An Engineered Injustice – a #BookReview

Title: An Engineered Injustice (Philadelphia Legal #2) by William L. Myers, Jr.

Genre: Currently #31 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Books, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers & Suspense, Legal

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publication Date: To be released January 23, 2018

Source: Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley

Title and Cover: An Engineered Injustice – Great cover

What’s worst than a plane crash or train wreck that can kill or maim hundreds at a time? In this particular event, a passenger train crashes in North Philadelphia resulting in multiple fatalities with hundreds injured. It’s not long before criminal defense attorney Vaughn Coburn gets a call regarding his cousin Eddy, the engineer, and a survivor. He and his cousin share a shameful secret caused when they were both young and dumb. Vaughn owes Eddy, and both their families–big time, and he is forced to accept his defense.

This is apparently a sophomore release to Myers Jr debut release, A Criminal Defense. As usual, however, late to the party, this is my first experience with this author and although these characters were formerly introduced in the debut, reappear here. Thankfully, the novel works well as a standalone, though perhaps by reading the debut you’d have greater back story.

It doesn’t take long before the vultures turn out in the hospital corridors, preying on anyone who appears to be a relative of an injured party, with business cards at the ready. Two, particularly aggressive personal injury lawyers have teamed up to gather as many of the injured parties as they can, having prepared up with massive web, TV, and media presence.

The plot is clever and intricate and involves a whole host of shady persons in addition to the PI attorneys, including railroad personnel, news personnel greedy for the story, and a Philadelphia mob boss looking for revenge for the loss of his son. The plot moves from 0 to 80 very quickly and continues to gather one denunciation after another, all appearing to nail Eddy as a former bad boy, liar, and possibly a person who exhibited depraved indifference to the possible lethal circumstances which occurred. Unfortunately, he cannot remember the crash after entering the curve.

Vaughn is well developed and struggles with keeping his cousin safe while trying to unravel what could have happened. His girlfriend, Erin, working for an opposing firm supports him and provides romantic relief, though is not as well fleshed. Salient points are presented, then reiterated and argued so all is understood as the story progresses. Dialogue is intelligent and natural and ramps up in the court scenes, making for a tight, tension-filled will he or won’t he pull it off situation. Myers can paint a heinous personality as well as a sympathetic one, and chapters devolving his manipulation of the mob boss were brilliant. The climax in the courtroom was shocking and provided a satisfactory ending.

On the whole, I greatly enjoyed the legal thriller very much (though I’d have appreciated clarification on a couple points I couldn’t reconcile.) I received this download from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley and greatly appreciated the opportunity to read and review. Recommended for any who enjoy an intelligent, fast-paced legal thriller.

Rosepoint Publishing:  Four point five of Five Stars 

The Author: (From Goodreads Author page) William L. Myers, Jr. is a 2017 top 10 selling Amazon Kindle author for his debut novel. He might be new to the literary community but once you pick up his legal thriller and best selling novel, A Criminal Defense, it becomes obvious he is not new to the intricacies of the legal profession. Open A Criminal Defense and you’ll find yourself lost in a labyrinth of deceits and hidden agendas, a world where everyone has a secret. You never know what is going to happen next or when the plot is going to take another unexpected turn.

Don’t miss his second book An Engineered Injustice coming out in January. You’ll really feel what it’s like to be a young attorney in the trenches, beating the streets, against all odds. Born in 1958 into a blue-collar family, Mr. Myers inherited a work-ethic that propelled him through college and into the Ivy League at The University of Pennsylvania School of Law. From there, Mr. Myers started his legal career in a Philadelphia-based mega defense firm. After ten years defending corporate America, he realized his heart wasn’t in it. So, with his career on the fast track to success–he gave it all up and started his own firm. It was time to start fighting for the common guy. That was twenty-five years ago and since then, he has focused on representing railroad employees and other honest, hard-working people who have been injured by others. He has represented thousands of clients in his tenure and has become a highly-regarded litigation attorney up and down the Eastern Seaboard. ©2018 Virginia Williams