Matt Royal... Lawyer turned beach bum turns back to lawyer when his girlfriends aunt is accused of murder. A legal thriller that twists and turns and makes for a great read. This book is the latest in a series that I have not previously read but will be looking out for more. It reads well as a stand alone boik.

Thanks to Oceanview Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to read via Netgalley in return for an honest review

This mystery is set in The Villages in Florida. I really enjoyed the main character Matt Royal, he is a retired lawyer living in Florida. His girlfriend's aunt is accused of murder and he takes the case.
The mystery was fast paced and kept you trying to figure who the murderer was and why.

Watch out of retirement communities! This cozy read turns into a mystery really quick! Matt Royal, retired lawyer living in paradise on Longboat Key, FL, returns to the courtroom to defend his girlfriend's aunt who has bee accused of murder. Matt enlists his girlfriend, J.D., to go undercover to help our his client. This is a good courtroom drama read with many investigative twists. I really enjoyed it. The characters are well developed and likeable, even the not so savory characters are relatable. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read in return for an honest review. 4.5/5 stars!

Matt Royal is a retired lawyer-turned-beach-bum is called back to the courtroom to defend his girlfriend, J. D. Duncan's aunt Ester, who lives in the retirement community of The Village, in North Central Florida. A best selling author has been murdered after a book signing and Ester has been arrested. Matt reluctantly suits up for the case while J. D. takes leave from the police department to go undercover.

I really liked the characters of Matt Royal and his law enforcement girlfriend J. D.. I liked that there was also some humor included in the story. There are a lot of red herrings and secrets from the past are unearthed. The author has a great style of writing. This is book eleven in this series but it can be read as a standalone. I will be looking for more books from this author . A great courtroom drama.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Oceanview Publishing and the author H. Terrell Griffin for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well-respected attorney Matt Royal is drawn out of his retirement in paradise (AKA Longboat Key, Fla.) to defend his girlfriend's aunt Emily against a murder charge. The victim is a best-selling author whom Aunt Emily claims stole her book, and had threatened to kill. The murder (and action) takes place in The Villages, central Florida's mega-retirement community, where there is no shortage of interesting characters and potential suspects in this classic who-done-it.

The problem is that the police seem satisfied that Aunt Emily committed the murder, and are disinclined to investigate further. J.D. Duncan (Royal's girlfriend) takes a leave of absence from the police department to help Matt discover the truth. Matt's friends also step forward to help (not always in legal ways).

The eleventh in a series, this book stands well on its own. I had not read any other book in the series, yet felt completely at home with the main characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the rapport between Matt, his girlfriend J.D., and his friends. I also loved the authors fluid writing style and the uncovering of more leads, questions, and suspects bit by bit. It was very satisfying to watch the puzzle pieces fall into place! The trial section was so realistic and descriptive, I felt I was in the courtroom.

This is a great read! I definitely want to read more by this author. Vindication rates 4 stars from me only because I reserve 5 stars for books which I feel could become classics.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Oceanview Publishers for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. The review reflects my honest, unbiased opinion.

Good characters, interesting plot! 2 time periods, and I didn’t see ahead of time how they would interact!

First off this book in no way compares with John Grisham (see the book blurb) except in the sense that it involves a lawyer and some courtroom action. I don't mean that statement to be derogatory or unkind, I'm simply stating if you come in with that expectation you will be greatly disappointed.

Vindication is a slow building mystery. It reminded me alot of old courtroom style TV shows like Matlock, and Perry Mason (the TV show not the books) where most of the big stuff happens in the courtroom when the defense team does a kind of razzle-dazzle by revealing things they have kept secret from the authorities up to that point and turning the whole story on its head.

Vindication, while not as saccharine sweet as some cozy mysteries, is basically a cozy at heart. I would recommend it to someone who might be looking for something that is slightly harder than a cozy but not too awfully hard-edged. It's not a bad book, it just doesn't fit my personal tastes.

***Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author H. Terrell Griffin for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this title.

“Vindication” is book eleven in H. Terrell Griffin’s Matt Royal Mystery series. It is not necessary to have read any of the previous books to enjoy this one. This is the first book I have read in the series, and I did not realize there was a series until I finished the book and wanted to read more.

A woman’s body is face down on the concrete dance floor of Paddock Square. So it begins, and it does not end without many questions but few answers.

Curiously, the first two chapters seem to be almost accidently slipped in from another book, but do not skip them. Chapter three opens with “retired” lawyer Matt Royal’s first person narrative as he relaxes in Longboat Key, Florida.

In a story so relatable, that Griffin must have been spying on people I know, a member of a mystery book club has been arrested for murder. The club meets in a local bookstore, and the victim is an author visiting for a book signing. The accused suspect happens to be the aunt of Matt Royal’s long-time girlfriend and local police detective J.D. Duncan, so Royal is asked to “come out of retirement” and take the case. Along the way, Jock Algren, Matt’s friend and one of the best agents in America’s Intelligence community, who is visiting, unwinding, and relaxing in Longboat Key is asked to help out.

The story unfolds with Matt’s narrative alternating with the third person story line. Matt’s first person sections are filled with musing about the progress of the case and compelling insight into legal procedure and why he is doing what he is doing. The third person sections provide needed background and views of events from other perspectives. The pace is steady, and the alternating points of view give depth and add interest.

The characters drive this story, and these characters are intense, realistic, and hilarious. When Aunt Esther Higgins, retired schoolteacher, faces taking a guilty plea bargain or spending months in jail awaiting trial, she reassures Matt that she will be fine because:

“Years ago the school system that I worked for got in a jam and had to assign me to an all-boys junior high school to teach English …..You tell that prosecutor that if I could handle that for nine months, I can damn sure handle a jail cell for six months. No deals.”

Matt laments that the legal “process is mentally exhausting and not nearly as much fun as fishing.” He does relish the Florida weather, especially on “one of those days when everybody calls their relatives in the still chilly north to rag them a little about the gorgeous days that a Florida spring produces.” Moreover, where else would a suspect be called “a pusillanimous puissant” or a traffic-congested road labeled “Malfunction Junction”?

Despite the hilarity, a lot of investigation goes on, and dead-ends and false leads abound. Many secrets from the past rear their ugly heads but do not seem to lead anywhere. In true Perry Mason style, everything finally falls into place during the trial in unexpected ways and a peculiar justice finally prevails

I received a copy of “Vindication” from Oceanview Publishing, H. Terrell Griffin and NetGalley. This is an entertaining book to read, but be careful; you might just laugh right out loud as you read.

I loved this legal mystery. The characters are well written and seem to come alive- they remind me of people i know!! There are a lot of twists and suspects. The court seems real and the lawyer's stratergy is very interesting.

Vindication was a sneaky read…..it started almost like a cozy then morphed into a perplexing mystery and then a full-on courtroom drama. The cozy part was the laid-back setting – Longboat Key and the retirement community of the Villages in Florida. When an acclaimed author’s body is discovered in a nearby square, Aunt Esther is arrested for murder. Aunt Esther’s niece is JD, the long-time detective girlfriend of Matt Royal, a retired defense lawyer. He takes up the case and with help from friends and his own powers of deduction, he unearths clues that may lead to the real murderer. The last third of the book is the courtroom drama where Matt pieces the clues together in a way that will ferret out motive and means. Although this is a later title in an ongoing series, it was easy to follow and appreciate interactions between the characters. This title should be popular with those who have enjoyed the series and others who want to share in Matt’s ongoing adventures.
Recommended.

Vindication is a well written murder mystery. I enjoyed the plot and the retirement community setting.

By my calculation, this is the 7th Matt Royal murder/mystery but it’s my first and won’t be my last. Let’s get my concerns out of the way first so I can concentrate on the main event. Certainly, during the first third of the story, the dialogue was a little wooden and didn’t flow. Unusual and unfamiliar words were occasionally thrown in as well which were out of place with the style of writing. Additionally, the sentences were often too short which gave a staccato and flat feel to the story. Most annoying though were the spelling mistakes and errors and the proof reader should be reprimanded. “Principal” is the word for a sum of money on which interest is paid Mr Griffin not “principle”. Goodness knows how many times the word was used and I only counted one instance when it was spelt correctly.

Whilst the errors offended my OCD proclivity, they did not detract from the great plot which twisted and turned. Matt Royal and his squeeze J D Duncan, who works uncover in this story, investigate the background to JD’s aunt’s, Esther, arrest for murder in The Villages – a large retirement development in Central Florida. Matt takes little persuasion to come out of retirement to defend Esther. It was good to read a book with the minimum of violence and the maximum of mystery and one which challenged the reader’s investigative powers. I thought I had it all sorted out quite a few times but a spanner was always thrown into the works.

The trial and the subsequent denouement was superbly done. The logical process of development of the facts in the courtroom was first class and captivated me throughout, showing an excellent grasp of trial procedure. Even though the outcome was never seriously in doubt there were a few curve balls thrown into the mix to maintain full interest right up until the real murderer was named.

I am very pleased to have found another writer to add to my list of favourites and I recommend this novel without hesitation,

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This is a really good mystery, Court room drama.
The one problem I had were the number of names in the plot, so I had to keep going back to confirm who was who.

Really good mystery. The reader keeps wondering how the beginning subplot fits into the rest of the book! It really is good with the preparation needed for a trial, and how the lawyers out all of the little pieces together! I really liked the characters and their interactions. Very good book!

‘Vindication’ had an intriguing premise, but when I started reading the book, I wasn’t completely sure if I’d like it. But when I finished the novel, I realized I loved it. So much so, I’m tempted to go back and read every one of the Matt Royal books.

First, what I liked.

My first impression was that the book is gorgeously written. The style is lyrical, with each word seamlessly flowing into the next. Apart from being incredibly easy on the eyes, this made it very easy for me to construct the scenes at reading pace.

The characters too are incredibly well-developed, but perhaps that is because this is the latest in a long series of books featuring most, if not all, of these characters.

I make it a habit to delve into a book without any substantial knowledge of what the book is about. This is a double-edged sword. It sometimes makes for breathlessly entertaining reading, but it can also lead to bitter disappointment if the book is poorly written.

I’m happy to report that this book falls into the former category.

This whodunit is developed in a sublime manner, with all sorts of clues to let the reader form his or her own theory as to who the killer might be.

At the 30% mark, it seemed fairly obvious to me who the killer was, and I must confess I thought it was lazy writing if I was able to deduce the killer’s identity so early in the book. But I read on, and I’m glad I did.

Initially, I was curious about how the author would establish the identity. But as the story progressed, I realized I could be wrong. That someone else might be the killer.

Turns out I was right and wrong at the same time. While my guess as to the killer’s identity is spot on, someone else, someone unexpected, is the master of puppets.

The legal side of the story (Matt Royal is, after all, a first-rate lawyer) is done in a very reader-friendly manner. There is no heavy-handed exposition peppered with incomprehensible legalese. On the rare occasion that calls for a legal term to be used, it is duly explained by the author so the readers are able to keep up with the story without any interruptions.

There are books that drag endlessly, and there are books that feel too short despite a sizeable story.

‘Vindication’ is the latter. At 320 pages, it never feels boring. It is not heavy in the middle. That’s a good thing.

Now, what I didn’t like.

One of the few things I didn’t really buy were the point of view chapters where JD was concerned, and Matt Royal’s separation anxiety.

The abrupt shift from first person to third is jarring, and many passages feel superfluous, as the author often treads upon areas which were already covered from the protagonist’s POV.

Then there’s Matt’s constant pining for JD whenever she is not around. For an accomplished and retired lawyer, it makes him sound incredibly juvenile and not keeping in with the character.

Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll conclude by saying ‘Vindication’ is a breezy legal thriller that I will definitely recommend as we get closer to the publication date.

I found parts of this book really excellent, I liked the characters and the writing, in parts, flowed really well. Unfortunately, it just didn't hook me, and I found myself flicking through it at points.
I'd definitely suggest giving it a go, as, when it's good it's very good.

Laid back retired Lawyer Matt Royal is asked by his policewoman girlfriend JD to defend her Aunt Esther against a murder charge. Esther has been accused of murdering Olivia, a friend of a friend, who has published a best selling novel which appears to have been plagiarised from a plot written by Esther. As a result of this circumstance Esther is the main suspect as far as the police are concerned when Olivia is found dead.

I found Matt to be a likeable interesting character, despite the fact that he cultivates and actively tries to lead a beach bum lifestyle, he is also very focused and driven when he steps back into the lawyer role. The description of his relationship with JD is very well done, one comment I liked is "I think when it comes to women we love, we men are essentially chickens"

It was interesting to read about Matt's mindset leading up to the trial, and the glimpses you get of how his legally trained mind builds up a defense for Esther.
This is the first time I have read a book from this series and by this author, but I will certainly delve into the other Matt Royal books. This one was thoroughly enjoyable.
Thanks to Netgalley and Ocean View Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The start of the book felt very forced with an unnecessary use of obscure words. Once the stage moved to the courtroom the writing style picked up drastically as though the author found comfortable in that setting (which isn't surprising as Mr Griffin is a certified trial lawyer). A tale of revenge set over time. This is the eleventh book in the Matt Royal series where Matt has been called back into the courtroom to defend his girlfriends aunt where she is on trial for murder. It isn't a bad story and enjoyable but does not stand out as a great story.

This is a part of a series and the best thing about it is Matt, the protagonist - I found the crime and the trail to figure it out highly unlikely - the settings are well set out, and the chemistry between husband and police wife are nicely done - but i was not convinced ... it is also told in a very dry fashion. Reported. The small town atmosphere worked out well - but the unlikely crimes etc were over-laden for me.

Matt Royal is retired but then when your girl friend's aunt is accused of murder you have to see what you can do to help her. Aunt Esther lives in the Villages in Florida where everyone has a party at a minutes' notice. She is accused of killing an author who she feels stole her book she wrote. Olivia Lathom has published the book as her own. Esther gave the book to a friend of Olivia's who lives in the Villages without her knowing. A gun Esther has was used to shoot the author so it is looking bad for Esther. The way Matt goes about his investigation is interesting in how he gets ready for the trial. Well worth the read.