Brett Simmons believes that the mayor of Lenore, Indiana, is corrupt, as are most of the councillors, but his attempts to challenge them are thwarted by being banned from the council chamber. Brett is a lawyer newly returned to Lenore, his childhood home. At first he is just being a nuisance, ‘a boil on the mayor’s butt’, but he gets dragged in deeper when he is retained to contest a case of Eminent Domain (compulsory purchase in the UK). This leads him into direct conflict with the mayor, the police, the local newspaper owner – basically all the power in town. His investigation starts to reveal a massive conspiracy extending well beyond not just Lenore, not just Indiana, not even just the USA. His cosy little world will never be the same again, assuming he survives. Helping him unravel the goings on is a small group of townsfolk and Melanie Stockton, an agent of the Attorney General’s office with connections.
The story is told by Brett, in a very laidback, jokey, wise-cracking style, with folksy idioms and a solipsistic air; exemplified by the observation that the word ‘me’ occurs 463 times. This can grate, especially in the first few chapters where the idiom seems more important than the story. However, once settled in it does help to define his character, which is otherwise a bit loose. It is sometimes hard to see why this happy-go-lucky guy gets entangled in this plot. He grew on me as the story progressed but I never really believed in him, or any of the other characters.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

Eminent Domain by Ronald D. Demmans, a fun book that many will enjoy. The writing style may not be for everyone, but I do think there are a good number who will like this book.

Could not finish this book, the writing style and plot did not grab me. It may grab others though, so I would still give it a try if you like this genre.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Indigo River Publishing and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Thrilling, suspenseful and entertaining. Action packed with characters who keep you guessing.