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Certain Truths
Jackson Berman's career as a criminal-defense attorney was exploding. He was widely reputed to be defender of the innocent and protector of the rights of the guilty. The rightly and wrongly accused wanted him in their corner. But his marriage was imploding. He would stop at nothing to remain in his young daughter's life, even if it meant giving in to his estranged wife's whims and demands. While balancing the highs of his professional life with the lows of his personal life, he took on the most important and challenging client of his career--himself. Annoying acts of vandalism quickly escalated to attempts on his life. Searching for the person who wanted him dead, he found himself accused of a horrific crime that could send him to prison for the rest of his life. Who would defend the defender? Certain Truths is a compelling story of one man's struggle to deal with exaggerations, distortions, and lies and his search for the peace that comes with living with the truth...no matter how ugly it is. "Stephanie Wyler's ability to take the reader inside the personal and professional life of a criminal defense attorney will send you on a journey of unexpected twists and turns. Each page draws the reader in as the story begs the what are certain truths?" Sandy Phillips Kirkham, author of "Let Me Prey Upon You - Breaking Free from a Minister's Sexual Abuse"
280 pages, Paperback
Published November 11, 2021
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 18, 2023
An amazing book! I loved the characters and their development throughout. I loved the twists and turns the novel gave me. One of my favorite books I’ve read so far!
March 8, 2022
Fascinating and informative debut
This fascinating and informative insight into the inner workings of the American justice system is predominantly written from the perspective of Jackson (call me Jax) Berman, a criminal defence attorney who was the father of a adorable and mentally advanced for her age pre-teen daughter called Olivia. While in his professional life he was at the top of his game and constantly in demand by both the innocent and the guilty, his personal life was a daily battle to keep his soon to be ex wife Catherine happy to ensure that he got to spend quality time with his beloved daughter. Whenever he was in the courtroom, Jax was ruthlessly in his defence of whichever client he was being paid to represent at that time. As Jax told one of his clients 'it was Jax's job to resolve the issue of legal guilt, he wasn't built to deal with the moral guilt question' Little did Jax realise that during the course of the story, his own behaviour and reputation would come under the spotlight when he finds himself accused of a terrible crime. Suddenly, the champion for truth and justice has to put his trust in other people to help clear his name and stop everything that he had fought so hard to achieve from being shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.
Jax was a complex individual about whom I had conflicting feelings as the multi layered story unfolded, I loved his devotion to young Olivia, his relatable fears about her burgeoning maturity and how much damage might be caused to her psyche by the collapse of her parent's marriage and the accusations he was facing. I loved how much Jax cared about Bailey,the stray cat that he had rescued and given a home in his offices. I enjoyed the interactions between Jax and his best friend Rick and also with ex policeman turned private investigator Leonard who was my favourite character. I didn't like Jax's high and mighty, smug ass attitude when he was in court representing his clients especially when he was cross examining a witness called Melissa. I know that the treatment of the alleged victims of certain crimes had drastically improved over the years but there are still shocking incidents in which possible victims are questioned for hours, are criticised for the amount of alcohol that they had consumed or their choice of clothing. As if they weren't traumatised enough already, victims are often made to feel as if what happened to them was their own fault or they led their attacker on at some point. This accusation has even been levelled at very young victims of sexual abuse in the past. It's hardly surprising that victims are reluctant to come forwards and report the life changing, traumatic horrors that they have been subjected too by their abuser.
Certain Truths is a intelligently written blend of domestic/courtroom drama and gripping thriller with a realistic plot that contains a number of unexpected twists and turns. I loved how the author included in depth information on each of the descendents giving the reader the opportunity to decide for themselves if that person was innocent or guilty. The story included some edge of your seat action scenes and a moment that seriously pulled at my heart strings. If I'm honest, the story included a bit too much romance for my liking but that's just my own personal opinion. This is a very well written, compelling, informative debut and I look forward to reading more of this author's books in the future.
This fascinating and informative insight into the inner workings of the American justice system is predominantly written from the perspective of Jackson (call me Jax) Berman, a criminal defence attorney who was the father of a adorable and mentally advanced for her age pre-teen daughter called Olivia. While in his professional life he was at the top of his game and constantly in demand by both the innocent and the guilty, his personal life was a daily battle to keep his soon to be ex wife Catherine happy to ensure that he got to spend quality time with his beloved daughter. Whenever he was in the courtroom, Jax was ruthlessly in his defence of whichever client he was being paid to represent at that time. As Jax told one of his clients 'it was Jax's job to resolve the issue of legal guilt, he wasn't built to deal with the moral guilt question' Little did Jax realise that during the course of the story, his own behaviour and reputation would come under the spotlight when he finds himself accused of a terrible crime. Suddenly, the champion for truth and justice has to put his trust in other people to help clear his name and stop everything that he had fought so hard to achieve from being shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.
Jax was a complex individual about whom I had conflicting feelings as the multi layered story unfolded, I loved his devotion to young Olivia, his relatable fears about her burgeoning maturity and how much damage might be caused to her psyche by the collapse of her parent's marriage and the accusations he was facing. I loved how much Jax cared about Bailey,the stray cat that he had rescued and given a home in his offices. I enjoyed the interactions between Jax and his best friend Rick and also with ex policeman turned private investigator Leonard who was my favourite character. I didn't like Jax's high and mighty, smug ass attitude when he was in court representing his clients especially when he was cross examining a witness called Melissa. I know that the treatment of the alleged victims of certain crimes had drastically improved over the years but there are still shocking incidents in which possible victims are questioned for hours, are criticised for the amount of alcohol that they had consumed or their choice of clothing. As if they weren't traumatised enough already, victims are often made to feel as if what happened to them was their own fault or they led their attacker on at some point. This accusation has even been levelled at very young victims of sexual abuse in the past. It's hardly surprising that victims are reluctant to come forwards and report the life changing, traumatic horrors that they have been subjected too by their abuser.
Certain Truths is a intelligently written blend of domestic/courtroom drama and gripping thriller with a realistic plot that contains a number of unexpected twists and turns. I loved how the author included in depth information on each of the descendents giving the reader the opportunity to decide for themselves if that person was innocent or guilty. The story included some edge of your seat action scenes and a moment that seriously pulled at my heart strings. If I'm honest, the story included a bit too much romance for my liking but that's just my own personal opinion. This is a very well written, compelling, informative debut and I look forward to reading more of this author's books in the future.
March 17, 2022
‘Certain Truths’ was an in-depth look at the life of Jackson (Jax) Bergman - both professionally as a criminal defence lawyer and personally as a father, friend and husband. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it depicts a complex life but one that is utterly compelling and realistic. This is probably due to Stephanie being a judge and ex-criminal defence lawyer and it makes for an exciting debut. I would certainly read more from Jax’s life and would love to see this turned into a series with a more in-depth look into a single case in each book. That was the only thing I struggled with when reading this is that I wanted to know more about each case - but that's always a good sign when you want more after you have finished reading it.
Jax is at the top of his game professionally - he is an in-demand criminal lawyer who deals with a range of cases. However, his personal life is imploding as his marriage is breaking down and he has had to move out of his home and away from his daughter.
I enjoyed Jax as a character as he had shades of light and dark in him. He is a devoted father and husband, a great best friend but he is also a ruthless lawyer that will do anything to make sure his client gets the best defence. I loved that there was an office cat - Bailey. This added to his humanity!
I flew through ‘Certain Truths’ - it was certainly compelling with all the different cases and characters. I think I am more of an in-depth reader though. I like to know more about cases rather than the high overview we were presented with here. I like knowing the nitty-gritty of things! But that is me though and not a reflection of the high standard of writing - especially for a debut author!
Hopefully there will be more from Jax to come in the near future!
Jax is at the top of his game professionally - he is an in-demand criminal lawyer who deals with a range of cases. However, his personal life is imploding as his marriage is breaking down and he has had to move out of his home and away from his daughter.
I enjoyed Jax as a character as he had shades of light and dark in him. He is a devoted father and husband, a great best friend but he is also a ruthless lawyer that will do anything to make sure his client gets the best defence. I loved that there was an office cat - Bailey. This added to his humanity!
I flew through ‘Certain Truths’ - it was certainly compelling with all the different cases and characters. I think I am more of an in-depth reader though. I like to know more about cases rather than the high overview we were presented with here. I like knowing the nitty-gritty of things! But that is me though and not a reflection of the high standard of writing - especially for a debut author!
Hopefully there will be more from Jax to come in the near future!
March 8, 2022
I’d like to thank Heather from Overview Media for contacting me to take part in this blog tour.
Certain Truths follows the life of Jackson Berman, a very successful American lawyer that has a knack of winning cases. We enter Jax story just as his marriage to Catherine is coming to an end. Between them they have a young daughter, Olivia, and Jax is trying his hardest to not only be civil towards Catherine but make this situation as easy for his daughter as possible. Little doe she know that his life is about to implode massively!
What was great about this story was that we didn’t just get Jax’s story. We had so many cases and different characters to immerse ourselves in and I really enjoyed watching the cases play out in court. From rape allegations to wrongful killings this story was packed with plenty of action!
I had to admire Jax and how he handled himself throughout the story. What he went through in his personal life was always kept separate from his professional life and given what he was being accused of it must of been incredibly hard. His relationship with Olivia was heart warming and showed a different side to the typical ‘divorced parent’s’ storyline.
We also had a bit of romance included and I thought Julia was a brilliant addition to the story. Once again she was very considerate of Olivia’s feelings and supportive of Jax. In the rare moment that she had to deal with Catherine I had to commend her professionalism. She was more than understanding and Catherine should count herself lucky!
I flew through this book and thoroughly enjoyed getting stuck into all the cases and trying to work out how Jax would win the next one!
Certain Truths follows the life of Jackson Berman, a very successful American lawyer that has a knack of winning cases. We enter Jax story just as his marriage to Catherine is coming to an end. Between them they have a young daughter, Olivia, and Jax is trying his hardest to not only be civil towards Catherine but make this situation as easy for his daughter as possible. Little doe she know that his life is about to implode massively!
What was great about this story was that we didn’t just get Jax’s story. We had so many cases and different characters to immerse ourselves in and I really enjoyed watching the cases play out in court. From rape allegations to wrongful killings this story was packed with plenty of action!
I had to admire Jax and how he handled himself throughout the story. What he went through in his personal life was always kept separate from his professional life and given what he was being accused of it must of been incredibly hard. His relationship with Olivia was heart warming and showed a different side to the typical ‘divorced parent’s’ storyline.
We also had a bit of romance included and I thought Julia was a brilliant addition to the story. Once again she was very considerate of Olivia’s feelings and supportive of Jax. In the rare moment that she had to deal with Catherine I had to commend her professionalism. She was more than understanding and Catherine should count herself lucky!
I flew through this book and thoroughly enjoyed getting stuck into all the cases and trying to work out how Jax would win the next one!
March 6, 2022
A debut book and a good read from this author. Not easily slotted into a genre it’s a romantic legal thriller with a good smattering of family drama. Set in Cincinnati the story revolves around Jackson (Jax) Berman a criminal defence attorney. Well written with some good characters.
Briefly, with his marriage to Catherine on the rocks Jax is determined that their daughter Olivia will not suffer from their parents estrangement. As his work life moves from success to success his personal life is going from bad to worse. Starting with acts of vandalism someone then takes a shot at him. Meanwhile, Catherine makes a horrendous allegation against him, one that stops his new relationship in its tracks.
This was a fairly light and enjoyable read and although there were some dreadful crimes committed or alleged they were not graphic. The relationship between Jax and Olivia was portrayed beautifully and I absolutely loved Bailey (you’ll need to read the book). I’ll look forward to reading the next offering from this author ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Briefly, with his marriage to Catherine on the rocks Jax is determined that their daughter Olivia will not suffer from their parents estrangement. As his work life moves from success to success his personal life is going from bad to worse. Starting with acts of vandalism someone then takes a shot at him. Meanwhile, Catherine makes a horrendous allegation against him, one that stops his new relationship in its tracks.
This was a fairly light and enjoyable read and although there were some dreadful crimes committed or alleged they were not graphic. The relationship between Jax and Olivia was portrayed beautifully and I absolutely loved Bailey (you’ll need to read the book). I’ll look forward to reading the next offering from this author ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
March 15, 2022
The title made me think of the US constitution, and this debut novel didn't fall short in any area. The expertise of the author showed through in the story, which pulled me right in and held me till last sentence. Covering a big range of legal, moral, ethical issues, false accusations and more, it is harder to put this book into a small "nutshell". During the story, handling of victims, slinging blame, and all the lives of everyone involved in these crimes and this story are brought into the light as the plot progresses. It's easy to read, far deeper than I'd expected with some twist here and there. Jax and the other characters were easy to connect to, and I found this book to be very emersive. An excellent debut, I hope to read more!
My digital copy came from Overview Media. This review is my own and a positive review is never required.
My digital copy came from Overview Media. This review is my own and a positive review is never required.
March 10, 2022
A cracking debut book from the author who has delivered a really, really good courtroom drama, featuring attorney Jackson (Jax) Berman as the main character.
It follows both is personal and professional life and the book gets your attention from the word go!
No slow build waiting for action but straight in there, I didn't struggle to concentrate and the characters were detailed well, so much so I wondered if I had met a few in real life.
Surely there must be a sequel to this.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
It follows both is personal and professional life and the book gets your attention from the word go!
No slow build waiting for action but straight in there, I didn't struggle to concentrate and the characters were detailed well, so much so I wondered if I had met a few in real life.
Surely there must be a sequel to this.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
January 22, 2022
This was a very good book. The development of characters gave the reader insight into each person and made you feel as though you knew them. There were some "red herrings" to lead you in one direction while the "truth" was in another. I was able to read it in two days!
January 29, 2022
Good first novel. Interesting character development, and kept me involved from page 1 to finish.
November 18, 2024
Very eventful and hard to put down!! Written by my professor Stephanie Wyler!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews