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Justice Perverted
Sandy dozed intermittently with her head on Jons shoulder as they headed west on IH-10. She thought about the changes that had just occurred in her her fathers death, quitting her teaching job in New Orleans, and packing all her belongings in the U-Haul truck in which she was riding. Her mind then raced to the changes that were to her marriage to Jon, moving to the town of Richmond, Texas, and the effect that the community would have on her and she would have on the town. However, things don't always turn out as planned. Sandy could not have foreseen the arrest of Jons partner for murder, the teenage marijuana ring, or the complete perversion of justice about to take place.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2009
14 people want to read
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April 19, 2014
REVIEW
I received a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review, which follows:
Small towns beget small town politics. There are places in Alaska where you can hear the following phrase: "There's justice, then there's Alaska justice." Several things happened in the rural Alaskan town where I grew up where locals handled justice before matters were brought to the authorities. Why am I going into this? Well, Alaska and Texas kind of have a pissing contest friendly rivalry. Which is bigger/better? Depends on the day. :P This book would make it appear that the two places do have one thing in common - small towns and their workings.
LONG STORY SHORT
Dee Wilbur is (are?) at it again, crafting a superb story while revealing the soft underbelly of living in a small town - small town politics.
A small town lawyer has finally married the woman of his dreams and has brought her home to Richmond, Texas. Shorty thereafter, there are some mighty "interesting" happenings in this fine town of his, and he finds himself embroiled in a situation where things are not as they seem, lies are told, drugs run rampant, and true friends may be in questionable status with the law. A man winds up dead. Then another man. Meanwhile Jon, the aforementioned lawyer, tries his hand at criminal defense despite that not being his general area of law, and his wife - Sandy - tries to fit into a town where everyone knows everyone and has for centuries. What could possibly go wrong?
Justice Perverted is a wonderful sequel to A Jealous God. It has a riveting plot, a court case full of gut wrenching ups and downs, likable characters, and the ability to stand alone on its own two feet without its prequel.
Let's just say that I stayed a little glued to this book
On an ascending scale of 1 to 5, I give this book a 3.
LONG STORY
In college I only ever found one or two people who came from a town smaller than the one where I was reared. According to the 2000 census, my little town boasted just over 400 people (I'm sure it has grown a little since then, but I'm also sure that number is a little low since I know some of the town folks who greeted the census takers with a gun and stern reminders of 'NO TRESSPASSING' signs in front of their house).
I know small towns and their politics. I also know what it is like to move into a small town where everyone knows everyone and you are the odd one out, at least for awhile (my spouse and I just moved to such a town).
Justice Perverted is something that made me laugh at how very real-to-life it is. This, unfortunately, is a story I could actually see playing out in any small town across...the planet.
Jon Miller is a lawyer in the relatively small town of Richmond, Texas. Much to the chagrin of the available ladies in town, this heart-stopping stud has just returned from a trip with a new bride in tow. Sandy is a vivacious young lady who has had Jon's heart for quite awhile and is definitely up to the task of fitting into a place where everyone knows everyone already....or is she? When someone winds up actually dead at a reenactment of an old shoot out, the colors of this little town show through as the gossip gears grind, someone is jailed, and justice may be swayed by a little bit of the "good ol' boys club". Or is it? And what is with all of these pesky teenagers suddenly getting into trouble?
Well, don't look at me for the answer to those questions - go read this book!
Oh, don't be nervous that it is team-written by two individuals. As in the first book in this series, you can't tell that two different brains are at work here. In that regard it is seamless - I cannot tell who wrote what chapter/page/word :P
What I can tell is that the masterminds behind Dee Wilbur put a lot of time and effort into this supremely riveting plot. Seriously, I stayed glued to the book for the couple of days it took me to read (and it wouldn't have even taken me that long to read if my toddler took longer naps). Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next, something would happen that surprised me. My brows furrowed more than once as I tried to predict what was even going to happen on the very next page. This is not to say that it is so full of surprises that it is just plain annoying. It is to say that it is full of enough surprises to keep it interesting.
Anyways, let's take a look at characters. I'm not going to list them all out here, but let's just say it is easy to love the ones you are supposed to love and to not like the ones that you are supposed to not like. Then there are all those pesky people in the middle who do bad and good things so much that you aren't sure how to feel about them....but hey, that's life. The point here is that the characters are real. I could have lunch with Sandy and/or Jon. And (*gasp* I just started a sentence with and!) I am so glad that Dee Wilbur choose to continue their story with Jon...I really liked him in the first book and I really like him here.
This reminds me - this is a book in a series. HOWEVER, it can stand delightfully on its own two feet without one absolutely having to read the first book. Now, I highly recommend reading the first book because it is fantabulous, but this book can survive by itself. In a series that revolves around court cases, that is bonus.
The Bugly (bad/ugly)
You may have noticed that though I'm raving about the content of the book, I've only given it a 3 out of 5. There are 2 major reasons for this - dialog and editing.
Dialog - as in the first book, there are not enough of the "he said this" and "she said that" indicators to help readers figure out who the heck is talking. I went back many times to the start of a scene or conversation to try and figure out who said what (that's kind of important), and it drove me crazy! I couldn't rely on punctuation to help me figure out what was going on, because....
Editing - this book needs to go through a professional editor if it hasn't already (and if it has, it needs to go through a different one). Punctuation and indenting, especially within a dialog, are not consistent. My main gripe is that quotation marks are in mostly the right places, but enough of the wrong places to completely confuse who the heck is saying what and when people are talking.
The reason I knocked two points off my score for this book for these gripes (typically I'd only take off 1 for these) is that they were so freaking distracting that I had to do far too much freaking work as a reader. I should not have to work that hard to keep track of conversations, and punctuation needs to be consistent throughout an entire work. Since I found these kinds of errors on many pages instead of just a few, I took off 2 points.
Also, in my humble opinion, too much of the book itself is dialog. This is merely me quibbling about a stylistic choice that I'd never make, but I felt that learning 95% of the content from the 95% dialog that made up the books text was just a bit too much.
That all being said, the story itself is superb and this is a good book! I will be happy to read more...
I received a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review, which follows:
Small towns beget small town politics. There are places in Alaska where you can hear the following phrase: "There's justice, then there's Alaska justice." Several things happened in the rural Alaskan town where I grew up where locals handled justice before matters were brought to the authorities. Why am I going into this? Well, Alaska and Texas kind of have a pissing contest friendly rivalry. Which is bigger/better? Depends on the day. :P This book would make it appear that the two places do have one thing in common - small towns and their workings.
LONG STORY SHORT
Dee Wilbur is (are?) at it again, crafting a superb story while revealing the soft underbelly of living in a small town - small town politics.
A small town lawyer has finally married the woman of his dreams and has brought her home to Richmond, Texas. Shorty thereafter, there are some mighty "interesting" happenings in this fine town of his, and he finds himself embroiled in a situation where things are not as they seem, lies are told, drugs run rampant, and true friends may be in questionable status with the law. A man winds up dead. Then another man. Meanwhile Jon, the aforementioned lawyer, tries his hand at criminal defense despite that not being his general area of law, and his wife - Sandy - tries to fit into a town where everyone knows everyone and has for centuries. What could possibly go wrong?
Justice Perverted is a wonderful sequel to A Jealous God. It has a riveting plot, a court case full of gut wrenching ups and downs, likable characters, and the ability to stand alone on its own two feet without its prequel.
Let's just say that I stayed a little glued to this book
On an ascending scale of 1 to 5, I give this book a 3.
LONG STORY
In college I only ever found one or two people who came from a town smaller than the one where I was reared. According to the 2000 census, my little town boasted just over 400 people (I'm sure it has grown a little since then, but I'm also sure that number is a little low since I know some of the town folks who greeted the census takers with a gun and stern reminders of 'NO TRESSPASSING' signs in front of their house).
I know small towns and their politics. I also know what it is like to move into a small town where everyone knows everyone and you are the odd one out, at least for awhile (my spouse and I just moved to such a town).
Justice Perverted is something that made me laugh at how very real-to-life it is. This, unfortunately, is a story I could actually see playing out in any small town across...the planet.
Jon Miller is a lawyer in the relatively small town of Richmond, Texas. Much to the chagrin of the available ladies in town, this heart-stopping stud has just returned from a trip with a new bride in tow. Sandy is a vivacious young lady who has had Jon's heart for quite awhile and is definitely up to the task of fitting into a place where everyone knows everyone already....or is she? When someone winds up actually dead at a reenactment of an old shoot out, the colors of this little town show through as the gossip gears grind, someone is jailed, and justice may be swayed by a little bit of the "good ol' boys club". Or is it? And what is with all of these pesky teenagers suddenly getting into trouble?
Well, don't look at me for the answer to those questions - go read this book!
Oh, don't be nervous that it is team-written by two individuals. As in the first book in this series, you can't tell that two different brains are at work here. In that regard it is seamless - I cannot tell who wrote what chapter/page/word :P
What I can tell is that the masterminds behind Dee Wilbur put a lot of time and effort into this supremely riveting plot. Seriously, I stayed glued to the book for the couple of days it took me to read (and it wouldn't have even taken me that long to read if my toddler took longer naps). Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next, something would happen that surprised me. My brows furrowed more than once as I tried to predict what was even going to happen on the very next page. This is not to say that it is so full of surprises that it is just plain annoying. It is to say that it is full of enough surprises to keep it interesting.
Anyways, let's take a look at characters. I'm not going to list them all out here, but let's just say it is easy to love the ones you are supposed to love and to not like the ones that you are supposed to not like. Then there are all those pesky people in the middle who do bad and good things so much that you aren't sure how to feel about them....but hey, that's life. The point here is that the characters are real. I could have lunch with Sandy and/or Jon. And (*gasp* I just started a sentence with and!) I am so glad that Dee Wilbur choose to continue their story with Jon...I really liked him in the first book and I really like him here.
This reminds me - this is a book in a series. HOWEVER, it can stand delightfully on its own two feet without one absolutely having to read the first book. Now, I highly recommend reading the first book because it is fantabulous, but this book can survive by itself. In a series that revolves around court cases, that is bonus.
The Bugly (bad/ugly)
You may have noticed that though I'm raving about the content of the book, I've only given it a 3 out of 5. There are 2 major reasons for this - dialog and editing.
Dialog - as in the first book, there are not enough of the "he said this" and "she said that" indicators to help readers figure out who the heck is talking. I went back many times to the start of a scene or conversation to try and figure out who said what (that's kind of important), and it drove me crazy! I couldn't rely on punctuation to help me figure out what was going on, because....
Editing - this book needs to go through a professional editor if it hasn't already (and if it has, it needs to go through a different one). Punctuation and indenting, especially within a dialog, are not consistent. My main gripe is that quotation marks are in mostly the right places, but enough of the wrong places to completely confuse who the heck is saying what and when people are talking.
The reason I knocked two points off my score for this book for these gripes (typically I'd only take off 1 for these) is that they were so freaking distracting that I had to do far too much freaking work as a reader. I should not have to work that hard to keep track of conversations, and punctuation needs to be consistent throughout an entire work. Since I found these kinds of errors on many pages instead of just a few, I took off 2 points.
Also, in my humble opinion, too much of the book itself is dialog. This is merely me quibbling about a stylistic choice that I'd never make, but I felt that learning 95% of the content from the 95% dialog that made up the books text was just a bit too much.
That all being said, the story itself is superb and this is a good book! I will be happy to read more...
January 19, 2020
Someone is after Dwane Belchner he saw too much that Sunday morning. Avery Jacobs is dead after being shot by Diego at the reenactment and not long after Dwane is found dead in a ditch with an apparent DUI. John Miller is pulled into a mystery of epic proportion with Justice is not blind it is completely Perverted. The truth can knock you on your heels.
Dee Wilbur has not lost any of her splendor with this book. I thought after having the chance to read her other one with would fall under the same old same old. I was surprised by the fact that her cases are very creditable and John Miller is definitely not your picture of an attorney. I was glad to see she brought John back and she finally gave him the love he had been searching for. Her writing is riveting and there were a few parts she could he wordy put later on in the book you will see that the clues are there in black and white. This is a crime novel similar to Tom Clancy and I am happy to say she did not steal his writing style. I can not wait to see what she does with this series in the future.
Dee Wilbur has not lost any of her splendor with this book. I thought after having the chance to read her other one with would fall under the same old same old. I was surprised by the fact that her cases are very creditable and John Miller is definitely not your picture of an attorney. I was glad to see she brought John back and she finally gave him the love he had been searching for. Her writing is riveting and there were a few parts she could he wordy put later on in the book you will see that the clues are there in black and white. This is a crime novel similar to Tom Clancy and I am happy to say she did not steal his writing style. I can not wait to see what she does with this series in the future.
January 13, 2014
I've been a fan of Dee Wilbur since reading the first book in this series, A Jealous God! Although it's a series, these books can also stand alone. If you start with the second one, you're going to end up wanting to read all of them. It's one of the best mystery series I've read.
I'm also a fan of the Charlaine Harris books, and the atmosphere to be found in Justice Perverted is similar enough to get me hooked! The small-town is an appealing back drop to the plot, but I suspect it's the authors themselves that give these books the tone that makes it so unique and satisfying to read! I really enjoy the characters that they present the reader with, once you start getting to know them, you feel as if they are someone that you know in person.
Justice Perverted takes us to New Orleans, a city that I absolutely adore. It's the perfect place to bring the heroine from, and it's very fitting for the plot! Jon is a successful attorney, well-established in the small town of Richmond, Texas. He knows the ropes, and how to handle the residents... Which flower shop to purchase from, who to give what gift certificates when they marry, etc. He's a well-developed character, the type of man that all the single women wish they could have. He's got a girlfriend, though. Her name is Sandy, and she lives in the Garden district of NOLA.
Her dad is in a bad way, and she calls Jon, who ends up tearing out of Richmond to get to her. Her father ends up dying, which opens the door to her moving to Richmond. Life in a small town isn't always as sublime as one might think, though. The playing field for Jon has changed. He's involved in something much more complicated now then doing pre-nups or wills. There's a lot at stake, and suddenly this book is changing into a thriller... And like the authors say in the book, "The Plot Thickens".
I'm not going to cover the plot itself very much as the authors have pretty much nailed it with the blurb. Instead, I'd rather focus on how much I truly enjoyed it, and what I liked best about it. But I will say this... With Jon being an attorney, we get a lot of courtroom drama! More characters come into play, all of them as creatively developed as Jon and Sandy, each of them adding another dimension to the mystery as it unfolds. And throughout this intriguing read, we get the thoughts and observations that really pull me in. It's the down-to-earth earnestness and down home feel to the writing that separates should-be bestsellers like this from all the rest.
When it comes to mysteries, I'm not an avid reader. In fact, I can narrow it down to just a few authors that I will read repeatedly in this genre, and Dee Wilbur is one of them. If you're looking to read a well-developed mystery that keeps you locked to your kindle, Justice Perverted doesn't disappoint!
I'm also a fan of the Charlaine Harris books, and the atmosphere to be found in Justice Perverted is similar enough to get me hooked! The small-town is an appealing back drop to the plot, but I suspect it's the authors themselves that give these books the tone that makes it so unique and satisfying to read! I really enjoy the characters that they present the reader with, once you start getting to know them, you feel as if they are someone that you know in person.
Justice Perverted takes us to New Orleans, a city that I absolutely adore. It's the perfect place to bring the heroine from, and it's very fitting for the plot! Jon is a successful attorney, well-established in the small town of Richmond, Texas. He knows the ropes, and how to handle the residents... Which flower shop to purchase from, who to give what gift certificates when they marry, etc. He's a well-developed character, the type of man that all the single women wish they could have. He's got a girlfriend, though. Her name is Sandy, and she lives in the Garden district of NOLA.
Her dad is in a bad way, and she calls Jon, who ends up tearing out of Richmond to get to her. Her father ends up dying, which opens the door to her moving to Richmond. Life in a small town isn't always as sublime as one might think, though. The playing field for Jon has changed. He's involved in something much more complicated now then doing pre-nups or wills. There's a lot at stake, and suddenly this book is changing into a thriller... And like the authors say in the book, "The Plot Thickens".
I'm not going to cover the plot itself very much as the authors have pretty much nailed it with the blurb. Instead, I'd rather focus on how much I truly enjoyed it, and what I liked best about it. But I will say this... With Jon being an attorney, we get a lot of courtroom drama! More characters come into play, all of them as creatively developed as Jon and Sandy, each of them adding another dimension to the mystery as it unfolds. And throughout this intriguing read, we get the thoughts and observations that really pull me in. It's the down-to-earth earnestness and down home feel to the writing that separates should-be bestsellers like this from all the rest.
When it comes to mysteries, I'm not an avid reader. In fact, I can narrow it down to just a few authors that I will read repeatedly in this genre, and Dee Wilbur is one of them. If you're looking to read a well-developed mystery that keeps you locked to your kindle, Justice Perverted doesn't disappoint!
January 14, 2014
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Something is going on in Richmond and attorney Jon Miller and his new bride, Sandy are thrown headlong into the intrigue and perversion of the political machine powering the town. Annual events are marred with murder, but the rush to justice indicts an innocent man, all to keep the dirty little secrets of the good ole boys in power. A teenage party turns drug bust, but why weren’t the traffickers arrested? Are law and order a thing of the past in Richmond? Will Sandy’s inquisitive nature dig up more questions than answers? What evil lurks behind the small town charm and why is justice turning a blind eye?
Justice Perverted by Dee Wilbur is an old-fashioned, down home mystery, that straddles the line between Andy of Mayberry and Law and Order with its folksy dialogue, and spicy newlywed sexual tension. The plot has some great twists and turns that fit into that “small town” feel. The side stories regarding the lives of the supporting characters breathe life, dimension and real-time issues into this little mystery. From moments of sadness to moments of light humor, these characters lived lives outside the events that were doomed to overshadow the “security” of small town living.
There were times that phrases were spoken that felt too old for the characters, but I found myself enjoying the memories of hearing them from adults as I was growing up! I’m going to say, that those who enjoy an easy pace to their mystery without that overly dark and foreboding feel, Justice Perverted should be a great fit!
I received a review copy as part of the Dee Wilbur’s Justice Perverted Book Tour and Giveaway stopping at Tome Tender now until February 10, 2014.
February 7, 2014
Squee! I grew up in Richmond, Texas and still live nearby. This, of course, endeared this small town murder mystery to my heart, but the fun storyline sealed it. John is a lawyer in the town of Richmond, Texas, which is about 30 minutes outside of Houston with over a hundred years of staunch history. Everyone knows so and so, and so and so‘s family has owned the same business for 75 years.. Yeah, small town life. John marries Sandy and their wedding gift is two grisly murders. Diego, John’s buddy and partner who handles criminal law, seemed to have been framed for one murder. An old timer who caught some bad guys red handed is the next victim in a horrific car wreck (covered to be a drunken driving accident) while on his way to share some crucial information with John. With help from his two plucky and saucy office workers, witty wife, and goofy Diego, John is presented with clue after puzzling clue. John catches himself now bearing the load of more local corruption, greed, and cover ups than one small Texas town should have.
The writing duo that makes up Dee Wilber does an excellent job of character building. I felt like I could head out the door, drive about 15 minutes down the road, and meet with any one of ‘em at the local gas station. The twists and turns of the mystery plot is fun to navigate. Endearing personal stories are spread throughout the life of the mystery to give this excellent mystery book a home grown touch.
Note: I received a copy of this ebook in return for an honest review during a book tour.
The writing duo that makes up Dee Wilber does an excellent job of character building. I felt like I could head out the door, drive about 15 minutes down the road, and meet with any one of ‘em at the local gas station. The twists and turns of the mystery plot is fun to navigate. Endearing personal stories are spread throughout the life of the mystery to give this excellent mystery book a home grown touch.
Note: I received a copy of this ebook in return for an honest review during a book tour.
February 2, 2014
I was very excited to read this book. First, because it is a mystery and I love mystery but second because it took place in Texas. Richmond Texas to be exact. For those of you who don't know where that is, it's just south Houston on I-59. I've been on a kick lately, trying to read stories that take place inside Texas and in or near Houston.
Overall this book was an easy read. There wasn't anything complex about it and I like not having to think a lot when I'm just reading for relaxation.
One issue that I did have was I felt like the plot was fairly predictable and it seemed like sometimes the main characters dwelled on things that just were odd. Like when Sandy harped on everyone for maintaining their yearly physical. That just felt odd to me.
What I did like was that the plot seemed to flow at a very nice pace. Nothing was rushed and when the book was over I didn't have that urge to say, "Well that could have been longer." Everything about the pace of the book was good. And the plot points were very well written out. There wasn't anything lacking in the development of the story.
Jon and Sandy were cute. I liked how they interacted together and how he helped her through her father's death.
If you like an easy mystery that will give you a bit of the history of Richmond and Texas then this is the book for you.
Overall this book was an easy read. There wasn't anything complex about it and I like not having to think a lot when I'm just reading for relaxation.
One issue that I did have was I felt like the plot was fairly predictable and it seemed like sometimes the main characters dwelled on things that just were odd. Like when Sandy harped on everyone for maintaining their yearly physical. That just felt odd to me.
What I did like was that the plot seemed to flow at a very nice pace. Nothing was rushed and when the book was over I didn't have that urge to say, "Well that could have been longer." Everything about the pace of the book was good. And the plot points were very well written out. There wasn't anything lacking in the development of the story.
Jon and Sandy were cute. I liked how they interacted together and how he helped her through her father's death.
If you like an easy mystery that will give you a bit of the history of Richmond and Texas then this is the book for you.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews