Injustice and Absolution

An emotionally challenging yet brilliant read

Murphy Wallace is back and she’s bringing one hell of a book. Despite its above-average size, I raced my way through Injustice and Absolution, the book dragging so many emotions out of me along the way.

The book is separated into three parts, the first showing how Royce and Delilah originally came to develop feelings for one another. This section of the book is mainly scene-setting, showing how Delilah ended up living with her best friend after Royce killed her father for the abuse he put her through for years. It also shows Royce in pig-headed pre-hero mode, providing the catalyst for Delilah to move into part two.

Part two of the book was horrible and by mid-way through I was wondering if I could actually enjoy the book or if I’d just finish it to say I’d read it. When I took a moment to examine my feelings I realised that my dislike was due to how uncomfortable a read it was. As I read of Delilah’s descent into Drew’s destruction I recognised that Delilah could easily be someone I know, that Drew’s manipulations were so subtle to her that, if you were caught in the middle of things, you too could be taken in. It was too close to home and, like a freight train barrelling towards a school bus, there was nothing I could do to stop the destruction; I had to read on and hope to make it past the pain.

Of course, this is a Murphy Wallace book so I knew I wasn’t only going to read the uncomfortable, but it was going to get worse before our hero came to save the day and I got to read the romance I was there for. If you’ve read the Devil’s Skull MC series you’ll know exactly what I mean. All I could hope was that Wallace was going to build me back up after tearing me down alongside Delilah.

But enough about the story before I go and drop spoilers.

Emotionally, on balance, I needed more from part three of the story. After feeling so thoroughly destroyed by the end of part two, I needed more romance and light (or just steam) to help me recover. Then again, that would be a very different ending and probably not so fitting to Wallace’s style. Delilah’s absolution was very different from Sasha’s in the Devil’s Redemption but suited her and the MC theme well.

On a point that I know some will pick up, this book is not taboo (despite the word being used in the description). If you’re after forbidden lovers and a hefty age gap then Injustice and Absolution will tick those boxes, but it lacks the extremity required to push it into the taboo trope. In all honesty, though, it’s such as small aspect of the story that it didn’t impact my reading. Even at its most difficult, this was an extraordinary story and I am glad Wallace is back to writing again.