When Darkness Reigns

by Philip Remington Dunn

Tony Estrada somehow managed to avoid the bloody gang culture of his neighborhood. Never arrested, at eighteen he enlisted in the Army on a three-year stint. Honorably discharged, he came home. He hadn't been there a month before his arrest, the night that changed his life forever. A veteran turned prisoner-serving life; Estrada was convicted of murder and plunged into the dark world of the Mexican Mafia, serving time in the meanest prison in California. With no one to trust, Tony was sustained by his faith and a deep, abiding sense of his own innocence. Desperate, Estrada caught the attention of a renegade legal team daring enough to risk themselves in a heroic fight for justice. This is a story of honor defeating corruption, of redemption conquering despair, and truth overwhelming deceit.

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 28, 2016

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an odd little self-published book. The premise is riveting--an innocent young man, fresh out of the service, sentenced to life in prison for a murder his gang banger cousin committed. The move to get him exonerated and the battle they go through to accomplish that. But the writing is disappointing and difficult to get through. I have no idea how it got such high ratings on Amazon and Goodreads. I probably couldn't recommend it.

[Pamela Mikita · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a book club choice, which confuses me because as a rule we do not read self published books. I was not a fan at all. I feel a lengthy Los Angels Times article was a more reliable source for this case and the details of the wrongs by the justice system. I felt the author was not an unbiased narrator of the story, and some choices he made in the book made me feel like my perspective was being manipulated.

[Ashley Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartbreak for how evil our society is but also beautiful for the good that you can still find despite what feels like all odds

[Nelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When Darkness Reigns" is the true story of a gang murder in Oxnard, California, for which an innocent man is tried and convicted of the crime. The author is the trial lawyer who fought his way to clearing this conviction. The book also details the hold that gangs have on a community; innocent young men are often compelled to be members, just to have protection as they walk the streets of the town in which they were born. Darkness reigns in far too many communities in this country.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose to read this because it deals with events that transpired in a neighboring community. It sat on my shelf for quite some time, but I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it. It's a riveting and well written true story about a quest for justice. One would think justice would be paramount in the minds of all involved in our judicial system, but unfortunately, they'd be wrong. I believe this story would make a good film or TV series. It's certainly eye-opening.

[Tammi Eaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking!

This story really touched me. It was well written, and pulled me into this poor man's situation. I found myself going through a whirlwind of emotions. Empathy, disbelief, astonishment, and if course anger. I normally don't read non fiction, but I'm so glad I read this!!

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

For this Independent nonfiction book report I chose to read When Darkness Reigns by Philip Remington. This book is about a veteran named Tony who gets wrongfully accused of gang related murder. He is put into prison and begins serving time but as time goes on the case is further investigated and a legal justice team decides to risk it all defending him in trial. The trial is dragged on for months but Tony and the Renegade justice team prove him innocent. Tony goes on to live a successful life receiving a college degree then raising a family of 5 while starting his own business. The major theme of this book would be justice because 90% of the dialog is centered around the fact that Tony is innocent and deserves to be freed. What I didn't like about the book was how non action packed it was. Going into reading this I was expecting more action but it's basically all a calm legal approach at getting Tony out of prison after the first few chapters. Someone who may enjoy this book would be someone who likes a good court justice story or people who like the popular law TV shows like NCIS that have a lot to do with investigations. One big thing that I did like about this book was the dramatic irony it presented by having the reader and Tony being the only ones who knows he is truly innocent. This dramatic irony makes you develop feelings against the characters that treat Tony poorly in prison and it makes the read much more interesting. This book should probably not be made into a movie just because the lack of action would make this movie a boring one to watch. Also I wouldn't recommend this book being taught in school unless it's a law class because it's very violent in the beginning and can't really connect to any of the curriculum being taught in normal core classes. Overall this book was no doubt interesting but not one id recommend to anyone looking for an action filled prison story like I thought it would be.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Darkness Reigns

Excellent factual description of a miscarriage of justice and the massive effort to correct this great wrong. Christian orientated though.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Offers insight into all the participants in the book from the accused to the attorneys. Great read, informative and engaging.