Tag: crime

An Engineered Injustice by William L. Myers, Jr.

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An Engineered InjusticeAbout the Book

What if the deadliest train wreck in the nation’s history was no accident?

When a passenger train derails in North Philadelphia with fatal results, idealistic criminal defence attorney Vaughn Coburn takes on the most personal case of his young career. The surviving engineer is his cousin Eddy, and when Eddy asks Vaughn to defend him, he can’t help but accept. Vaughn has a debt to repay, for he and his cousin share an old secret – one that changed both their lives forever.

As blame for the wreck zeros in on Eddy, Vaughn realizes there’s more to this case than meets the eye. Seeking the truth behind the crash, he finds himself the target of malicious attorneys, corrupt railroad men, and a mob boss whose son perished in the accident and wants nothing less than cold-blooded revenge. With the help of his ex-con private investigator and an old flame who works for the competition, Vaughn struggles to defeat powerful forces – and to escape his own past built on secrets and lies.

Format: ebook (317 pages)                    Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication date: 23rd January 2018 Genre: Crime, Thriller

Find An Engineered Injustice (Philadelphia Legal #2) on Goodreads

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My Review

An Engineered Injustice is the second book in the author’s Philadelphia Legal series. The series commenced with A Criminal Defense which I’ve not yet read although I read – and very much enjoyed – the third book in the series, A Killer’s Alibi, back in January 2019. You can find my review here. By the way, although it may look like it, I’m not deliberately setting out to read the series in reverse order. It’s just happened that way!

An Engineered Injustice has references to events in the first book but works perfectly well as a standalone and, if anything, the consequences of past actions help to propel its plot.  There are also return appearances for some of the characters from A Criminal Defense, including some particularly unsavoury ones although sometimes even they can have their uses.  Having to live with the consequences of past actions is especially the case for lawyer, Vaughn Coburn. Despite his lack of experience with the type of litigation involved, he feels an obligation to his family to clear his cousin Eddy, the driver of the derailed train, against charges of culpability for the crash. Along with a keen sense of justice, Vaughn has personal reasons – a secret buried for sixteen years – why he must succeed: ‘What he owes his cousin is nothing less than victory. And with it, salvation.”

What seems an open and shut case of driver error initially, proves to be anything but as Vaughan, with the assistance of some unlikely allies,  gradually uncovers a web of corruption and breathtakingly evil intent. The case involves Vaughn going out on a limb like never before, risking his reputation and livelihood.

Given the author’s legal background, it’s no surprise the book is full of detail about legal and judicial procedure. The final courtroom scenes during the preliminary hearing of the case are not only convincingly realistic but as tense and thrilling as you could wish for. Will Vaughn’s unconventional ploy succeed?  Does justice prevail? You’ll have to read the book to find out and, if you do, be prepared for surprises.

An Engineered Injustice is another fast-moving, intricately plotted and compelling crime thriller from the pen of William L. Myers, Jr. In case you need further persuasion, you can read my earlier spoiler-free interview with the author about An Engineered Injustice here. The fourth book in the series, A Criminal Justice, was published on 17th March 2020.

In three words: Taut, fast-moving, suspenseful

Try something similar: Lying in Vengeance by Gary Corbin

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William L Myers, Jr.About the Author

William L. Myers, Jr. is the Amazon #1 best-selling author of the Philadelphia Legal Series. The series debuted with the legal thriller A Criminal Defense in 2017. Following that, Mr. Myers released An Engineered Injustice in 2018 and A Killer’s Alibi in 2019. His latest novel, A Criminal Justice, was released March 17, 2020 to strong reviews.

Born into a blue-collar family, Mr. Myers inherited a work-ethic that propelled him through college and into the Ivy League at The University of Pennsylvania School of Law. From there, Mr. Myers began his legal career in a Philadelphia-based mega defence firm. After ten years defending corporate America, he realized his heart wasn’t in it. So he started his own firm and began fighting for the common guy.

That was twenty-five years ago and since then, Mr. Myers has devoted his legal career to representing honest, hard-working people who have been injured by others. He has become a highly-regarded trial attorney up and down the Eastern Seaboard, and has had the rare honour of arguing before the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Myers and his wife Lisa live with their two pit bulls in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo/bio credit: Author website)

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#AudiobookReview Heaven, My Home (Highway 59, #2) by Attica Locke

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Heaven My HomeAbout the Book

Nine-year-old Levi King knew he should have left for home sooner; now he’s alone in the darkness of vast Caddo Lake, in a boat whose motor just died. A sudden noise distracts him – and all goes dark.

Texas Ranger Darren Matthews is trying to emerge from another kind of darkness; after the events of his previous investigation, his marriage is in a precarious state of rebuilding, and his career and reputation lie in the hands of his mother, who’s never exactly had his best interests at heart. Now she holds the key to his freedom, and she’s not above a little maternal blackmail to press her advantage.

An unlikely possibility of rescue arrives in the form of a case down Highway 59, in a small lakeside town where the local economy thrives on nostalgia for ante-bellum Texas – and some of the era’s racial attitudes still thrive as well. Levi’s disappearance has links to Darren’s last case, and to a wealthy businesswoman, the boy’s grandmother, who seems more concerned about the fate of her business than that of her grandson.

Darren has to battle centuries-old suspicions and prejudices, as well as threats that have been reignited in the current political climate, as he races to find the boy, and to save himself.

Format: Audiobook (9h 17m)                    Publisher: Serpent’s Tail Audio
Publication date: 12th September 2019 Genre: Crime, Mystery

Find Heaven, My Home (Highway 59 #2) on Goodreads

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My Review

I was introduced to Attica Locke’s writing through reading her first published crime novel, Black Water Rising, and since then I’ve eagerly consumed its successors, The Cutting Season and Pleasantville. I read and reviewed the first in the author’s new ‘Highway 59’ series, Bluebird, Bluebird in 2017. Heaven, My Home is the follow-up to that book, once again featuring black Texas Ranger, Darren Matthews.

A number of story lines from the previous book are picked up, including Darren’s troubled relationship with his mother, his concern that certain of his past actions may come to light and continuing doubts about the state of his marriage to wife, Lisa. However, there is sufficient recapping for readers who either have not read Bluebird, Bluebird or who have but need a reminder about events in the earlier book.

Darren is a realistically flawed character. Not everything he’s done is right, even where it was with the best of intentions. In this book he faces difficult moral dilemmas again. He possesses a strong sense of justice which fuels his determination to find the missing boy when no-one else besides Levi’s distraught mother seems bothered. Perhaps it’s because the boy reminds him of his younger self. But is there truth in the accusation that his blind spot is his instinct to protect black people accused of crime?

The book has the author’s signature blend of crime mystery and exploration of contemporary political themes such as racial tension and corruption in high places. In particular, the book exposes the history and treatment of Native Americans whilst also touching on the scourge of white supremacy and raising questions about how the past is represented, especially if that past involves unsavoury events. Once again, the author creates a vivid picture of small town America highlighting the contrast between the lives of rich and poor, black and white.

Darren eventually homes in what may have happened to the missing boy thanks to a number of clues, one of which at least turns out to be a load of baloney. I have to say the motive behind it all, when revealed, was rather complex and not quite as gripping as in previous books. However, the way in which the other storylines were woven into it compensated for this.

I listened to the audio book version of Heaven, My Home and thought J D Jackson did a great job as narrator. He was able to create sufficient distinctiveness between the various male characters and voiced the female characters in a way that didn’t jar. (His delivery was quite slow so I found increasing the speed to x1.25 worked well without impacting on clarity.)

I really enjoyed Heaven, My Home and there were a few plot threads left unresolved that I’m hoping will be carried over to a future book.

In three words: Assured, compelling, thought-provoking

Try something similar: Asylum Road by James L. Weaver

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Attica-2017About the Author

Attica Locke’s latest novel Heaven, My Home (September 2019) is the sequel to Edgar Award-winning Bluebird, Bluebird. Her third novel Pleasantville was the winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was also long-listed for the Bailey’s Prize for Women’s Fiction. The Cutting Season was the winner of the Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Her first novel Black Water Rising was nominated for an Edgar Award, an NAACP Image Award, as well as a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was short-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

A former fellow at the Sundance Institute’s Feature Filmmaker’s Lab, Locke works as a screenwriter as well.  Most recently, she was a writer and producer on Netflix’s When They See Us and the also the upcoming Hulu adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere. A native of Houston, Texas, Attica lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and daughter. (Photo/bio credit: Author website)

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About the Narrator

J D Jackson is an educator, actor, and audiobook narrator. Currently an adjunct professor at Los Angeles Southwest College, he has an MFA in theatre from Temple University and several television and movie credits, including House, ER, Law & Order, Third Watch, and Hack. He has also received several Audiofile Earphone Awards for his work.