Texas Style Justice

My greatest disappointment with this novel is that it came to an end. Through the viewpoint of Judge Tori Van Fleet, informed by the author’s former career as a Texas judge, readers are privy to the fascinating inner workings of the justice system, including temptations faced by judges and lawyers to cut corners at the least and sell their souls at the worst. Tori’s integrity is under siege from outer forces, while she is torn by inner conflicts related to ambition, marriage, family life, friendship, and her future.

Traumatized by an assault in her courtroom a year earlier that left her badly beaten, Tori fears prison release and retribution by her assailant. County commissioners and old boy judges resist her relentless pressure for funding courtroom and courthouse safety. Her everyday work often overshadows her marriage, which is threatened when her husband Sergio presses her for a baby, despite a pre-marital understanding that she doesn’t want children. Beth, her best friend, becomes her competitor in vying for the seat on the Texas Supreme Court vacated by a judge’s death under suspicious circumstances. While these matters weigh heavily, life is about to get more tangled, a lot more dangerous, with impossible decisions ticking away like time bombs.

I could not put this book down. What would have made this novel a 5-star read is more development of big, turning point scenes. For some readers, Tori’s anger and impatience at the beginning might rub the wrong way, but if they continue to read, her passion, strength, and uncompromising integrity make her a hero worthy of many more novels; I can only hope. Although I was given a comp copy, I bought the novel for my Kindle to support my review as a verified purchaser and enthusiastic fan. Elizabeth Lyon, Book Editor since 1988