons in the closets, with everything I enjoy. A retired lawyer and his cop girlfriend are living the beach life on the gulf coast of Floida when her aunt is charged with murder in the ginormous retirement community a few hours away. They uncover a lot of chered pasts of the people they come across in thier investigation. A great who done it!!

This is a book in the Matt Royal mystery series. Matt is a former army officer turned lawyer that cashed in his chips and is now living in Longboat Key, Florida. The author does a great job of providing background and character development early on in the book. This is the first book in the series I have read, and I really enjoyed it.

The book starts off with a strange story from many years in the past that doesn't seem to fit with the present plotline. As the book progresses you begin to sense how this other storyline will mesh with the main one, but it does not come full circle until near the very end of the book.

Matt's girlfriend, detective J.D. Duncan, calls him and tells him that her aunt has been arrested for murder in a nearby town. The victim is a bestselling author that was in town for a book signing. Matt rushes to represent J.D.'s aunt and hatches a plan to get to the bottom of things. However, there is a lot more to this case than just a mysterious murder. Matt soon discovers that there is a deeper layer to the victim than everyone realized. The tension is ramped up as Matt receives a direct threat from an unknown man that is involved with the case. Plot twists and roadblocks along the way make this a very interesting read. There is one final twist in the end that you probably won't see coming. All in all this was a pretty fun read that kept me interested throughout.

I would recommend this book to fans of mysteries and thrillers. I received this as a free ARC from Oceanview Publishing in NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Vindication (A Matt Royal Mystery) by H. Terrell Griffin Published January 2nd 2018 by Oceanview Publishing was a very interesting read.
Former attorney Matt Royal is enjoying his “retirement” on Longboat Key when he receives a telephone call from his girlfriend Jennifer Diane Duncan who is a detective and takes a few weeks off to help Matt resolve Aunt Esther’s situation. Nothing takes you out of retirement quicker then the person you love or there family needing help. Her aunt Esther Higgins has been arrested for the murder of writer Olivia Lathom.  That is the first book by this author that I have read and it was a nice quick read. The prologue confused me because I was like what does a Miss Georgia pageant have to do with Aunt Esther’s book? This book is well written and brilliantly paced, it is a murder mystery until the last page. All the characters are likeable and the descriptions make me want to visit Florida more often. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. I give it 4 Royal Stars. Thank you Negalley, Oceanview and H Terrell Griffin for my arc of this book I enjoyed it.

Vindication by H. Terrell Griffin is a book in the Matt Royal series. This book takes place in a Florida retirement community and draws back into past beauty pageants. In this book, Matt defends his girlfriend's aunt on a murder charge and his girlfriend goes undercover in the retirement community to get more information. The plot is well developed, but the story moved too slowly for me and did not hold my attention well. I love mysteries and was really excited to read this one, but I was pretty disappointed. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. These opinions are entirely my own.

The major ‘yes’ for this book? The plot is tight and well thought out. All the loose ends are taken care of.

The major ‘no’ for this book? Too many characters come across like parodies of Sourtheners. Yes, people talk that way, but not 24/7.

Excellent mystery. An elementary school teacher arrested for the murder of a well known author. The majority of the characters live in the notorius "villages" in Florida. Enjoyed the unfolding of the real murder and the convoluted history of why the murder was committed. Complex characters, enough humor to keep it moving . Overall extremely entertaining

I have a love-hate relationships with 'cozy mysteries' and when this book started out, I was afraid it would be another 'cozy' that would bore me within 50 pages. Luckily, this was definitely not the case. Yes, it has the 'cozy' vibe to it because of the laid-back characters - and even because of the setting in a retirement community. But make no mistake, this is a full-fledged murder mystery with lots of interesting characters, possible suspects, and plenty of red herrings to foil the reader from figuring it all out! Add to that, a first-rate courtroom drama that plays out like it could be on tv. I did wonder throughout the book what on earth the first chapters had to do with anything but of course that was made clear by the end.

A very well-written and entertaining book!

Great fun read! Matt Royal is a great addition to the pantheon of Florida lawyers and private investigators. Less violent than Travis McGhee and a lot smarter than some of Hiaasen's bumblers, Royal is a protagonist you can cheer for - especially when he is helping his Aunt Esther. And the courtroom scenes were great - not completely realistic - but close enough! I want to read more of the Matt Royal mysteries.

I thoroughly enjoyed Vindication. It is the first book I've read by H. Terrell Griffin, but it will not be the last. Matt Royal, lawyer turned beach bum who occasionally resurfaces as a lawyer is so very likeable, as is his sidekick/girlfriend, J.D. They remind me of Spenser and Susan in the Spenser books by Robert B. Parker.

4 stars

Former attorney Matt Royal is enjoying his “retirement” on Longboat Key when he receives a telephone call from his girlfriend Jennifer Diane “JD” Duncan who is a detective and takes a few weeks off to help Matt resolve Aunt Esther’s situation. Her aunt Esther Higgins has been arrested for the murder of writer Olivia Lathom.

Olivia Lathom was a member of a book/reading club that focused mainly on mysteries. Aunt Esther asked one of the women to review her novel, and the woman said it wasn’t very good. Imagine her surprise when the murdered woman steals the novel and it becomes an immediate bestseller! It seems no one knew the deceased woman very well. Her past is a mystery. She can’t be located on any database and her fingerprints are not in any system. Matt interviews many people and travels all over Florida and Georgia seeking answers to his quest. She claimed to be from a wealthy family from Georgia. When Matt tracks down the surviving family member Charles Lathom, he is surprised to learn that Olivia Lathom was the sister-in-law who was married to a younger brother called Danny. He died just one month after his marriage to Olivia under mysterious circumstances.

The woman who gave Olivia Esther’s novel is Ruth Bergstrom and she is very hostile and defends her deceased friend loudly and often. JD goes “under cover” to interview her in hopes that she’ll let something slip.

The police are being very nice as is the prosecutor. Matt wonders what is up. He is followed and threatened by hostile men.

As the trial date grows closer, JD and Matt continue to interview witnesses and talk to people. Some very interesting facts come out as they speak to scientific specialists and computer people. The trial begins.

The identity of the killer is not so much of a surprise, but Matt reaching that conclusion is a study in patience and determination.

This book is very well written and plotted. It is easy reading and moves along apace. The descriptions of South Florida were wonderful and honest. (The weather is awfully hot in August – yuk…) I like Matt, JD and Aunt Esther. The other characters in the book were – for the most part – likeable. The book was interesting in that it offered little asides in how an attorney prepares for trial and what they can and can’t say or do. It was very well done. I’ve read H. Terrell Griffin’s novels before, but it has been some time. I’d forgotten how much I like him as an author. Well done, Mr. Griffin!

I want to thank NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this good book to read and enjoy.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Matt, a former lawyer, is persuaded out of retirement to defend his girlfriend's aunt Esther on a murder charge. I gather that this is part of a series where Matt's services are regularly required. In this case Esther is accused of shooting a woman who she claims stole the manuscript of her novel, but whom she also claims never to have even met.

After a rather slow opening few chapters set in the past and focussing on a Miss Georgia pageant, things picked up once the focus switched to Matt and his girlfriend JD. There was a large chunk in the first person in Matt's voice, and then a sudden switch to the third person from JD's perspective, which was jarring. After that the narrative switched regularly between Matt, JD and Josh, with his useful government contacts. I liked Matt and his humorous, easy relationships with his friends. The novel was well-plotted, with the pageant story eventually being drawn into the main narrative, although only eventually - it kept me guessing. The last few chapters described the trial, which I always enjoy reading - these reminded me of a Perry Mason novel, although we did have more of an idea of what was going to happen. There were a few very heartfelt and moving sections about veterans and serving armed forces personnel, which somehow fitted with the otherwise light tone.

My only complaints would be a certain amount of repetition - we heard about the time of the year after the snowbirds had gone home at least three times - and an inability on the part of the editor to distinguish between principal and principle.

Recommended.