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Perversion of Justice
Dauntless journalist Julie K. Brown recounts her uncompromising and risky investigation of Jeffrey Epstein's underage sex trafficking operation, and the explosive reporting for the Miami Herald that finally brought him to justice while exposing the powerful people and broken system that protected him.
For many years, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's penchant for teenage girls was an open secret in the high society of Palm Beach, Florida and Upper East Side, Manhattan. Charged in 2008 with soliciting prostitution from minors, Epstein was treated with unheard of leniency, dictating the terms of his non-prosecution. The media virtually ignored the failures of the criminal justice system, and Epstein's friends and business partners brushed the allegations aside. But when in 2017 the U.S Attorney who approved Epstein's plea deal, Alexander Acosta, was chosen by President Trump as Labor Secretary, reporter Julie K. Brown was compelled to ask questions.
Despite her editor's scepticism that she could add a new dimension to a known story, Brown determined that her goal would be to track down the victims themselves. Pouring over thousands of redacted court documents, travelling across the country and chasing down information in difficulty and sometimes dangerous circumstances, Brown tracked down dozens of Epstein's victims, now young women struggling to reclaim their lives after the trauma and shame they had endured.
Brown's resulting three-part series in the Miami Herald was one of the most explosive news stories of the decade, revealing how Epstein ran a global sex trafficking pyramid scheme with impunity for years, targeting vulnerable teens, often from fractured homes and then turning them into recruiters. The outrage led to Epstein's arrest, the disappearance and eventual arrest of his closest accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and the resignation of Acosta.
Tracking Epstein’s evolution from a college dropout to one of the most successful financiers in the country—whose associates included Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, and Bill Clinton—Perversion of Justice builds on Brown's original award-winning series, showing the power of truth, the value of local reportage and the tenacity of one woman in the face of the deep-seated corruption of powerful men.
For many years, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's penchant for teenage girls was an open secret in the high society of Palm Beach, Florida and Upper East Side, Manhattan. Charged in 2008 with soliciting prostitution from minors, Epstein was treated with unheard of leniency, dictating the terms of his non-prosecution. The media virtually ignored the failures of the criminal justice system, and Epstein's friends and business partners brushed the allegations aside. But when in 2017 the U.S Attorney who approved Epstein's plea deal, Alexander Acosta, was chosen by President Trump as Labor Secretary, reporter Julie K. Brown was compelled to ask questions.
Despite her editor's scepticism that she could add a new dimension to a known story, Brown determined that her goal would be to track down the victims themselves. Pouring over thousands of redacted court documents, travelling across the country and chasing down information in difficulty and sometimes dangerous circumstances, Brown tracked down dozens of Epstein's victims, now young women struggling to reclaim their lives after the trauma and shame they had endured.
Brown's resulting three-part series in the Miami Herald was one of the most explosive news stories of the decade, revealing how Epstein ran a global sex trafficking pyramid scheme with impunity for years, targeting vulnerable teens, often from fractured homes and then turning them into recruiters. The outrage led to Epstein's arrest, the disappearance and eventual arrest of his closest accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and the resignation of Acosta.
Tracking Epstein’s evolution from a college dropout to one of the most successful financiers in the country—whose associates included Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, and Bill Clinton—Perversion of Justice builds on Brown's original award-winning series, showing the power of truth, the value of local reportage and the tenacity of one woman in the face of the deep-seated corruption of powerful men.
464 pages, Paperback
First published July 20, 2021
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February 11, 2022
Brown tells three stories. The first is about Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of underage girls and sex trafficking; the second is about Epstein’s undermining the criminal justice system using money, connections, and intimidation to secure the complicity of prosecutors and silence victims; and the third is about Brown’s trials and tribulations as an investigative reporter working on those stories. The book is written like a memoir as her personal story fills many of the pages. Many of the details describe the immense amount of work and dedication it took for her to penetrate the maze of the criminal justice system to find out how Epstein was able to manipulate it. She also discusses the toll the work took on her personal life making her own story a significant part of the book.
As for Epstein, the book confirms what is common knowledge, that he was a sexual predator, but the scope and scale of his crimes still amazes. Brown makes her case relying heavily on her interviews with victims, girls who were as young as fourteen when they were raped by Epstein and his friends. She clearly implicates Alan Dershowitz, Prince Andrew and Trump among others as participants in Epstein’s sexual abuse. Then there were his assistants and procurers, most significantly Ghislaine Maxwell, who apparently was actually in love with Epstein.
The most revealing part of the book, as the title states, is how Epstein was able to get away with his crimes by manipulating law enforcement with favors and threats. His “charitable” contributions to pet projects and organizations of local officials and the police kept them looking the other way. He also used money and favors to keep victims quiet. When that didn’t work Epstein hired lawyers and private investigators to make life hell for them or anyone who threatened his depraved lifestyle. Brown focuses on the 2008 plea deal under which Epstein served a year in jail for procuring a child for prostitution. He was jailed in the county jail in Palm Beach under supervision of the sheriff who had a good relationship with Epstein. Epstein was able to get work release which meant he could spend the day at his office. Police sat outside, for whom Epstein hired a caterer to make sure they were well fed, while Epstein still brought in young girls for sex while serving his sentence.
Federal prosecutors led by Florida U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta negotiated the plea deal with Dershowitz and other Epstein lawyers. It gave Epstein immunity from federal charges in return for Epstein pleading guilty to two state charges for which he received the year in a jail run by his buddy the county sheriff whose deputies monitored Epstein’s liberal work release. The deal stopped an ongoing FBI investigation which had already identified over thirty victims of Epstein’s while Epstein’s conviction was based on only one. Brown questions whether the highly favorable deal for Epstein was to protect prominent figures and how much intimidation and inducements to prosecutors secured the deal. The deal was kept secret from the victims, many of whom filed civil suit later pointing out that their rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act had been violated. Brown followed up with many of the victims and released her reporting and documentary in 2018. It created a firestorm of controversy that led to the resignation of Acosta who had been appointed by Trump as Secretary of Labor and to the reopening of the case in 2019 by New York U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman.
The remaining mystery is Epstein’s “suicide”. After Berman charged Epstein with sex trafficking, he was held in the Manhattan Correctional Center run by the Feds. He was found dead in his cell. Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide but many disagreed and there were very suspicious circumstances. Guards had fallen asleep, surveillance cameras didn’t work, the guards falsified records, his cell mate was removed and not replaced, his body was moved before pictures were taken, and outside forensic doctors said broken bones in his neck indicated strangulation, just to name a few. Epstein’s lawyers had just met with him and said he was upbeat as they felt they could beat the charges. Brown clearly doubts this was a suicide. Epstein took a lot of secrets with him and many prominent people benefited from that.
There were two takeaways for me from this book. First is the credit we owe investigative journalists. Without Brown’s reporting, Epstein would likely still be trafficking in young girls. It takes a tough, determined person willing to work long hours for little pay to do what Brown did. She was named one of Time magazines 100 most influential people in 2020. She deserves all the kudos she has earned. Second, the criminal justice system is inherently corruptible. It is too easy for a person with money and connections to not only hire the most powerful and well-connected lawyers, but to hire private detectives to harass and dig up dirt on accusers, prosecutors, reporters, anyone in their way, and to pull strings to offer inducements to prosecutors who play ball. How can a poor abused teenager get justice against a billionaire like Epstein who stopped at nothing? It can only happen when people like Brown completely dedicate themselves to the fight and are fortunate enough to be successful. I can’t think of a better illustration of the importance of a free press.
As for Epstein, the book confirms what is common knowledge, that he was a sexual predator, but the scope and scale of his crimes still amazes. Brown makes her case relying heavily on her interviews with victims, girls who were as young as fourteen when they were raped by Epstein and his friends. She clearly implicates Alan Dershowitz, Prince Andrew and Trump among others as participants in Epstein’s sexual abuse. Then there were his assistants and procurers, most significantly Ghislaine Maxwell, who apparently was actually in love with Epstein.
The most revealing part of the book, as the title states, is how Epstein was able to get away with his crimes by manipulating law enforcement with favors and threats. His “charitable” contributions to pet projects and organizations of local officials and the police kept them looking the other way. He also used money and favors to keep victims quiet. When that didn’t work Epstein hired lawyers and private investigators to make life hell for them or anyone who threatened his depraved lifestyle. Brown focuses on the 2008 plea deal under which Epstein served a year in jail for procuring a child for prostitution. He was jailed in the county jail in Palm Beach under supervision of the sheriff who had a good relationship with Epstein. Epstein was able to get work release which meant he could spend the day at his office. Police sat outside, for whom Epstein hired a caterer to make sure they were well fed, while Epstein still brought in young girls for sex while serving his sentence.
Federal prosecutors led by Florida U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta negotiated the plea deal with Dershowitz and other Epstein lawyers. It gave Epstein immunity from federal charges in return for Epstein pleading guilty to two state charges for which he received the year in a jail run by his buddy the county sheriff whose deputies monitored Epstein’s liberal work release. The deal stopped an ongoing FBI investigation which had already identified over thirty victims of Epstein’s while Epstein’s conviction was based on only one. Brown questions whether the highly favorable deal for Epstein was to protect prominent figures and how much intimidation and inducements to prosecutors secured the deal. The deal was kept secret from the victims, many of whom filed civil suit later pointing out that their rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act had been violated. Brown followed up with many of the victims and released her reporting and documentary in 2018. It created a firestorm of controversy that led to the resignation of Acosta who had been appointed by Trump as Secretary of Labor and to the reopening of the case in 2019 by New York U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman.
The remaining mystery is Epstein’s “suicide”. After Berman charged Epstein with sex trafficking, he was held in the Manhattan Correctional Center run by the Feds. He was found dead in his cell. Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide but many disagreed and there were very suspicious circumstances. Guards had fallen asleep, surveillance cameras didn’t work, the guards falsified records, his cell mate was removed and not replaced, his body was moved before pictures were taken, and outside forensic doctors said broken bones in his neck indicated strangulation, just to name a few. Epstein’s lawyers had just met with him and said he was upbeat as they felt they could beat the charges. Brown clearly doubts this was a suicide. Epstein took a lot of secrets with him and many prominent people benefited from that.
There were two takeaways for me from this book. First is the credit we owe investigative journalists. Without Brown’s reporting, Epstein would likely still be trafficking in young girls. It takes a tough, determined person willing to work long hours for little pay to do what Brown did. She was named one of Time magazines 100 most influential people in 2020. She deserves all the kudos she has earned. Second, the criminal justice system is inherently corruptible. It is too easy for a person with money and connections to not only hire the most powerful and well-connected lawyers, but to hire private detectives to harass and dig up dirt on accusers, prosecutors, reporters, anyone in their way, and to pull strings to offer inducements to prosecutors who play ball. How can a poor abused teenager get justice against a billionaire like Epstein who stopped at nothing? It can only happen when people like Brown completely dedicate themselves to the fight and are fortunate enough to be successful. I can’t think of a better illustration of the importance of a free press.
July 23, 2021
4.5 stars 🌟
Everyone buy a subscription to a newspaper, even if you don’t read the paper, to support journalists like Julie K. Brown.
This book is a powerful example of the critical importance of the press as parts of “checks and balances”.
My heart breaks for all his victims.
Also, f—ing Florida. If Chicago was corrupt in the 1920s, Florida holds that claim from 1990-now (possibly sooner). The level of corruption is Horrifying!
Epstein was amigos with both Trump and Clinton, UK royalty, among others (rumors include Bill Gates) and institutions like MIT & Harvard. I was shocked to learn Steven Pinker was on his defense team…
If nothing else, this book reiterates that silence is complicity.
Everyone buy a subscription to a newspaper, even if you don’t read the paper, to support journalists like Julie K. Brown.
This book is a powerful example of the critical importance of the press as parts of “checks and balances”.
My heart breaks for all his victims.
Also, f—ing Florida. If Chicago was corrupt in the 1920s, Florida holds that claim from 1990-now (possibly sooner). The level of corruption is Horrifying!
Epstein was amigos with both Trump and Clinton, UK royalty, among others (rumors include Bill Gates) and institutions like MIT & Harvard. I was shocked to learn Steven Pinker was on his defense team…
If nothing else, this book reiterates that silence is complicity.
August 8, 2025
The fact that a normie like me read an entire book about Jeffrey Epstein shows just how badly Trump has f-ed up.
For the record, I never paid any attention to the Epstein case until this past month, which is when Trump's cover-up became blatantly obvious. His behavior has been so guilty that it certainly seems as if he's implicated in the Epstein files, and now I've become one of those people questioning the mysterious circumstances of Epstein's death. Usually I'm an Occam's Razor gal and I had previously trusted the report claiming Epstein committed suicide. But after hearing an interview with Julie K. Brown and then reading her book, I'm not at all convinced Epstein committed suicide.
Julie is the intrepid reporter for the Miami Herald who spent months working on the case, building trust with the victims and original detectives, digging into why Epstein got such a sweet plea deal back in 2008. To be clear, reading this book was infuriating for several reasons. Hearing the victims tell their stories of sexual assault by Epstein and his conspirators was disgusting and enraging, and then to see so many so-called professionals fail the victims over and over and over again made me want to scream.
But it was satisfying knowing that Julie's reporting in 2018 brought new attention to the case, which led to Epstein's arrest in July 2019. I commend Julie and her colleagues at the Miami Herald for being so dedicated to getting some justice for Epstein's victims, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the case.
Meaningful Quote
"What society wants is a victim who is a sweet, adorable, innocent angel that God sent from heaven—and an offender who is this evil horrible sexual predator, a 'dirty old man in a wrinkled raincoat,' that's what we prefer, but that's not reality."
For the record, I never paid any attention to the Epstein case until this past month, which is when Trump's cover-up became blatantly obvious. His behavior has been so guilty that it certainly seems as if he's implicated in the Epstein files, and now I've become one of those people questioning the mysterious circumstances of Epstein's death. Usually I'm an Occam's Razor gal and I had previously trusted the report claiming Epstein committed suicide. But after hearing an interview with Julie K. Brown and then reading her book, I'm not at all convinced Epstein committed suicide.
Julie is the intrepid reporter for the Miami Herald who spent months working on the case, building trust with the victims and original detectives, digging into why Epstein got such a sweet plea deal back in 2008. To be clear, reading this book was infuriating for several reasons. Hearing the victims tell their stories of sexual assault by Epstein and his conspirators was disgusting and enraging, and then to see so many so-called professionals fail the victims over and over and over again made me want to scream.
But it was satisfying knowing that Julie's reporting in 2018 brought new attention to the case, which led to Epstein's arrest in July 2019. I commend Julie and her colleagues at the Miami Herald for being so dedicated to getting some justice for Epstein's victims, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the case.
Meaningful Quote
"What society wants is a victim who is a sweet, adorable, innocent angel that God sent from heaven—and an offender who is this evil horrible sexual predator, a 'dirty old man in a wrinkled raincoat,' that's what we prefer, but that's not reality."
November 15, 2021
There are two stories in this book. One is the Jeffrey Epstein story, the other is how investigative journalism is done in budget conscious regional newspapers.
“Miami Herald” reporter, Julie K. Brown, shows the process of creating an investigative series from getting the project approved through to the aftermath of its publication. There are documents to find, interviews to be arranged and completed, reading and writing, and long drives, flights, cheap hotels and travel vouchers to submit. There are dispiriting rivalries/jealousies among reporters and the tactics of those who don’t want this story written are life threatening. All the while there is life - two kids to raise and bills to pay.
Brown works from primary sources such as police and court records, government documents and any scrap of internal or email material. She shows how to read them between the lines. Traveling with a videographer, she interviewed victims and their families, local police, former Epstein employees, prosecutors and defense attorneys. She traveled to the Virgin Islands and spoke with anyone she could.
Interviews are not easy to get. Victims and those with information about Epstein’s crimes are terrified for good reason: they are followed and harassed. Previous investigators and prosecutors who have cooperated with other journalists, feel this story will go nowhere like the others so talking to a reporter is an unnecessary risk.
Once Brown's series on Epstein was published the dominoes started falling. The public was able to see how in 2008 the prosecutors bended to defence lawyers and unethically stacked the system on Epstein’s behalf: Even after accords were reached the lawyers returned to argue for still more leniency; They allowed Epstein’s lawyers to sit outside the grand jury room to intimidate witnesses; They scheduled the trail with two days notice so witnesses couldn’t come; They switched a 14 year old’s name for that of a 17 year old to minimize the number of states where Epstein would be registered as a pedophile.
The 2008 “work release” sentence was incredibly loose The very liberal format set by the court was ignored. Young girls visited him at his “office” and he catered extravagant meals for his guards. His ankle bracelet had technical problems and he never visited his parole officer.
There is a long section on Alex Acosta, his background, his lifestyle (unaffordable at his salary) and his resignation. There is an entire chapter on Alan Dershowitz and a well reasoned chapter entitled “Jeffrey Epstein Did Not Commit Suicide”.
In the end Brown suggests that the timing of Bill Barr’s (clumsy) firing of US Attorney for SDNY Geoffry Berman may relate to Berman’s aggressive pursuit of Epstein and the recent arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell. Days after this firing, Donald Trump, (who has several pages covering his alleged involvement with underage girls, including a credible lawsuit whose plaintiff has withdrawn it and has not been heard from again) said of Maxwell “I wish her well.”
You see in so many instances how Epstein skirts the rules and how people make exceptions for him. For instance after his 2008 conviction many did not want to be associated with a registered pedophile: The sellers of an island he wanted to buy would not sell to him so he set up some shell companies to hide his identity and make the couple think the buyer was a Saudi Arabian. Harvard University would no longer accept his donations, but he arranged gifts through others and we can presume Harvard knew and accepted the actual source. Bill Gates stated that he would no longer associate with him, but there they are together in 2014.
You see how without a reporter’s initiative, investigative stories like this would not get written. Even with this achievement, with the downturn in newspaper subscribers, Brown’s job is not secure,
If you are interested in Epstein, this book has a lot of information. You may or may not like the author’s insertion of her personal life as she tracks this story (I appreciated it for its demonstration of how this type of work plays out on a daily basis). The book needs and index. There are no photos, but for those of people and events that did not make the news, this would have added to the material. The Spider: Inside the Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and A Convenient Death: The Mysterious Demise of Jeffrey Epstein are good for their outline of this story. This book has more detail both in hard facts and description. It is a bit more recent so it has more on where things stand now.
“Miami Herald” reporter, Julie K. Brown, shows the process of creating an investigative series from getting the project approved through to the aftermath of its publication. There are documents to find, interviews to be arranged and completed, reading and writing, and long drives, flights, cheap hotels and travel vouchers to submit. There are dispiriting rivalries/jealousies among reporters and the tactics of those who don’t want this story written are life threatening. All the while there is life - two kids to raise and bills to pay.
Brown works from primary sources such as police and court records, government documents and any scrap of internal or email material. She shows how to read them between the lines. Traveling with a videographer, she interviewed victims and their families, local police, former Epstein employees, prosecutors and defense attorneys. She traveled to the Virgin Islands and spoke with anyone she could.
Interviews are not easy to get. Victims and those with information about Epstein’s crimes are terrified for good reason: they are followed and harassed. Previous investigators and prosecutors who have cooperated with other journalists, feel this story will go nowhere like the others so talking to a reporter is an unnecessary risk.
Once Brown's series on Epstein was published the dominoes started falling. The public was able to see how in 2008 the prosecutors bended to defence lawyers and unethically stacked the system on Epstein’s behalf: Even after accords were reached the lawyers returned to argue for still more leniency; They allowed Epstein’s lawyers to sit outside the grand jury room to intimidate witnesses; They scheduled the trail with two days notice so witnesses couldn’t come; They switched a 14 year old’s name for that of a 17 year old to minimize the number of states where Epstein would be registered as a pedophile.
The 2008 “work release” sentence was incredibly loose The very liberal format set by the court was ignored. Young girls visited him at his “office” and he catered extravagant meals for his guards. His ankle bracelet had technical problems and he never visited his parole officer.
There is a long section on Alex Acosta, his background, his lifestyle (unaffordable at his salary) and his resignation. There is an entire chapter on Alan Dershowitz and a well reasoned chapter entitled “Jeffrey Epstein Did Not Commit Suicide”.
In the end Brown suggests that the timing of Bill Barr’s (clumsy) firing of US Attorney for SDNY Geoffry Berman may relate to Berman’s aggressive pursuit of Epstein and the recent arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell. Days after this firing, Donald Trump, (who has several pages covering his alleged involvement with underage girls, including a credible lawsuit whose plaintiff has withdrawn it and has not been heard from again) said of Maxwell “I wish her well.”
You see in so many instances how Epstein skirts the rules and how people make exceptions for him. For instance after his 2008 conviction many did not want to be associated with a registered pedophile: The sellers of an island he wanted to buy would not sell to him so he set up some shell companies to hide his identity and make the couple think the buyer was a Saudi Arabian. Harvard University would no longer accept his donations, but he arranged gifts through others and we can presume Harvard knew and accepted the actual source. Bill Gates stated that he would no longer associate with him, but there they are together in 2014.
You see how without a reporter’s initiative, investigative stories like this would not get written. Even with this achievement, with the downturn in newspaper subscribers, Brown’s job is not secure,
If you are interested in Epstein, this book has a lot of information. You may or may not like the author’s insertion of her personal life as she tracks this story (I appreciated it for its demonstration of how this type of work plays out on a daily basis). The book needs and index. There are no photos, but for those of people and events that did not make the news, this would have added to the material. The Spider: Inside the Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and A Convenient Death: The Mysterious Demise of Jeffrey Epstein are good for their outline of this story. This book has more detail both in hard facts and description. It is a bit more recent so it has more on where things stand now.
January 6, 2022
Oh man…it’s very rare that a book that I actually finish takes me 5 months to read, and yet, this one did. Do I even have to explain the main reasons why?
I have worked in various aspects of adult victim services and advocacy for essentially most of my career, have obviously heard a lot of horrible stories, and routinely read books like this just to “know thy enemy” and always keep one step ahead of the kind of shit they are doing and, more importantly, getting away with.
Therefore, I typically have a very strong stomach when it comes to this kind of content, but there is just something so superlatively gross and next level fucked up and disgusting about Jeffrey Epstein and all those who enabled his revolting escapades.
To avoid succumbing to the occupational hazard of burnout, I’ve trained myself to be a very big believer in the invincibility of compassion, and concepts like empathy, forgiveness, acceptance, non-violence and whatnot, so I wouldn’t say this about many people, but man - he just seems completely irredeemable and it’s hard to understand what his higher purpose would have been for taking up any space on this planet.
At very least we will probably not have to witness him achieving his reportedly self-identified end of life goal of having his penis cryogenically frozen alongside his brain.
I have worked in various aspects of adult victim services and advocacy for essentially most of my career, have obviously heard a lot of horrible stories, and routinely read books like this just to “know thy enemy” and always keep one step ahead of the kind of shit they are doing and, more importantly, getting away with.
Therefore, I typically have a very strong stomach when it comes to this kind of content, but there is just something so superlatively gross and next level fucked up and disgusting about Jeffrey Epstein and all those who enabled his revolting escapades.
To avoid succumbing to the occupational hazard of burnout, I’ve trained myself to be a very big believer in the invincibility of compassion, and concepts like empathy, forgiveness, acceptance, non-violence and whatnot, so I wouldn’t say this about many people, but man - he just seems completely irredeemable and it’s hard to understand what his higher purpose would have been for taking up any space on this planet.
At very least we will probably not have to witness him achieving his reportedly self-identified end of life goal of having his penis cryogenically frozen alongside his brain.
October 19, 2025
Dead men can't rape.
Kudos to Julie K. Brown for her investigative journalism. This is a very comprehensive read on Jeffrey Epstein's life, his heinous crimes, his friends and accomplices (Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump, Prince Andrew, Alan Dershowitz, among others), and his enablers in law enforcement and the justice field that were paid and/or manipulated to look the other way.
I pray that the hundreds of survivors can find justice and the closure that they need.
Kudos to Julie K. Brown for her investigative journalism. This is a very comprehensive read on Jeffrey Epstein's life, his heinous crimes, his friends and accomplices (Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump, Prince Andrew, Alan Dershowitz, among others), and his enablers in law enforcement and the justice field that were paid and/or manipulated to look the other way.
I pray that the hundreds of survivors can find justice and the closure that they need.
August 20, 2021
This is not a good book. It’s really convoluted and confusing, is it a story about Epstein or a really incredibly self serving and boring auto biography? Well it’s those things but the main purpose of this book, which is so shocking, is another social justice warrior reporter and their partisan effort to somehow find some sort of way to stick it to Trump.
I’ll just give a few examples because this woman is not worth my time. She mentions Trump so many times it’s really obvious. She only started this story as a way to get to Trump through the nomination of Alexander Acosta. She spends an incredible amount of the book telling what was going on in the Trump administration while was supposedly researching Epstein even tho what she mentions has nothing to do with Epstein case and then she labels her story when it finally comes as “trump official blah blah blah.” That’s telling. Finally to make it completely a partisan hack job she spends an whole chapter on something didn’t do and barely mentions Clinton and his association. Disgusting. Anyway, this is a bad partisan attempt to shit on Trump and I only finished to to give it one star.
I’ll just give a few examples because this woman is not worth my time. She mentions Trump so many times it’s really obvious. She only started this story as a way to get to Trump through the nomination of Alexander Acosta. She spends an incredible amount of the book telling what was going on in the Trump administration while was supposedly researching Epstein even tho what she mentions has nothing to do with Epstein case and then she labels her story when it finally comes as “trump official blah blah blah.” That’s telling. Finally to make it completely a partisan hack job she spends an whole chapter on something didn’t do and barely mentions Clinton and his association. Disgusting. Anyway, this is a bad partisan attempt to shit on Trump and I only finished to to give it one star.
September 3, 2021
This book was very disappointing. I feel like I know as much about author Julie K. Brown as I do about Jeffrey Epstein. Brown says, ‘No reporter wants to be part of their own story.’ Yet she liberally included her story — from her children to her financial status — throughout the book. I even know what car she drives.
I didn’t learn much about Epstein that was not already reported.
Brown feels slighted about not winning her profession’s top award for her superb series in the Miami Herald: ‘I would never know whether the efforts by some in the journalism industry to undermine my series impacted the decision-making that went into that year’s Pulitzer Prizes.’
Brown’s story and how she gathered the information for her series is very much part of this book.
I didn’t learn much about Epstein that was not already reported.
Brown feels slighted about not winning her profession’s top award for her superb series in the Miami Herald: ‘I would never know whether the efforts by some in the journalism industry to undermine my series impacted the decision-making that went into that year’s Pulitzer Prizes.’
Brown’s story and how she gathered the information for her series is very much part of this book.
August 12, 2021
Great book. Well researched.
The book contents, though, were really terrible. I learned a lot about this creepy guy.
Some of this book is really stomach-turning.
Would recommend to learn more about this.
4.3/5
The book contents, though, were really terrible. I learned a lot about this creepy guy.
Some of this book is really stomach-turning.
Would recommend to learn more about this.
4.3/5
July 21, 2021
J. . Brown has really taken on four stories in this book. Besides putting brackets around the Epstein story and it’s available information, Brown puts on her investigative journalist’s hat and gives voice to the victims of Epstein’s crimes over the many years he built his sex trafficking businesses. The stories told by these young women are heartbreaking and difficult to read. Seeing the complicity of government officials in black & white is somehow more disgusting than hearing it on the news.
Another venture addressed is the death of Jeffrey Epstein - there’s an entire chapter devoted to it. Epstein’s demise is the stuff of which legend and lore is built: vanished tapes, missing and tight lipped people with memory failure and really bad vi$ion.
Brown looks at the relationships with Alex Acosta, Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz, and other high powered wealthy people. What she doesn’t do is provide many answers to the basic How & Why questions. It was frustrating reading and at times it seemed like she gave up the pursuit by saying, “I don’t know.” I suppose that’s better than making something up but it lacks passion found elsewhere.
Woven thru the book is Brown’s own story. It’s honest and at times emotional, especially when she speaks about how hard it is to make time for her son and be good at her job.
This book reads like True Crime and Investigative Reporting; Criminal Law as a genre is laughable. Perversion is complete in the criminal justice system and those involved in Epstein’s case. Brown writes well and if these are categories of interest to you, this book won’t disappoint. The subject is difficult and parts of the text are descriptive, not gratuitous or graphic. Still, sensitive folks should take care.
It’s clear that none of Epstein’s “partners” will be held accountable. Brown casts her hope that the new administration will do something. I hope she’s not holding her breath📚
Another venture addressed is the death of Jeffrey Epstein - there’s an entire chapter devoted to it. Epstein’s demise is the stuff of which legend and lore is built: vanished tapes, missing and tight lipped people with memory failure and really bad vi$ion.
Brown looks at the relationships with Alex Acosta, Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz, and other high powered wealthy people. What she doesn’t do is provide many answers to the basic How & Why questions. It was frustrating reading and at times it seemed like she gave up the pursuit by saying, “I don’t know.” I suppose that’s better than making something up but it lacks passion found elsewhere.
Woven thru the book is Brown’s own story. It’s honest and at times emotional, especially when she speaks about how hard it is to make time for her son and be good at her job.
This book reads like True Crime and Investigative Reporting; Criminal Law as a genre is laughable. Perversion is complete in the criminal justice system and those involved in Epstein’s case. Brown writes well and if these are categories of interest to you, this book won’t disappoint. The subject is difficult and parts of the text are descriptive, not gratuitous or graphic. Still, sensitive folks should take care.
It’s clear that none of Epstein’s “partners” will be held accountable. Brown casts her hope that the new administration will do something. I hope she’s not holding her breath📚
July 19, 2021
An extraordinary book revealing corruption and coverup surrounding one of the most notorious predators of young girls. Brown broke many stories reporting for @MiamiHerald and shows why journalism matters in this excellent book. This started as a local story about the exploitation of young girls in Palm Beach and South Florida. She followed the corrupt trail of a US Attorney and reported as he was forced to quit the Trump cabinet. Brown reported on judges who looked the other way and Epstein himself who was allowed a free pass in and out of jail with catered meals and privileges. Many in Epstein's cultivated crowd of moguls, a former president and British royalty and legal beagles have run for cover. The impact of her newspaper stories and the book now have international impact.
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November 4, 2021Bit of a disappointing book as it does not uncover much about Epstein's life and origins and mostly focuses on the already well-publicized details of his later legal travails. How did Epstein go from a math teacher to billionaire financier? What were his ties with intelligence agencies and foreign governments? No new information is surfaced in this book. I didn't really understand what the point of writing it was, except as a quasi-biography of the author as she unpacked the details of what we already know.
November 20, 2021
I had trouble reading this book, as the title suggests it is about Epstein ("The Jeffrey Epstein Story"), but most of the time I found myself reading what seemed like Julie Brown's autobiography regarding how she got the information she did, her relationships with others (family, work, etc.) and her job pursuits/missed awards. I appreciate the author for bringing to light a very important story, but I did not enjoy this reading as it was filled with personal experiences I did not sign up for.
July 27, 2021
Disappointing
I was so disappointed in how bad this book was. It’s poorly written, has multiple segues into author’s unrelated grievances and degenerates into conspiracies, which makes it more troubling how much she prioritizes telling us every single time a nefarious character is Jewish.
I was so disappointed in how bad this book was. It’s poorly written, has multiple segues into author’s unrelated grievances and degenerates into conspiracies, which makes it more troubling how much she prioritizes telling us every single time a nefarious character is Jewish.
July 31, 2021
The USA still has some amazing (and brave) investigative journalists and Julie Brown is clearly one of them. Working for the Miami Herald this book chronicles her investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and in particular the failure of prosecutors to hold him properly to account for the sex trafficking and sexual assaults on minors that he was indicted for in Palm Beach, Florida. Very few legal systems are without flaws but this book shows that if you are wealthy and well connected you can evade the consequences of criminal behaviour almost completely. It was only as a result of her investigation that prosecutors in New York acted against Epstein leading to his somewhat suspicious death in custody. One is left wondering who benefitted from his death- it certainly wasn't his victims. One also wonders how much Ghislaine Maxwell knows and whether she will ever reveal (or be allowed to) exactly what she knows.
My only real criticism is that (at least in the Kindle edition) there seems to be a total disregard for the proper use of capital letters
My only real criticism is that (at least in the Kindle edition) there seems to be a total disregard for the proper use of capital letters
July 23, 2021
If you ever wanted to be an investigative journalist you need to read this book. It will change your mind or your life. So much detail, so much digging, so many roadblocks, so much horror to discover. I was trying to keep up with Julie Brown and was impressed with her research. This is a dense, hard to read, blow by blow story of her findings. The story of Epstein, the Palm Beach cover up, the so called suicide, and the other "players" are all detailed and interwoven. It was a lot easier to take when dished out in small doses of news stories. Glad she survived and her family sorta thrived.
Not beach reading. This is a book that really needed an index.
Not beach reading. This is a book that really needed an index.
August 5, 2021
I am giving this book a five star...not for the writing style, but more to make sure Julie K. Brown is rewarded for being the only person in the world with the courage and determination to confront that horrible person who will go unamed.
Everyone should read the book to know just how close justice comes to being perverted every day everywhere....
Everyone should read the book to know just how close justice comes to being perverted every day everywhere....
December 7, 2023
يأخذنا هذا الكتاب إلى عالم مظلم بطله ملياردير أمريكي يدعى جيفري ابستين. ورغم نشأته المتواضعه في ظل أسرة من سلالة يهود أوروبا الشرقية، ورغم عمله كمعلم للرياضيات في بداية حياته المهنية، إلا أنه نجح في القفز بسرعة مذهلة، من خلال أنشطة اقتصادية مشبوهة، إلى الوصول لأعلى الهرم الاقتصادي الأمريكي. ومن خلال ثروته وعلاقاته الاجتماعية مع العديد من مشاهير السياسة والفن والاقتصاد تمكن من بناء شبكة معقدة ذات نفوذ قوي في السلطة الأمريكية. وعزز ذلك كله بعلاقته العاطفية مع ابنة قطب الإعلام البريطاني اليهودي ماكسويل. إلا أن الجانب المظلم من حياة جيفري ابستين هو إدمان العلاقات اللا أخلاقية مع الفتيات القاصرات الذي كان يستدرجهن بالمال والسهرات ويستغل ظروفهن الأسرية السيئة لتحقيق مآربه. ولم يتوقف عند ذلك بل استضاف كثير من المشاهير لسهرات المجون في جزيرة خاصة ليعمل على ابتزازهم لاحقا. وأدى عمله في الاتجار بالفتيات لافتضاح أمره في النهاية والحكم بسجنه بانتظار المحاكمة. ولكن محاكمته لم تتم، وذلك لموته في الزنزانة. واختلفت الأقوال، فهناك من قال أنه انتحر، وهناك من قال أنه مات خنقا. ونظرا لوجود كثير من المخالفات سواء من قبل السجانيين او من قبل الطبيب الشرعي، فلا يزال سر موته غامضا. إلا أن عشيقته ابنة ماكسويل لا تزال حية وهي مسجونة، ولكنها ترفض الافصاح عن زبائن ابستين في الجزيرة المشؤومة. وبحسب الكتاب تدور الشبهات أن منهم كثير من السياسيين مثل ايهود باراك، بيل كلينتون، دونالد ترامب، والامير اندرو.
September 19, 2021
The research is comprehensive, and kudos to Brown for all her work - it was intense.
I feel the book could have been split in two, her experiences in investigating and the Epstein story. I found the structure choppy, and the constant 'intrusion' of her personal life anecdotes (about kids) distracting and unnecessary to the story. At first I read them, but they became quite distracting- it is, after all The Jeffrey Epstein Story, not Julie Brown Story. ('No reporter wants to be part of their own story. I wanted nothing more than to be invisible again' p 333).
This is just me, but I also sensed a bit of feeling like she missed out on the Pulitzer (although she doesn't expressly SAY that) - she's p!ssed off. Also with NY Times. The chip on her shoulder about being from a 'small town paper'. All legitimate I'm sure, but I didn't feel that it added to the story (again could have been separated in the JE story and her experiences in tracking it).
I haven't read any other JE books, this is the first, and as I say it was a bit choppy, jumps around. I realise the story is complex, but some better editing would have helped. Plus all the small paragraphs, didn't really make if feel 'book like' I think podcast was probably the better medium.
I feel the book could have been split in two, her experiences in investigating and the Epstein story. I found the structure choppy, and the constant 'intrusion' of her personal life anecdotes (about kids) distracting and unnecessary to the story. At first I read them, but they became quite distracting- it is, after all The Jeffrey Epstein Story, not Julie Brown Story. ('No reporter wants to be part of their own story. I wanted nothing more than to be invisible again' p 333).
This is just me, but I also sensed a bit of feeling like she missed out on the Pulitzer (although she doesn't expressly SAY that) - she's p!ssed off. Also with NY Times. The chip on her shoulder about being from a 'small town paper'. All legitimate I'm sure, but I didn't feel that it added to the story (again could have been separated in the JE story and her experiences in tracking it).
I haven't read any other JE books, this is the first, and as I say it was a bit choppy, jumps around. I realise the story is complex, but some better editing would have helped. Plus all the small paragraphs, didn't really make if feel 'book like' I think podcast was probably the better medium.
July 26, 2021
Julie K. Brown, an investigative reporter with a Florida newspaper, had spent years investigating the inhumane conditions in Florida prisons but the shift in her reporting came after Jeffrey Epstein made news, after he had sexually abused underaged girls, who were enticed into his creepy web by promising them a life of leisure and riches by simply being his masseuse. Brown became zeroed in on the story and tells of her struggles as a journalist where she has to compete with others who are looking for the big story. She says, "I've always likened being an investigative reporter to being a police detective. Part of me wanted to solve mysteries that even the real crime detectives couldn’t." She tells of how, after her Epstein story broke, they would watch the board to see how popular a story was doing among readers. There was a story about how someone had farted while on an elevator and of course that story gained popularity fast but Brown writes: "Before turning off my computer, I looked at my Twitter account. I suddenly had thousands of followers. Then the unbelievable happened. It beat the fart story. The room erupted in applause. My phone started ringing, and my computer mailbox was filling up with congratulations."
The book highlights many of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual exploits and it just boggles my mind of how someone so evil was able to manipulate so many people— from Wall Street brokers to even the officials of the Florida and the United States Justice Departments. He hobnobbed with celebrities and politicians, among them: Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, David Copperfield, Bill Gates and several others.
Donald Trump: “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” said Donald Trump, fifteen years before he would be elected president. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women almost as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it—Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
The warped psychology of the man was mind blowing. "Epstein had a dream of seeding the human race with his own DNA by creating a baby ranch at his New Mexico compound." "Epstein apparently told some of the members of his scientific circle that he wanted to inseminate women with his sperm for them to give birth to his babies, and that he wanted his head and his penis frozen."
The book ends with Epstein's conspiratorial death in which the author offers her own opinion. I enjoyed reading the book and admire the author's effort in putting forth all of her research, which must have been exhaustive to bring all together. I would guess, for most readers, this book is a bit long winded and the word count could have been cut down a bit but honestly, Brown's focus here is on the victims and their journey to get justice and with that in mind, even the large amount of extra legalese rambling can be excused.
This book will blow your mind as to how easy evil can invade our society and prosper. It's worth the read and to know the victims Hell.
July 17, 2025
I bought this book when it first came out in 2021 but it sat on my TBR shelf until recent events put Jeffrey Epstein in the news again. This is a very readable account of a reporter’s investigation into Epstein to show how the justice system favors the rich - money and greed talk - over the poor and broken - no body cares about them, plus they have no money to hire high-powered attorneys. The victims of this heinous man and his “sexual” co-conspirators have been hounded, scared, dehumanized and would have been relegated to the dustbin of history if not for this author. The stories these victims tell are horrifying! And Mr 47 who wants everyone to ignore this story is doing this because he’s prominently highlighted for his sexual deviancy in this book. But worst of all, it how the justice system failed these girls A worthwhile read.
September 4, 2025
How timely this book was, finishing it on the day the Epstein survivors had their press conference. Julie K. Brown is a dogged investigative journalist. She just did not give up this story despite every road block the rich and powerful and corruptly influential people behind this travesty put before her. It is a remarkable piece of journalism.
In addition to telling the story of the victims and the failures of the justice system with this case, this book is a memoir of sorts. I can see where some readers might call her personal experiences superfluous to the main story, but it wasn’t for me because I lived some of these hard times in the newspaper business - my husband was also an investigative reporter for a big city newspaper and we were affected by those same sea changes in the print and digital world in the late 2000s: layoffs, tight budgets, furloughs, reporters spread too thin, less family time. Not only did Ms. Brown deal with all this, she was a single mom raising two kids on a shoestring budget. I enjoyed her personal story.
I am hopeful, though not optimistic with this current administration, that these women’s stories and their courage in coming forward will move Congress toward finally releasing all the sealed Epstein files so the public sees all the torrid details these rich people have managed to keep hidden for decades. I hope every single pedophile gets the book thrown at them.
5 stars, highly recommend
In addition to telling the story of the victims and the failures of the justice system with this case, this book is a memoir of sorts. I can see where some readers might call her personal experiences superfluous to the main story, but it wasn’t for me because I lived some of these hard times in the newspaper business - my husband was also an investigative reporter for a big city newspaper and we were affected by those same sea changes in the print and digital world in the late 2000s: layoffs, tight budgets, furloughs, reporters spread too thin, less family time. Not only did Ms. Brown deal with all this, she was a single mom raising two kids on a shoestring budget. I enjoyed her personal story.
I am hopeful, though not optimistic with this current administration, that these women’s stories and their courage in coming forward will move Congress toward finally releasing all the sealed Epstein files so the public sees all the torrid details these rich people have managed to keep hidden for decades. I hope every single pedophile gets the book thrown at them.
5 stars, highly recommend
February 10, 2022
It’s not really about the DOJ’s perversion of justice as much as it it’s about JKB’s life.
September 30, 2021
(I listened to the unabridged Audiobook version of this book.) This book is more about the author’s own ego and her experiences in journalism than it is, as the title would suggest, a thorough and focused examination of the events surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes. If you have already read Brown’s series on Epstein in the Miami Herald, there is little more to be found here, other than the nicknames of Brown’s boyfriends and all their flaws, her love of Bruce Springsteen, her petty squabbles with people in her own newsroom as well as other outlets like the New York Times, etc. On and on Brown squawks, occasionally redirecting herself, almost by accident, back to her excellent reporting on Epstein. Even the world’s greatest audiobook narrator, Julie Whelan, could not save the egomaniacal, navel-gazing exercise that is “Perversion of Justice.” You’ll get more out of simply watching the Netflix documentary on Epstein.
August 31, 2025
I’m wholeheartedly grateful for journalists like Julie K. Brown who brought the story of Epstein to the national theater.
Brown broke the Epstein story when it was nothing more than a local news piece for the Miami Herald. With a News editor who agreed to tell the story, Brown tells us the long painful story of getting justice for the young girls trapped in sex trafficking because money mogul Epstein trapped lonely and desperate high schoolers into performing sexual favors for money.
But with the best lawyers money can buy, prosecutors who refused to prosecute, and the worst possible outcomes each time — people who sought justice like Brown, kept it up until they got Epstein in prison… until he wasn’t.
This is the perfect true crime story. Told from the perspective of a journalist who spent most of her time telling the cruel truth about one of the worst monsters in American history.
Brown broke the Epstein story when it was nothing more than a local news piece for the Miami Herald. With a News editor who agreed to tell the story, Brown tells us the long painful story of getting justice for the young girls trapped in sex trafficking because money mogul Epstein trapped lonely and desperate high schoolers into performing sexual favors for money.
But with the best lawyers money can buy, prosecutors who refused to prosecute, and the worst possible outcomes each time — people who sought justice like Brown, kept it up until they got Epstein in prison… until he wasn’t.
This is the perfect true crime story. Told from the perspective of a journalist who spent most of her time telling the cruel truth about one of the worst monsters in American history.
October 5, 2021
Truly, where to start on how good this book is?
I loved that I got to see every detail of Brown’s reporting, and how she got it. I’m a journalist, as well, and appreciated this under-the-hood look. I loved also learning about Brown and her career.
Anyone who knocks this book bc they say there’s too much of Brown’s story in here is entirely missing a big part of the point, here. Brown’s experiences in the industry and with reporting this story show yet another side of the sexism, misogyny and general “manosphere” culture that we all exist and operate in — a part of the larger culture that allowed Epstein to abuse young girls for so long, unchecked.
This should be required reading for all Americans.
I loved that I got to see every detail of Brown’s reporting, and how she got it. I’m a journalist, as well, and appreciated this under-the-hood look. I loved also learning about Brown and her career.
Anyone who knocks this book bc they say there’s too much of Brown’s story in here is entirely missing a big part of the point, here. Brown’s experiences in the industry and with reporting this story show yet another side of the sexism, misogyny and general “manosphere” culture that we all exist and operate in — a part of the larger culture that allowed Epstein to abuse young girls for so long, unchecked.
This should be required reading for all Americans.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2021
A hard read, but that is it's nature. Also really contemporary, the story builds from the end of this book, with the Maxwell trial etc which makes this book almost out of date as a record. However it really gives an indication on how hard people like JKB work and for that we should be all very thankful. Took a month to read as descriptions made me put it down & leave for a few days.
December 26, 2024
Journalist Julie K. Brown broke the Epstein story which ultimately brought him down. This is a tough read, but a must for those who love narrative nonfiction, and seeing assholes get their, albeit long overdue, comeuppance. The open secret, and the plethora of people who protected him, shows just how cowardly and depraved humans can be.
September 24, 2021
Julie K Brown is the investigative reporter version of the Mare of Easttown. I’m glad I didn’t read this in high school because I’m sure I would have decided to be just like her - using journalism to bring down corrupt systems and evil men.
January 2, 2022
Superb - burned thru this in 24 hours
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