OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Price of Justice" by Alan Brenham.]

Price of Justice by Alan Brenham is a book in the crime thriller/police procedural genre. It is the first book in the series featuring Detective Jason Scarsdale.

“It should have been me”, is what Jason keeps repeating, thinking of his young, beautiful, and now dead wife. Blaming himself is not going to bring her back, so Jason decides to concentrate on his energies in his personal life to become an excellent parent for his five-year old daughter. On the professional front he is back in the game, hunting down the murderer of an acquitted pedophile, who he believes was guilty of the crime and hence, doesn’t feel any sympathy for his brutal death.

When the legal system fails and when there is no help available, is revenge the only answer left? That’s what Dani Mueller aka Karla Engel decided when her ten-year old daughter was cruelly raped and murdered. She thought avenging her daughter’s death would give her closure but it only fueled her anger and started a never-ending chain of events which will end only with her death. Brought together by fate, Jason and Dani have to solve a murder which might help them bust a vicious gang of pedophiles and child pornographers. The clock is ticking; will they succeed before another precious life is lost?

The plotline is an interesting permutation of something cliché and refreshing. Dani’s character is a lawyer by profession and yet gives up on the legal system after it fails her, taking justice in her own hands. Jason who is a law enforcer also shows predisposition towards extra-legal action when the law works against innocents. The author’s careful execution of the plot circles around these highly debatable issues, without passing a judgment on the characters.

The male protagonist, Jason, makes a dramatic entry in the opening scene when he trying to shoot himself, since he believed that he is the reason his wife dead. From this depth of self-loathing, Jason slowly emerges as a strong character, devoting all his attention towards this daughter, Shannon, and reclaiming his life. The female protagonist, Dani/Karla, impressed me much more though, especially since her version is in first person. For someone who is cool headed and smart, Dani gives in to her emotions more than once, and is ready to walk down the path of retribution for what she believes is right. At the same time, she realizes that she has stepped onto the path of no return, and wonders if she could have done things differently.

Coming back to the plot, apart from the thought provoking plotline, there are many fast-paced and adrenaline charged scenes to keep the reader engrossed. There isn’t much suspense in the plot per se, except for the slightly predictable twist in the end, but it is how the story plays out and thrilling narrative which keeps the reader on the edge of the seat. Combined with other sub-plots like the office politics hampering Jason’s progress in the case, his ego clash with his mother-in-law regarding Shannon’s place of upbringing, and the gradually building closeness between him and Dani, a well-rounded storyline is ready.

This novel truly lives up to its name in an unconventional fashion and is definitely worth a read, especially by crime thriller enthusiasts. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars.

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Price of Justice
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Like ananya92's review? Post a comment saying so!

Well done on the review! It's not really my type of book but you did a good job explaining the strengths of the book.

Very nice job on the review. You summarized the book quite well and made it sound like an interesting read.

Thanks, you both!

You are most welcome!

Nice, thorough review! I don't usually like reading about pedophiles and child pornography subject matter, but you made the book sound really good. I am going to take a second look at the Amazon sample.

Thanks!

Sounds like a very interesting book. However, I don't feel very comfortable reading about child abuse of any kind. Great job on the review. Congratulations to Alan Brenham on such an obviously well written book.

Thank you!