Title: Justice Gone by N Lombardi, Jr
Genre: #Literature & Fiction, #Crime, #Thriller
Publisher: Roundfire Books
Publication Date: To be released February 22, 2019
- ISBN-10:1785358766
- ISBN-13:978-1785358760
Source: Author, Publisher, and NetGalley
Title and Cover: Justice Gone – Justice is Blind
Book Blurb:
When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down. A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran’s counselor, is caught up in the chase. Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa’s patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers get there first, leading to Darfield’s dramatic capture. Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge? Justice Gone is the first in a series of psychological thrillers involving Dr Tessa Thorpe, wrapped in the divisive issues of modern American society including police brutality and disenfranchised returning war veterans. N Lombardi Jr. is the author of compelling and heartfelt novel The Plain of Jars.
My Review:
Dang, but I do get into some heavy stuff! And while I have to think our veterans are received home better now than when my Navy hubby returned, there are still so many issues out there, not the least of which is the care of our veterans with PTSD (post-traumatic stress syndrome).
This book delivers a knowledgeable albeit prejudiced punch in that direction, both with the lack of support for vets as well as the state of awareness of our law enforcement bodies. The protagonist is Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veterans counselor, who decries the loss of one of their own, beaten to death, as she champions the support of Donald Darfield, close buddy of the vet killed by law enforcement in a less than enlightened confrontation.
This is an excellently drawn scenario, plausible to the point of eliciting ginchy reflex, and proffers major sympathy for the well-fleshed characters. Dr. Thorpe is largely the reason Darfield survived his heated resistance to the army of officers ready to take him into custody for the deadly sniper deaths of three of those officers. This narrative grabs you immediately and draws you into the psychological thriller that ramps up as it goes. The lawyer for Darfield is introduced and immediately so well developed you can see, hear, and be spellbound by his expertise in law, handicapped or not. You’d want this powerful “Ironside” on your side.
I was absolutely drawn into the emotionally supportive and intelligent Dr. Thorpe and loved the introduction and crafty legal manipulations of Nathanial Bodine and his daughter assistant and the sympathetic plight of Darfield. As this is to be the first in a series of psychological thrillers, I say grab this while you can as you will want to be glued into the next book of the series. These characters are strong and wily. The author knows how to craft his characters and it will become necessary for you to see where he is taking this.
I received this ebook download as an initial direct request from the author and received through the publisher and NetGalley. Recommended as a not-to-miss important topical thriller.
Rosepoint Publishing: Five of Five Stars 
The Author:
N. Lombardi Jr, the N for Nicholas, has spent over half his life in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, working as a groundwater geologist. Nick can speak five languages: Swahili, Thai, Lao, Chinese, and Khmer (Cambodian).
In 1997, while visiting Lao People’s Democratic Republic, he witnessed the remnants of a secret war that had been waged for nine years, among which were children wounded from leftover cluster bombs. Driven by what he saw, he worked on The Plain of Jars for the next eight years.
Nick maintains a website with content that spans most aspects of the novel: The Secret War, Laotian culture, Buddhism etc. http://plainofjars.net
His second novel, Journey Towards a Falling Sun, is set in the wild frontier of northern Kenya.
His latest novel, Justice Gone, was inspired by the fatal beating of a homeless man by police.
Nick now lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
©2018 V Williams 
Rosepoint Publishing 
Wow, this sounds like a book that packs a punch. When it is based on something so realistic and close to your heart, it must have pulled every punch out there. Great review Virginia.
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Thank you, it is a heavy subject. Things have changed since my hubby mustered out and there has been some progress, but a LONG way to go.
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