Rating: 
Summary: GREAT BOOK!
Review: CAN'T WAIT FOR HER SECOND NOVEL! This is a well written book. Jilliane Hoffman is very detailed author and knows from experience in the crime field. I highly recommend this book if you like CSI and crime books.
Rating:
Summary: Another lawyer-turned-writer . . .
Review: And what a writer! I hesitated to buy this one because it's a "first book" for this author. However, I found it to be a fully-developed, suspenseful story.Prosecutor C. J. Townsend is caught up in the biggest case of her career--the "Cupid" serial killer case. When a car is stopped by police and a young woman's body is discovered in the trunk, everyone is elated that the sadistic killer of ten or more women has been found. However, C. J. discovers a link between "Cupid" and her past. She agonizes over what to do--prosecute the case because she is the attorney most familiar with it or recuse because of a conflict of interest. The interaction between the characters was warm and human. We didn't learn much about C. J.'s caseload beyond the "Cupid" case--just enough--and the legal problems presented made sense. I truly enjoyed this one and hope Ms. Hoffman will write more.
Rating:
Summary: A great read-I couldn't put it down!!!
Review: This book was awesome from start to finish. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen but I didn't want the book to end. Don't you just hate that? I am a huge fan of mysteries and thrillers and this one was one of the best. Great job, Jilliane. Keep up the awsome work.
Rating:
Summary: PULSE POUNDING, COMMANDING READINGS
Review: Jilliane Hoffman's debut novel, "Retribution," explodes on the literary scene with dynamic force. Calling upon her experience as an Assistant State Attorney and as a legal advisor for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement she has crafted a story that holds listeners from opening phrase to the last shocking words. Martha Plimpton, she of the dramatic voice, offers pulse pounding readings on the Abridged versions. Numerous stage and television appearances have proven her to be a confident, commanding performer. The Unabridged edition is masterfully brought to life by Kathy Mazur who delivered topnotch performances on TV's E.R., Frasier, and Judging Amy. Compounded of equal parts psychological study and courtroom drama "Retribution" introduces a protagonist to whom we can all relate. As an undergraduate in law school Chloe Larson has her life planned - it includes a satisfying career as an attorney and marriage to her steady guy. All these promising dreams are blown away when she is brutally raped and beaten. It takes years but with supreme effort she lives past this tragedy to become C. J. Townsend, a Miami state attorney with an enviable record for toughness and courtroom finesse. But then she is faced with a series of crimes so horrific that even she is aghast at their brutality. A serial rapist/killer walks the streets. When a suspect is arrested she's assigned to prosecute the case. The unimaginable happens when the suspect first speaks in the courtroom. Artfully penned and meticulously plotted "Retribution" is a suspense packed listen. - Gail Cooke
Rating: 
Summary: Good mindless but forgettable fun
Review: RETRIBUTION is one of the biggest debuts of the year so far. The reviews have been somewhat negative with a caution to the reader for graphic violence. Personally, it is not the violence that is the problem. It is the predictable plot and conclusion that mars this otherwise auspicious debut.
C.J. Townsend is a state prosecutor in Miami. Her latest case is the prosecution of a man accused of being a particularly brutal serial killer. To forego the risk of giving away too much plot, suffice it to say that CJ soon realizes the suspect has a link to her past that she would rather forget.
In spite of its flaws, RETRIBUTION is a fun and entertaining read. Characters are really not well rounded and many quite stereotypic. The plot is full of absurd coincidences and requires some suspension of belief by the reader. Violence is excessive. Nonetheless, as with many best selling books, it is good mindless but forgettable fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Without redemption
Review: I keep hearing this is a good novel for a first effort, but that would be more appropriate for a publisher's rejection letter, not for a published book. This book is raw and badly written. The characters are completely without redeeming features, even the victims, which is what you will be if you pay for this book. If you must read this, use your library card and save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Heart Stopper
Review: A thriller beyond belief....could not put it down....For a first time writter, she left no stone unturned. Cannot wait for her next book! A MUST READ!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't read by yourself at night
Review: I am only 100 pages into this book! I can't put it down! I am finding I really need to concentrate on it in order to get understand who is doing what, but it is very good. However, I cannot read this right before bed or when I'm alone at night! SCARY!
Rating:
Summary: Not the best I've read, but I liked it!
Review: It seems like people are either to one extreme or the
other (Love it/Hate it) on this book. I was more in the
middle. One the one hand, I really hated the switching
of viewpoints (repeating) early in the story. And yes,
the story is far fetched, but while reading it I found
myself hating the main character for her actions &
ethics. By getting so into it that I hated the person,
to me, that means the author had drawn me into the story. I felt that this was kind of like Tess Gerritsen's
The Surgeon, but in a legal sense rather than a medical
one. Yes, it was gory, but I'll admit it, I liked the
gore. Maybe it was a little too much here and there, but
I don't think you can put down a book that writes about
gore because it's gory. It's like saying you hated a
book about baseball because you hate baseball.
Rating:
Summary: "Punishment considered morally right and deserved"
Review: Jilliane Hoffman's first novel delivers what it promises, a fast-paced, riveting legal thriller that finds you reading late at night without letting you go. Although the novel is not the best I have read this year, it still is a very good first effort. Hoffman has some characteristics in her writing style that I found extremely interesting, like narrating the same event from the different perspective of the characters involved, and her knowledge of the legal system adds a "reality" touch to an otherwise highly unlikely plot. Nevertheless, it is important to bear in mind that this is fiction, and the author has latitude in how believable the story is. The novel starts in 1988 in New York City, where we find Chloe taking a night off from studying for the bar exam to go out with her fiance in their anniversary in hopes that he will pop the big question. After the night does not go as she expected, she returns alone to her home and is raped savagely all through the night by a stranger in a clown mask. Twelve years later in Miami, Chloe is working as an assistant state attorney and has changed her name to C.J. Townsend. The police are in the track of a serial killer that kidnaps and murders young women taking their hearts out. When a suspect is taken into custody, CJ finds herself prosecuting the man that raped her twelve years earlier. Hoffman does a very good job in describing what goes through the mind of a rape victim, the fear, anger, insecurity, etc. I think though, that she is somewhat repetitive in the description of the rape itself, going back to it several times throughout the novel without any real need to do so. Also, at some points the author loses some of the reader's interest, but luckily she recovers quickly and delivers a pretty good book overall. One of the most distinguishable features that elevate the quality of this work is the depth the characters have, and the ability of Hoffman to present their inner conflicts in an interesting way. Finally, I feel the need to point out a minor annoying issue; throughout the novel, Hoffman refers to cell phones by a brand name, which bothered me every time I faced this nomenclature. Overall, Hoffman appears as a very promising author and I am looking forward to her next novel. If she can fix the minor aspects I have pointed out, I think she will be among the best in the genre.
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