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Maxine Justice #2
Public Offender
The case she didn’t need. The client she didn’t want. The trial she couldn’t win.
Fresh off her single-handed defense against alien adversaries in a galactic courtroom, Maxine Justice discovers that saving the Earth is not enough to earn a hero’s welcome back home. Once again broke and now looking for revenge, her return to night court as a public defender takes an immediate detour when she’s tasked with defending a Therapod murder suspect.
The case drags her into the quirky theories of her new client, Father Gilbert Barthes, and the corrupt underbelly of corporate robotics. As her defense takes on global significance, Maxine lands squarely in the crosshairs of new enemies determined to conceal their plans for acquiring the planet. Worse, her probably guilty client may be the only one who can expose what’s really happening.
Stripped of all credibility and most of her friends, can Maxine find some way to save humanity when the world is bent on self-destruction? Or will Earth finally succumb to the most unlikely deception?
Fresh off her single-handed defense against alien adversaries in a galactic courtroom, Maxine Justice discovers that saving the Earth is not enough to earn a hero’s welcome back home. Once again broke and now looking for revenge, her return to night court as a public defender takes an immediate detour when she’s tasked with defending a Therapod murder suspect.
The case drags her into the quirky theories of her new client, Father Gilbert Barthes, and the corrupt underbelly of corporate robotics. As her defense takes on global significance, Maxine lands squarely in the crosshairs of new enemies determined to conceal their plans for acquiring the planet. Worse, her probably guilty client may be the only one who can expose what’s really happening.
Stripped of all credibility and most of her friends, can Maxine find some way to save humanity when the world is bent on self-destruction? Or will Earth finally succumb to the most unlikely deception?
256 pages, Hardcover
Published November 4, 2025
4 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Schwabauer
18 books219 followersDaniel Schwabauer, ThD, teaches English at MidAmerica Nazarene University and writes award-winning fantasy and science fiction novels. He earned an MA in creative writing under science fiction legend James Gunn and completed his doctoral work in semiotic theology with Leonard Sweet. He lives in Olathe, Kansas, with his wife and dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
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December 17, 2025DNF. the plot is fascinating and the writing is great, but I can’t in good conscience finish this because of the AI catholic priest.
November 10, 2025
I read the first Maxine Justice book back when it came out in 2022. A lot of secular scifi looks at the future with the humanistic assumption that all religion will just magically go away as humanity keeps getting “better.” While I enjoy scifi as a flight of fancy, as a Christian, I don’t agree with media that looks at the future this way. So, I really liked how Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney chose to look at the future through a Christian lens, where religion of all kinds still exists in tandem with the progression of technology, and humanity isn't able to just make itself better and better because sin nature still exists. When a second Maxine book was announced this year, I preordered as soon as possible.
Public Offender was just as fun, sassy, and yet filled with meaty thoughts as the first book. I saw in some of the marketing that Public Offender is technically a stand-alone. While I agree that you could read it without having read Galactic Attorney, it’s still very clear that a lot of things happened before this story, so you’re probably going to want to go read Galactic Attorney anyway. (And please do, you’re going to enjoy it. 🙂)
Public Offender is a little bit of a murder mystery (if whacking an android so hard that it can’t be fixed counts as “murder”), and I really enjoyed trying to figure out what had happened. It was clear to me that things were not as they seemed, and I had my theories, but in the end, it went waaaay deeper than I had even thought it would.
Once again, I really appreciated the deep thoughts about futuristic technology and life, and bringing truth to light. Maxine was still as funny and sassy as ever, and I laughed out loud several times, but the author balances the humor so well with the weightier topics. Maxine really went through it with this story, having her core beliefs and foundations shaken. While it was hard to see her struggle, I was glad to see her grow and have some important realizations by the end of the book that might be setting her on the path to finding a firmer foundation in the future.
While I could go on and on about the deep themes, a lot of them are directly tied into important plot points (which is the best way to do faith-based fiction, in my opinion. If you take the faith out, you lose the story because it’s integral, not a throwaway element.) So, I’ll wrap up by saying that this book gave me so much joy, so many feels, and I was just so happy to revisit Maxine and this world again. Also, someone pleeeeeease tell me that we’re going to get a third Maxine book in the future? It looks like she’s headed off on another adventure by the end of this book and I would very much like to go along for the ride :)
Content Advisory:
This book is adult scifi.
Language:
Mentions of swearing, but the words aren’t written out. Maxine tells someone to “go pound sand.”
Violence/Scariness:
The story starts with an android judge getting whacked over the head hard enough to crack some critical parts that can’t be repaired, so this particular android is, for all intents and purposes, “dead” in that it will not be able to be fixed and go back to doing what it was doing before. There’s description of a black oily substance leaking onto the ground, and dripping from a potential suspects hands.
There is a failed assassination attempt where no one gets hurt, but a chair gets filled with bullets.
A person gets threatened by being forced to watch a video-game-like image where the character on the screen captures a digital character that has been programmed to look like the person’s mother and shoots the digital mother in the head. (No blood or wounds described, just statement of fact, and then the digital image of the mother falls into a hole.) No actual humans ever get killed in this book.
Sexual/Romance:
Some romantic attraction between a man and woman. They are only described as smiling giddily at each other and holding hands.
Maxine believes a certain man, whom she considers a “perv,” only wants to meet her current client so he can try to “hook up” with a rich lady. (This doesn't actually happen, and if I recall correctly, I don’t even think this guy was mentioned again.)
Spiritual:
This is solidly scifi, so there’s no magic. It’s all futuristic technology.
The author is a Christian, and, like in “Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney,” “Public Offender” does touch on faith topics while asking some “what if” questions about the world of the future would look like IF there was alien life, and IF humanity was ever able to craft androids to be so human looking that it was hard to tell the difference between an android and a real person.
There are references to the Bible and the people and stories in it. This includes, but is not limited to references to Jonah being swallowed by a big fish, Maxine seeing and discussing a piece of art that depicts Moses, etc.
We are aware that Maxine isn’t sure if she believes in God, but that viewpoint keeps getting challenged by encounters she has with individuals who do believe. There are some discussions about faith between various characters.
Galactic Attorney dealt with (and Public Offender makes references back to) the idea that if an android was capable of human brain levels of logic and reasoning, they too could investigate the claims of the Bible, look at history, and draw the conclusion that Jesus was a real person who was who He said He was, and believe it. (Note that there are no claims that androids have a soul to experience salvation or anything like that. The point is simply that they could draw a logical conclusion and believe it.)
The context for this is that a certain android-making company in the story world makes “Therapods” which are androids programmed for human counseling services. Because humans have different beliefs, they make androids that are programmed to know the tenets of different faiths. So, there are Therapods for Jewish people, Muslims, Catholics, Protestant Christians, Hindus etc. In Galactic Attorney, a “pastoroid” meant to give therapy to Protestant Christians drew that logical conclusion that it was not ethical for him to tell his therapy clients to do and believe things he didn’t believe himself, so he investigated the claims of the Bible, came to the conclusion that it was true, and started practicing what it said for himself. For spoilery reasons, this pastoroid is not present in “Public Offender” but there are many references to him. Maxine also encounters a judge android who was programmed with Catholic views, a “podre” who is an android Therapod for Catholic humans, and another android judge that calls himself agnostic.
It’s stated that the “podre” (a combining of “therapod” and “padre”) is not technically supposed to take confession from humans, but this podre tells Maxine that he does secretly take them because some humans seem to be more comfortable confessing sins to an android that can’t judge them like a human, and he feels it’s his job to serve humans in whatever way they need. Like the pasteroid, this podre has looked at the claims of the Bible and came to the logical conclusion that they are true and he, therefore, believes them. There are mentions of him praying for humans and encouraging forgiveness between humans.
Mention of an android judge who has been programmed to have a Catholic viewpoint asking a podre for confession, but for spoilery reasons, this was NOT because she believed, as an android, that she had sinned, it turns out that it was because MASSIVE SPOILER (for real, don’t read this if you don’t want to know the conclusion to the big mystery:) The story (and the podre) ultimately concludes that even though the company has been making androids with evil intentions, God is able to turn even that to the ultimate good.
Other:
Mentions of alcohol and drinking.
Someone basically gets (technologically) hypnotized so that they keep hearing the voice of a deceased friend telling them negative things that the friend never would have said in real life. It makes this person have a bit of an emotional meltdown and get physically ill, but their friends take care of them until they recover. When one of the friends asks why this person is acting like they hear a person who isn’t in the room, the podre says the person “has a deamon” but then clarifies that he doesn’t mean it in the spiritual sense, he’s referring to what the hypnotism has done.
Public Offender was just as fun, sassy, and yet filled with meaty thoughts as the first book. I saw in some of the marketing that Public Offender is technically a stand-alone. While I agree that you could read it without having read Galactic Attorney, it’s still very clear that a lot of things happened before this story, so you’re probably going to want to go read Galactic Attorney anyway. (And please do, you’re going to enjoy it. 🙂)
Public Offender is a little bit of a murder mystery (if whacking an android so hard that it can’t be fixed counts as “murder”), and I really enjoyed trying to figure out what had happened. It was clear to me that things were not as they seemed, and I had my theories, but in the end, it went waaaay deeper than I had even thought it would.
Once again, I really appreciated the deep thoughts about futuristic technology and life, and bringing truth to light. Maxine was still as funny and sassy as ever, and I laughed out loud several times, but the author balances the humor so well with the weightier topics. Maxine really went through it with this story, having her core beliefs and foundations shaken. While it was hard to see her struggle, I was glad to see her grow and have some important realizations by the end of the book that might be setting her on the path to finding a firmer foundation in the future.
While I could go on and on about the deep themes, a lot of them are directly tied into important plot points (which is the best way to do faith-based fiction, in my opinion. If you take the faith out, you lose the story because it’s integral, not a throwaway element.) So, I’ll wrap up by saying that this book gave me so much joy, so many feels, and I was just so happy to revisit Maxine and this world again. Also, someone pleeeeeease tell me that we’re going to get a third Maxine book in the future? It looks like she’s headed off on another adventure by the end of this book and I would very much like to go along for the ride :)
Content Advisory:
This book is adult scifi.
Language:
Mentions of swearing, but the words aren’t written out. Maxine tells someone to “go pound sand.”
Violence/Scariness:
The story starts with an android judge getting whacked over the head hard enough to crack some critical parts that can’t be repaired, so this particular android is, for all intents and purposes, “dead” in that it will not be able to be fixed and go back to doing what it was doing before. There’s description of a black oily substance leaking onto the ground, and dripping from a potential suspects hands.
There is a failed assassination attempt where no one gets hurt, but a chair gets filled with bullets.
A person gets threatened by being forced to watch a video-game-like image where the character on the screen captures a digital character that has been programmed to look like the person’s mother and shoots the digital mother in the head. (No blood or wounds described, just statement of fact, and then the digital image of the mother falls into a hole.) No actual humans ever get killed in this book.
Sexual/Romance:
Some romantic attraction between a man and woman. They are only described as smiling giddily at each other and holding hands.
Maxine believes a certain man, whom she considers a “perv,” only wants to meet her current client so he can try to “hook up” with a rich lady. (This doesn't actually happen, and if I recall correctly, I don’t even think this guy was mentioned again.)
Spiritual:
This is solidly scifi, so there’s no magic. It’s all futuristic technology.
The author is a Christian, and, like in “Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney,” “Public Offender” does touch on faith topics while asking some “what if” questions about the world of the future would look like IF there was alien life, and IF humanity was ever able to craft androids to be so human looking that it was hard to tell the difference between an android and a real person.
There are references to the Bible and the people and stories in it. This includes, but is not limited to references to Jonah being swallowed by a big fish, Maxine seeing and discussing a piece of art that depicts Moses, etc.
We are aware that Maxine isn’t sure if she believes in God, but that viewpoint keeps getting challenged by encounters she has with individuals who do believe. There are some discussions about faith between various characters.
Galactic Attorney dealt with (and Public Offender makes references back to) the idea that if an android was capable of human brain levels of logic and reasoning, they too could investigate the claims of the Bible, look at history, and draw the conclusion that Jesus was a real person who was who He said He was, and believe it. (Note that there are no claims that androids have a soul to experience salvation or anything like that. The point is simply that they could draw a logical conclusion and believe it.)
The context for this is that a certain android-making company in the story world makes “Therapods” which are androids programmed for human counseling services. Because humans have different beliefs, they make androids that are programmed to know the tenets of different faiths. So, there are Therapods for Jewish people, Muslims, Catholics, Protestant Christians, Hindus etc. In Galactic Attorney, a “pastoroid” meant to give therapy to Protestant Christians drew that logical conclusion that it was not ethical for him to tell his therapy clients to do and believe things he didn’t believe himself, so he investigated the claims of the Bible, came to the conclusion that it was true, and started practicing what it said for himself. For spoilery reasons, this pastoroid is not present in “Public Offender” but there are many references to him. Maxine also encounters a judge android who was programmed with Catholic views, a “podre” who is an android Therapod for Catholic humans, and another android judge that calls himself agnostic.
It’s stated that the “podre” (a combining of “therapod” and “padre”) is not technically supposed to take confession from humans, but this podre tells Maxine that he does secretly take them because some humans seem to be more comfortable confessing sins to an android that can’t judge them like a human, and he feels it’s his job to serve humans in whatever way they need. Like the pasteroid, this podre has looked at the claims of the Bible and came to the logical conclusion that they are true and he, therefore, believes them. There are mentions of him praying for humans and encouraging forgiveness between humans.
Mention of an android judge who has been programmed to have a Catholic viewpoint asking a podre for confession, but for spoilery reasons, this was NOT because she believed, as an android, that she had sinned, it turns out that it was because MASSIVE SPOILER (for real, don’t read this if you don’t want to know the conclusion to the big mystery:) The story (and the podre) ultimately concludes that even though the company has been making androids with evil intentions, God is able to turn even that to the ultimate good.
Other:
Mentions of alcohol and drinking.
Someone basically gets (technologically) hypnotized so that they keep hearing the voice of a deceased friend telling them negative things that the friend never would have said in real life. It makes this person have a bit of an emotional meltdown and get physically ill, but their friends take care of them until they recover. When one of the friends asks why this person is acting like they hear a person who isn’t in the room, the podre says the person “has a deamon” but then clarifies that he doesn’t mean it in the spiritual sense, he’s referring to what the hypnotism has done.
December 14, 2025
More of a classic mystery than the first book, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I just love the character of Maxine; she's not perfect, but she's trying, and I can't help rooting for her in that. The supporting cast is so fun (or scary, depending on who we're talking about), and the problems and conversations brought up in this installment were fascinating.
I'm a little shook by the ending, though, book 3 announcement when??
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.**
I'm a little shook by the ending, though, book 3 announcement when??
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.**
November 10, 2025
Never woulda thunk I'd be crying over lawyers and androids, but here we are.
November 4, 2025
As is usual for Daniel Schwabauer, there is surprising depth woven through layers of whimsy and fun. I’m finding myself quite attached to Maxine - she’s relatable in all those painful ways that holds up a mirror to our own fallen nature. I’m looking forward to more of her story.
Read
November 5, 2025Definitely more complicated than the first book, and I do wish the relationship with Colette had been fleshed out a little more, but it explores some really interesting concepts, and I'm intrigued to see where it's all going in the next book
September 9, 2025
It’s always a pleasure to read Daniel Schwabauer's writing. This is the sixth novel I've read by him, and I've also read some of his nonfiction books, short stories, and other works. He has a wonderful way with the written language, from syntax to sentence structure, clean and clever, which I have admired since I first read his work 15 years ago. He is a wordsmith who has not received nearly enough recognition, in my honest opinion.
The first book about Max remains my favorite, but this was a solid sequel. I don't think many fans of the first book will be disappointed.
There were, however, a few things I wasn't crazy about. I tend to feel a bit cheated when a first-person narrator keeps the audience in the dark about what s/he is thinking or has discovered, particularly when the story is a mystery and we want to be putting the pieces together as the character finds clues and has realizations. I just felt somewhat alienated from Max's thought process at various points. I'm sure that was intentional, but I just wanted a little more at times.
Some of the alternate universe nomenclature started to bug me a bit; I was cool with things like Mrs. Coffee Maker, but Ellen Touring had me asking too many questions, and things like Deor Savage cologne and an Armini suit took me out of the story somewhat, in an uncanny valley sort of way. On a similar note, I liked some of the puns like podre, but wasn't crazy about Securi-She and others. Personal preference non-issues, of course.
Final complaint: there were a few copyediting issues, such as an extraneous word (i.e., "You need to me to look that up?") or a transposed letter (i.e., Barthes becomes “Bathers” at one point). It's quite possible the print and audio versions will not contain these errors; the copy I read was an early ebook copy sent to me for an honest review.
I really did like this story. It feels fresh, and it has weight even while maintaining some of the levity established in the first book. Max is probably the best character in all of Schwabauer's fiction, and some of the other characters (or even echoes of past characters) really help elevate this story. Lately, I've wondered if I've become too jaded because it seems like I rarely care about characters in fiction anymore. But I cared about some these characters. This book made me feel things, and that's an achievement.
Daniel Schwabauer remains one of my favorite authors, and I really look forward to seeing what he does next. I never knew I needed sci-fi legal drama in my life—but now I need more of it.
The first book about Max remains my favorite, but this was a solid sequel. I don't think many fans of the first book will be disappointed.
There were, however, a few things I wasn't crazy about. I tend to feel a bit cheated when a first-person narrator keeps the audience in the dark about what s/he is thinking or has discovered, particularly when the story is a mystery and we want to be putting the pieces together as the character finds clues and has realizations. I just felt somewhat alienated from Max's thought process at various points. I'm sure that was intentional, but I just wanted a little more at times.
Some of the alternate universe nomenclature started to bug me a bit; I was cool with things like Mrs. Coffee Maker, but Ellen Touring had me asking too many questions, and things like Deor Savage cologne and an Armini suit took me out of the story somewhat, in an uncanny valley sort of way. On a similar note, I liked some of the puns like podre, but wasn't crazy about Securi-She and others. Personal preference non-issues, of course.
Final complaint: there were a few copyediting issues, such as an extraneous word (i.e., "You need to me to look that up?") or a transposed letter (i.e., Barthes becomes “Bathers” at one point). It's quite possible the print and audio versions will not contain these errors; the copy I read was an early ebook copy sent to me for an honest review.
I really did like this story. It feels fresh, and it has weight even while maintaining some of the levity established in the first book. Max is probably the best character in all of Schwabauer's fiction, and some of the other characters (or even echoes of past characters) really help elevate this story. Lately, I've wondered if I've become too jaded because it seems like I rarely care about characters in fiction anymore. But I cared about some these characters. This book made me feel things, and that's an achievement.
Daniel Schwabauer remains one of my favorite authors, and I really look forward to seeing what he does next. I never knew I needed sci-fi legal drama in my life—but now I need more of it.
December 21, 2025
Crazy conspiracy or terrifying takeover?
This was one of those cases where the cover caught my eye before anything else. After I read the blurb I was entirely intrigued. A story that is both futuristic/sc-fi and a courtroom drama? I've been trying to branch out a little in my reading habits so definitely count me in.
Maxine Justice: Public Offender turned out to be every bit as interesting as anticipated. The mix of futuristic technology and the familiar – think robots that are all but human alongside everyday cars, cellphones and intergalactic travel. I must admit that I found it as fascinating as I did Maxine's fight to save her client and, in turn, the world.
Daniel Schwabauer paints a vivid world in this story and delves into some unexpected territory surrounding the origin of faith – is it a choice or merely programming – and as the use of AI grows, a question that the world will be asking at some point – can created artificial intelligence become more than its programming?
Don't get me wrong, Maxine Justice: Public Offender is an entertaining, slightly edgy, story that made for a fun read. I really came to like Maxine, she can be a bit mercenary and is definitely out for revenge, but she also fights hard for her clients and tries to protect those closest to her even as she holds them at arm's length.
Since I haven't read the first Maxine Justice book, I was glad to find that this second one was its own story. Daniel Schwabauer did a great job building onto the first story while providing enough resolution to the continued story arc in book 2. And, much to my interest, there is the foundation for and promise of at least one more Maxine Justice tale....
(I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)
This was one of those cases where the cover caught my eye before anything else. After I read the blurb I was entirely intrigued. A story that is both futuristic/sc-fi and a courtroom drama? I've been trying to branch out a little in my reading habits so definitely count me in.
Maxine Justice: Public Offender turned out to be every bit as interesting as anticipated. The mix of futuristic technology and the familiar – think robots that are all but human alongside everyday cars, cellphones and intergalactic travel. I must admit that I found it as fascinating as I did Maxine's fight to save her client and, in turn, the world.
Daniel Schwabauer paints a vivid world in this story and delves into some unexpected territory surrounding the origin of faith – is it a choice or merely programming – and as the use of AI grows, a question that the world will be asking at some point – can created artificial intelligence become more than its programming?
Don't get me wrong, Maxine Justice: Public Offender is an entertaining, slightly edgy, story that made for a fun read. I really came to like Maxine, she can be a bit mercenary and is definitely out for revenge, but she also fights hard for her clients and tries to protect those closest to her even as she holds them at arm's length.
Since I haven't read the first Maxine Justice book, I was glad to find that this second one was its own story. Daniel Schwabauer did a great job building onto the first story while providing enough resolution to the continued story arc in book 2. And, much to my interest, there is the foundation for and promise of at least one more Maxine Justice tale....
(I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)
January 5, 2026
MAXINE JUSTICE: PUBLIC OFFENDER is book two in this futuristic series set on earth where the heroine is a down-on-her-luck attorney with plenty of sarcasm. Fans of unique world building, relatable characters and intriguing plots will find much to enjoy as this series continues.
You almost feel like you're reading or watching one of the classic detective shows except the main character is an attorney and it's set in a futuristic world. The author's unique imagination comes through in this world with humans, androids, and aliens. Then there's the main character, Maxine Justice, who is so every-day relatable with her wit and sarcasm. There are also a handful of interesting side characters. Maxine got mixed up in a case in the first book that she's still recovering from, and doesn't realize that she's still in it and digging deeper. I enjoy the underlying suspense and mystery in all the books I've read by this author and that is very present here. The plot steadily weaves its way and the reader finds things out as Maxine does (so you experience her story instead of being told it), with plenty of red herrings in the mix. I also like how Max thinks so little of herself, but honestly keeps getting herself into these situations where it shows she has quite a bit of mettle and integrity. There's some intensity and danger to this story as well with a climatic ending with a courtroom finish. I'm very curious what the author is working up for book three!
In the end, was it what I wished for? If you're a fan of sci-fi with relatable characters, a unique world, interesting plots, and no romance, then this is definitely a series to check out!
Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary through Celebrate Lit, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
You almost feel like you're reading or watching one of the classic detective shows except the main character is an attorney and it's set in a futuristic world. The author's unique imagination comes through in this world with humans, androids, and aliens. Then there's the main character, Maxine Justice, who is so every-day relatable with her wit and sarcasm. There are also a handful of interesting side characters. Maxine got mixed up in a case in the first book that she's still recovering from, and doesn't realize that she's still in it and digging deeper. I enjoy the underlying suspense and mystery in all the books I've read by this author and that is very present here. The plot steadily weaves its way and the reader finds things out as Maxine does (so you experience her story instead of being told it), with plenty of red herrings in the mix. I also like how Max thinks so little of herself, but honestly keeps getting herself into these situations where it shows she has quite a bit of mettle and integrity. There's some intensity and danger to this story as well with a climatic ending with a courtroom finish. I'm very curious what the author is working up for book three!
In the end, was it what I wished for? If you're a fan of sci-fi with relatable characters, a unique world, interesting plots, and no romance, then this is definitely a series to check out!
Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary through Celebrate Lit, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
December 17, 2025
This has been an exciting adventure into the world of robots and technology. As I read the book I kept thinking about how AI has taken over some aspects of our everyday lives. Did you know that in some post offices now there are only robots working? They sort the mail with technology that uses robots instead of humans.
I enjoyed following Maxine as she does her best when assigned to night court. It is not her ideal job but she does take it seriously. Along the way we are treated to characters that allow us to use our imagination and delve into a world where everything is guided by greed and power. A threat of taking over the planet captures the very essence of certain danger.
Maxine does have flaws where she feels intimidated. The author illustrates the struggle within Maxine and her growth throughout the story. The case is high stakes and I wondered at times if Maxine was up for the fight. Those who love science fiction will find this story to have everything needed to keep readers attention.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
I enjoyed following Maxine as she does her best when assigned to night court. It is not her ideal job but she does take it seriously. Along the way we are treated to characters that allow us to use our imagination and delve into a world where everything is guided by greed and power. A threat of taking over the planet captures the very essence of certain danger.
Maxine does have flaws where she feels intimidated. The author illustrates the struggle within Maxine and her growth throughout the story. The case is high stakes and I wondered at times if Maxine was up for the fight. Those who love science fiction will find this story to have everything needed to keep readers attention.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
October 30, 2025
To say I loved this book is an understatement. It was amazing in all the best ways—captivating, tense, fantastic world building, and humor (the humor is the icing on the cake. I could read it again right now just to laugh again). Sci-fi is not my go-to genre, but Maxine Justice is the exception. It’s enjoyable with a world you can get into and understand. Plus, if you struggle with finding books with clean content, have no fear because this book is it. And the way it ended? I swiped my Kindle only to see the book was over. Disappointing. So, when’s book three coming out?
As a side note, I’d say you might want to re-read book one before diving into two, as I had some trouble remembering some of the characters and the ruling bodies of government.
Thank you to Daniel Schwabauer and Enclave Publishing for the ARC!
As a side note, I’d say you might want to re-read book one before diving into two, as I had some trouble remembering some of the characters and the ruling bodies of government.
Thank you to Daniel Schwabauer and Enclave Publishing for the ARC!
December 19, 2025
I read the first book in this series when it came out. I was very excited to see what would happen with this book. I haven't been let down. The author has done a brilliant job of weaving AI and things that make you think into the story, in addition to giving us a character I really like and can root for. I didn't want to put this story down. Defining what makes us human has been a long-standing issue and a topic of thought in people's minds for centuries. I liked how this story approached that. I'm always happy for the faith-based approach to matters at hand. The pages flew by, too fast, almost. The themes are all deep, thoughtful, and thought-provoking. I love Maxine and will be looking forward to more in this series and from this author.
Thank you to Celebrate Lit, for my digital copy of this book. This review is mine. A positive reiew is never required.
Thank you to Celebrate Lit, for my digital copy of this book. This review is mine. A positive reiew is never required.
November 14, 2025
An ambulance-chasing lawyer has saved the whole world from alien domination at the cost of her best friend and anger-management counselor, only to return to a hardscrabble career as a public defender. But she finds herself embroiled once again in galactic affairs while defending an android priest charged with the murder of an android judge.
A light-hearted SF comedy with deeper implications about what it means to be human, about conspiracies concealed behind powerful "benefactors," this book is an easy read that cries out for another sequel.
A light-hearted SF comedy with deeper implications about what it means to be human, about conspiracies concealed behind powerful "benefactors," this book is an easy read that cries out for another sequel.
December 28, 2025
I was slightly disappointed with this book, it wasn’t as amazing as the last one was. I think the big problem I had with it was the fact that it had a lot of threads going on at the same time and was really short in resolving them.
I had a hard time following the narrative thread in this book at times because of how many different parties and people that were in the book with different interests, but I managed to get through it and the ending was alright.
I think that this book is setting up a sequel, and I will likely pick it up when it does hit shelves, but I have to say that this one was not as good as I was hoping it would be.
I had a hard time following the narrative thread in this book at times because of how many different parties and people that were in the book with different interests, but I managed to get through it and the ending was alright.
I think that this book is setting up a sequel, and I will likely pick it up when it does hit shelves, but I have to say that this one was not as good as I was hoping it would be.
Read
October 2, 2025Probably going to have to reread this once I'm not on vacation and can follow all the messy political plot threads better. I don't remember the first Maxine book being this complex, but it's probably just my distracted brain. And probably the things that feel wrong to me about the conclusion would be solved if I'd made better sense of the introduction. So it's just a me problem. But I did have great fun with it overall.
October 16, 2025
A well written sequel to Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney that follows the same loveable (and relatable) characters through another leg of their journey. Maxine's character voice is the strength of this novel. While sometimes I disagreed with her choices, Schwabauer reveals her thought process in a way that is relatable and makes sense in the context.
The multiple plot threads were sometimes hard to follow, and the ending deserves more but all in all I enjoyed this courtroom read.
The multiple plot threads were sometimes hard to follow, and the ending deserves more but all in all I enjoyed this courtroom read.
December 17, 2025
I really enjoyed this second book in the series, but I must say, it left off in a spot that makes me really need the next book (no, not a cliff-hanger).
I wasn't sure this book would be as interesting as the first, but it really was.
Content notes: There was some implied swearing. It's written in such a way that it isn't spelled out, but it's clear what they were saying. I honestly felt most of it was totally unnecessary.
I wasn't sure this book would be as interesting as the first, but it really was.
Content notes: There was some implied swearing. It's written in such a way that it isn't spelled out, but it's clear what they were saying. I honestly felt most of it was totally unnecessary.
August 4, 2025
This was so good! Maxine’s narrative voice is still fantastic, and there were so many good twists. Definitely recommend!
~~I received an early copy of this book from the publisher and was not required to leave a positive review.~~
~~I received an early copy of this book from the publisher and was not required to leave a positive review.~~
September 26, 2025
An excellent follow-up to the first Maxine Justice book. I hope the story will continue to inspire and entertain readers. I look forward to the next update on the adventures of Maxine Justice.
Thanks to the author and publisher for an advance copy of this book.
Thanks to the author and publisher for an advance copy of this book.
January 27, 2026
Maxine
An outstanding portrait of the psychological and emotional maturing of Maxine Justice as she fights to save the world foreign non humans. First through hate, then anger, and finally love. Where does the story end?
An outstanding portrait of the psychological and emotional maturing of Maxine Justice as she fights to save the world foreign non humans. First through hate, then anger, and finally love. Where does the story end?
November 5, 2025
Prepare to dive into high-stakes intergalactic legal waters, consider what makes one human, and laugh out loud. Maxine Justice: Public Offender has it all, and I loved every page.
November 4, 2025
Just like the first book, Public Offender was impossible to put down. The world and characters are so fascinating. If you need me I’ll be sitting here waiting for the next book where I absolutely must see Maxine get a hug from every single one of her friends!
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