DYING FOR JUSTICE

4 stars out of 5

This is, I believe, a first book for the author and the

first of a series. Now that I've finished it, I'd say congratulations to the former and it's off to a good start to the latter.  Put another way, I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Julia Ainsworth is a 25-year-old lawyer in London. Her father, a lawyer and prominent politician, asks her to represent a teenage boy named Michael, the son of his friends Tom and Nicole Bradley. Although Michael claims to be innocent, he is accused of shooting a man who was out hunting with the Bradleys on their vast property - a man considered a top candidate for Chancellor of the Exchequer (as is Julia's father). 

Julia gets help from her inexplicably wealthy friend Danny, who in turn suggests an alliance with Chris Carter, a hunky ex-M15 agent who now runs his own business and is well-versed in "cognitive empathy" (a.k.a. software that analyzes behavioral clues). After reviewing videotapes of Michael, he concludes that the boy's insistence that he shot a deer and not a human is the truth; no, he's not the killer. But knowing isn't proving - and all the hard evidence continues to point to Michael.

Julia remains convinced of Michael's innocence, though, and insists that she'll keep digging to get to the truth. But clearly, someone isn't thrilled about that prospect; and when an horrific accident turns out to be meant for Julia, everything starts to go south in a hurry. Bit by bit, more clues are unearthed - some literally - leading the three teamsters to a prime suspect. But except for her growing romantic interest in Chris, Julia grows more and more unhappy with the direction the investigation is going; it's heading way too close to home for comfort.

Although I enjoyed this relatively short and fast-paced book, I do hope to see a bit more expansive transition throughout and greater character development in subsequent efforts (the chapters here seemed a bit "jumpy," and truth be told, I never felt much of a connection with the main characters, including Julia). But as I said at the beginning, this is a solid first effort that I'm sure other readers will enjoy as much as I did. Many thanks to the author for offering me an advance copy for me to read and review.

Dying for Justice by Pauline Isaksen (Amazon Digital Services LLC, December 2018); 185 pp.