Justice for None

Rating:
Summary: A satisfying read, good and realistic courtroom drama.
Review: I found "Justice for None" to be a very enjoyable read. It crackles with realism--the reader is transported back to the bad old days of the late 1920s, when prosperity was for the few, and hard work and hard luck was the lot of most Americans.

Against the backdrop of the looming and imminent Great Depression this story takes place. The protagonist is a World War One hero, who is also a hard-luck case. Rather than being rewarded and recognized for his heroism in Europe, he is scarred by his wartime suffering, and his marriage does not survive the strain. When someone murders his estranged wife, he is the suspect, and then a fugitive.

The eventual courtroom scenario, as it plays out in the novel, is the story's climax and also involves the best writing in the novel. Further, it seemed to me (I am a trial attorney) that the authors did an exceptionally good job of showing the reason for some of our procedural safeguards in court that protect defendants. The absence of these safeguards in this 1929 trial work to the very great, and unfair, disadvantage of the protagonist. I thought that the authors did an exceptional job of bringing this out, and the trial has a gritty feel of realism, right down to the incident (no real spoiler here) in which the defense attorney realizes that his client has not been entirely truthful or candid with him. There, as in real life, this is a potentially fatal mistake.

The ending surprised me a bit, and the authors do a good job of tying up the loose ends in the story, making for a startling conclusion to a satisfying read.

Rating:
Summary: A good story and compelling characters.
Review: Surprising not to have heard more about this novel, came across it in a small bookstore. I couldn't get through these authors' first outing but this one is completely different. The lead character is well-drawn but not all that sympathetic, which makes for an interesting effect, and there is terrific period and regional detail. Courtroom scene drags toward the end but there are plenty of well-crafted bits. And the writers provide a strong sense of place--both small town Illinois and Chicago and even some train/hobo type scenes. Also the lead character ends up working in a meat/butchering factory and that is real vivid. Time and place great, story not bad at all.

Rating:
Summary: a great read!
Review: The atmosphere the authors created swept me back in time to the places and experiences of my youth in Illinois. Justice for None vividly and accurately describes post-World War I Mid-America and combines it with suspense to make a powerful novel. I was totally absorbed by this book and enjoyed it thoroughly.