Official Review: Knight Justice by JC Ernst

[Kendra M Parker]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Knight Justice" by JC Ernst.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Knight Justice by JC Ernst is the second book in the Knight Stalkers series. In this book, Jake is haunted by the kidnapping of his friend Sherry, a knight in the secret order of St. John. Jake spends his time pursuing acceptance into this elite secret order while he searches for clues to Sherry's whereabouts. Sherry finds herself trapped and abandoned in a remote cave where she must fight for her life. Carlos, one of the culprits from book one, is apprehended by police and faces trial. As Carlos waits in prison, he hopes for a rescue from the “big man,” a shadowy character that leads the conspiracy behind the series.

While this is the second book in the series, I never felt I had missed anything significant by skipping the first book. I would not call it a stand-alone since events occurred in the first that influence Knight Justice. Still, Ernst does a good job filling in the blanks in a way that seems unlikely to weary a reader that has read the first book.

I enjoyed the adventure and action elements that Ernst liberally sows throughout the book. He also includes plenty of psychological elements which make the reader question what is the reality. For example, some of Shelley's experiences while in solitary confinement in the cave include supernatural elements. The author leaves these events to the reader to decide whether the experiences were real or imagined. Jake also has several moments when the reader must decide whether Jake experienced or dreamed the events.

As I look at the book critically, I found myself disappointed by the lack of depth in many of the secondary characters. Jake's character seemed drawn well, and I credit this to his chapters being written in the first person, which allows greater insight into his motivations. Chapters focused on other characters move to the third person. While the transition between points of view happened well, I felt that many of the other characters seemed more one-dimensional or lacking in motivation. I also felt that the ending seemed to drag. Clearly, the author wanted to tie up the loose ends and lay the groundwork for a third novel. Still, there were areas that I think could be trimmed while still accomplishing these goals.

From a technical standpoint, this book could use a professional edit. The story is done well and does not require much work, but punctuation still needs a good polish. I frequently found rogue commas, and periods often appear where a question mark belongs. Additionally, I found a few instances where the wrong word was used. For instance, the word “drug” gets used when “dragged” is more appropriate.

In the end, I find I must give Knight Justice 2 out of 4 stars. I would have liked to give this a 3-star rating since the story is told well and the pacing keeps readers engaged. With a bit more character development for some of the secondary characters, this might have even reached 4-star territory. Unfortunately, the lack of editing forces me to deduct a star and moves this book into the 2-star territory. I recommend this book to readers that enjoy a good action story with some psychological elements.

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Knight Justice
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Like Kendra M Parker's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Mercelle]

It's sad that a book with so much potential falls short when it comes to editing. I, however, don't like to pick up a series book without reading its predecessor, so I will have to pass on this one.

[Swiftmover07]

It is always disappointing when the support characters are not fully developed. Sometimes it's the supporting characters that make or break a book. Your review on the other hand is nicely written and tells everyone the good and less than stellar parts of the book

[Faithmwangi]

This sounds like an intriguing read that is likely to keep one glued to it. I am a bit disappointed with the character development and editing however if I get a chance I may be able to go through it. Thank you for the insightful review.

[JR Mercier]

The story sounds intriguing but I don't likr it when the supporting characters aren't fleshed out. It makes the whole read feel shallow. And the editing is always a shame. Thank you for the thorough review.

[Kendra M Parker]

It's sad that a book with so much potential falls short when it comes to editing. I, however, don't like to pick up a series book without reading its predecessor, so I will have to pass on this one.

I hate starting in the middle of a series, too. For some reason I didn’t realize it was the second book when I agreed to review it. I think the blurb had left out that part. It worked out okay, though. It was still a fun read, but I agree that it is always such a shame when the editing doesn’t happen like it should.

[Kendra M Parker]

It is always disappointing when the support characters are not fully developed. Sometimes it's the supporting characters that make or break a book. Your review on the other hand is nicely written and tells everyone the good and less than stellar parts of the book

I agree about supporting characters. I love having some strong supporting characters in a good book.

Thank you for the feedback on the review. I like to balance things where I can and help people have an informed decision about the book.

[Kendra M Parker]

This sounds like an intriguing read that is likely to keep one glued to it. I am a bit disappointed with the character development and editing however if I get a chance I may be able to go through it. Thank you for the insightful review.

It definitely had its good parts, and the action kept things moving quickly. I’d love to hear your opinion if you get a chance to read it.

[Kendra M Parker]

The story sounds intriguing but I don't likr it when the supporting characters aren't fleshed out. It makes the whole read feel shallow. And the editing is always a shame. Thank you for the thorough review.

It is always such a disappointment to find a promising book that turns out to be shallow or poorly edited. This was sadly one of those cases. Thank you for your comments!

[Cecilia_L]

This sounds like an interesting plot, but I feel like I'm missing something if I don't start with the original in a series. Also, not having well-developed characters makes it hard for me to connect to the book. Thanks for your review.

[Dahmy 10]

Wow, nice one here. I am only wondering as to how the reader is expected to decide whether events were real or not..

It sounds interesting enough though, I hope the adventure is really worth it!!

[Kendra M Parker]

This sounds like an interesting plot, but I feel like I'm missing something if I don't start with the original in a series. Also, not having well-developed characters makes it hard for me to connect to the book. Thanks for your review.

I certainly would not blame you for either of those choices. I have trouble with the same things.

[Kendra M Parker]

Wow, nice one here. I am only wondering as to how the reader is expected to decide whether events were real or not..

It sounds interesting enough though, I hope the adventure is really worth it!!

The reader has to decide at the end what to believe. There are certainly some discussions between the Knights that can help a reader decide, but there is still a somewhat fun element of not knowing for sure.

[Faithmwangi]

This sounds like an intriguing read that is likely to keep one glued to it. I am a bit disappointed with the character development and editing however if I get a chance I may be able to go through it. Thank you for the insightful review.

It definitely had its good parts, and the action kept things moving quickly. I’d love to hear your opinion if you get a chance to read it.

Action scenes tend to do that to you. It's like now you'rereading, now you're not I will make sure to let you know what I think.

[crediblereading2]

I love that the plot of this story has a lot of mystery, suspense, and adventure. I hope to read this one in the future. Very nice review.