SHADY JUSTICE

by Rena Koontz

TV Crime Reporter Rylee Lapiz is determined to discover who murdered her best friend’s mother. When her confidential informant is also brutally killed, panic hits her like a tsunami wave. Will she be the killer’s next target?

It’s a horrifying fact that the two homicides are linked, and she knew both victims. What connects the socialite with the drug addict? Reporting these stories is no longer merely an assignment, it’s a personal quest to avenge their deaths. But uncovering the truth is dangerous. Dread drowns her in denial as she delves deeper into the crimes. She’s terrified that she might personally know a murderer.

Her dogged investigation uncovers critical evidence the police overlooked. But instead of listening, she’s astonished and frustrated when detectives begin to suspect her. Is there anyone she can trust?

Buy Shady Justice and follow Rylee Lapiz as she navigates a treacherous landscape of deceit and betrayal in search of the facts. Every reveal could be her last. Can she report the truth before becoming the next victim?

282 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 28, 2024

About the author

I am a native of Pittsburgh, PA., and a graduate of Peabody High School and the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor's degree in English. I try to work Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh connections into my stories. I'm an avid sports fan so my characters often wear black and gold or reference the city's sports teams -- The Pittsburgh Penguins, The Pittsburgh Steelers, The Pittsburgh Pirates.
I've been a newspaper reporter all my life, from the time I graduated college and worked part-time for a now-defunct weekly, until my departure from one of the country's top twenty newspapers in Cleveland, OH.
I worked and lived in Pittsburgh until 1998 - spending more than a decade with a small daily newspaper, The Beaver County Times, before joining the city's major daily, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I was a reporter for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette when my husband and I relocated to Cleveland, OH., where I worked first as an editor for The Medina (OH.)Gazette, then joined The Cleveland Plain Dealer as a general assignment reporter.
My writing career has taken me into the sports arena, politics, feature writing, editorial writing, and, my favorite, cops and courts. I've chased fire trucks and police cars, covered all sorts of crimes, including murders, and reported criminal, civil, high profile and ordinary trials. Many of the ideas for my books come from real cases that I am familiar with.
Plus, I'm married to a retired FBI agent whose career fuels my ideas and whose technical advice is invaluable.
We make our home in Florida and haven't missed the snow yet.

Reviews

[Kerryn Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read Ms. Koontz’s “Loving Gia to Death” and enjoyed it so much I bought "Shady Justice," her latest, as a follow-up. I like it even better! Rylee, the crime-reporter heroine, is a rare breed in journalism these days: she cares more about truth than sensationalism. When a murder hits too close to home, her own investigation crisscrosses the detectives in charge of the case, and we get to follow both sides and appreciate the conflicts that arise. A complex tale well and suspensefully told, with excellent characterizations all around. I hope to see Rylee and the detectives again soon!

[Jamie Arnall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the authors writing style. I assumed more twists in the plot and was certain an officer was a double crosser, but didn’t happen… so it was more straightforward and less of a mystery than I imagined it would be. Still a good read.

[Leslie Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

These characters are so real I feel like they could have jumped off the pages and said hello! Great story with unknowns right up to the end. I couldn't put it down!

[Maureen Couch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.

First book of Rena Joints I have read and I enjoyed it so much I will definitely be reading another.