Due Justice

An engaging, well written and believable story. It is action-packed with just enough twists and turns to keep the reader fixated and wishing for more. Looking forward to reading more!

A once prominent plastic surgeons decomposed body surfaces in Tampa Bay. Initially the body was very hard to identify. Federal Judge Willa Carson’s younger sister knows who committed the murder. What unfolds is the deceased is an extremely unpopular man. He has had romantic relationships with probably 99% of all the wealthy women in the Tampa Florida area. Then he blackmails them for money. A prominent attorney confesses to the murder but Willa and the Chief of Police have their doubts. The lawyer commits suicide while in custody. Guess what? I’m not going to spill the beans and tell you who!! This is an excellent read of the highest level!! Enjoyed immensely!! My highest recommendation!!

This is book #1 in the Hunt for Justice series, and it was enjoyable. I read it as part of the Licensed to Thrill 3 trilogy. Judge Wilhelmina “Willa” Carson lives a fabulous life on her own island in Florida, with her loving husband restaurateur George Carson. Due Justice opens with Willa’s sister Carly Austin, (they grew up together after Willa’s mom died when Willa was 16, and her step-father took off and left her with the Austin family), reveals that she may know the identity of the body that was just fished out of the water in Tampa Bay. As Willa is a local judge, and Carly is a lawyer, they are ethically obligated to report what they know to the local authorities, but they don’t. Carly’s way of handling things is to take off and hide. Willa is very curious and uses this and her power as a judge to investigate Carly’s story. The problem with this is Carly is not totally open and honest with Willa. She definitely has some secrets in her life that Willa isn’t aware of.

Willa’s social circle, and work associates all seem to be tied in to the conspiracy Carly has revealed. Carly is a lawyer for a breast implant manufacturer who is facing many lawsuits. The founders of this company are three doctors with many problems of their own, including infidelity, theft, drugs and blackmail. As Willa investigates the murder, she uncovers much drama and many secrets surrounding the victim.

The characters are believable, but not the type of people I care to associate with. They are arrogant, rich, selfish and not afraid to bend the rules, and a lot of bed hopping. There are a few twists and turns in the book, but I wasn’t on the edge of my seat to see what would come next. Murder, blackmail and suicide give Diane Capri plenty to write about.

There was no foul language, and it’s a pretty G rated book. There is one scene of violence, but it is written very mildly, with no suspense. There are some typo’s of incomplete sentences that kept frustrating me, but I kept going. It’s not a quick read, Diane Capri’s writing styIe gives plenty of description which can sometimes slow the plot down. I believe you can read this book out of sequence in the series and not lose too much. Diane Capri does a good job of developing Willa’s character and gives a lot of information about her life, her island, George, and Willa’s job as a judge. Willa has a strong relationship with Carly’s mother, Kate, and Willa refers to her as her soul-mother. Kate shows up again in book #2, but not much in book #3. Carly doesn’t come back in either one. There are a few other characters that carry over to the other books in the series. I was given a copy of this book by the author, in exchange for my honest review.