Book Review: Imperfect Justice

The police say the woman was a murderer. Emilie Wesley knows they can’t be talking about her client . . .  can they?

To the world it seems obvious: Kaylene Adams killed her daughter and then was shot by police. Attorney Emilie Wesley knows a different story: Kaylene would never hurt anyone and was looking for a way out of a controlling, abusive relationship. Her death shakes Emilie’s belief that she can make a difference for women in violent marriages. Self-doubt plagues her as she struggles to continue her work in the wake of the tragedy.

Reid Billings thought he knew his sister — right up until he learned how she died. He discovers a letter from Kaylene begging him to fight for custody of her daughters if anything should happen to her. No attorney in her right mind would support an uncle instead of the father in a custody case, but Kaylene’s letter claims Emilie Wesley will help him.

Thrown together in the race to save Kaylene’s surviving daughter, Emily and Reid pursue the constantly evasive truth. If they can hang on to hope together, can they save a young girl — and find a future for themselves in the process?

Cara Putman is a homeschooling mom of four, attorney, lecturer at a Big Ten university, active in women’s ministry, and all around crazy woman. Crazy about God, her husband, and her kids. Cara graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!), George Mason Law School, and Purdue University’s MBA program. You can learn more about her books at http://www.caraputman.com. And if you’d like a copy of her legal suspense novella, Dying for Love, simply connect with her here (http://www.caraputman.com/contact/) , and she’ll send you the link.

My Impressions:

Imperfect Justice is the first book by Cara Putman that my book club has read. And judging from the demands of members, it certainly won’t be the last. This page-turning romantic suspense got two thumbs-up from By The Book.

Emilie Wesley is a lawyer who fights to protect her clients from abuse and harassment. She knows a thing or two about that, having encountered an abusive boyfriend and a stalker. But something goes horribly wrong with one of her clients, and the woman she vowed to protect is dead and so is the daughter she is accused of killing. Emilie teams up with her client’s brother to find the truth and protect Kaylene’s surviving child.

Imperfect Justice combines suspense, romance and legal drama in one satisfying read. Members of By The Book found the characters real and relatable and the plot realistic. We had a great discussion of the aspects of protective orders and family violence. We also agreed that we never saw the ending coming — a big plus with our group. We read a lot of suspense, and if a book manages to surprise us, that is a big plus! Members also agreed that we liked the sincere faith of the characters, especially Reid. There were some minor plot points that we found a bit convenient and we thought Reid’s niece recovered a bit quickly, but all in all we recommend this novel.

Imperfect Justice is the second book in the series, but is easily read as a standalone. By the time we finished our discussion, many were clamoring to get a copy of book 1, Beyond Justice. And, I imagine that book 3, Delayed Justice will make more than one member’s TBR list.

Recommended.

Great for Book Clubs.

Audience: adults.

To purchase this book, click HERE.

(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)