Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable for legal thriller fans
Review: The first book by James Scott Bell I read was "Blind Justice". It was a fast-paced book that was heavy on action, and it held my attention. "Deadlock" was the second one I read, and it was a very different novel. While "Blind Justice" could be considered a legal thriller, "Deadlock" would have to be more of a character study. There's honestly not a lot of action here, nor is there a lot of courtroom action (one subplot deals with an abortion case, but it has the majority of court time in the book), but there is a lot of character growth. The change in Millie is believable and paced well, and I have to say doing it any differently would have been a little too "fictionalized" for my taste. I only have two complaints, one major and one minor. The only true down spot I didn't like was the ending. There was an undercurrent of unrest in the Supreme Court with her change, and she makes a decision and gets help for it...then changes her mind a few chapters later. We are set up for an awesome showdown, and then it never happens. I realize that it was making a statement about her character and belief in the court, but it still seemed to cheat us just a little. The only other minor complaint is that one of the characters is described as looking like Denzel Washington, and that just never sits well with me. I think the fun of a novel is deciding your own players for the parts in your head, and when an author goes ahead and tells us who's playing this character, it sort of robs the fun of it. It's sort of like he's saying "I don't feel like describing this character, so here's who it is." I'm not saying that was Mr. Bell's intent, but it's a matter of personal preferences. Another novel I read did that for every single character ("This guy looks like a young Harrison Ford," and "She looked like Sharon Stone"), and I haven't liked it since. Again, that's just a minor complaint and I didn't even take that into consideration while rating this book. Other than that, there's not a lot to complain about. The revealed identity of one of the characters caught me completely by surprise, and I have to give a thumbs-up for that one. It fit perfectly into the story, and it made another character's decision late in the book make sense. I'll definitely be picking up more of Mr. Bell's books in the future, and I recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: A page turner deep into the night
Review: This is a what if legal thriller that demands you pay attention! This is the nightmare "what-if" scenario for the radical left. Suppose a liberal Supreme Court justice had a religous experience (or to put it blunter, she becomes a born-again, Bible-reading believer). Go further and explore the impact her conversion has on her pro-abortion, establishment clause and "living constitution" vs. original intent beliefs. Add one last goodie. While she is examining her positions, a liberal president (Al Gore, perhaps) nominates her as Chief Justice. Now you've got the pot boiling. The pro-abortion lobby has built an entire industry atop a fragile, and increasingly frail legal latticework. Should that ever truly be threatened, then are there any limits to politcal attacks or has the division between left and right gone too far? I finished this one around 2:00 AM. You might want to start this on a Friday night so you can sleep in on Saturday.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Christian Fiction
Review: This was the first book that I have read from Mr. Bell. It is a riveting yarn about the power of politics over the duty of the Supreme Court. What happens when a liberal Justice is made Chief Justice and gives their life to Christ? This is the key question addressed in this book. Mr. Bell does an awesome job of writing about how the heart can be changed by a saving knowledge of Christ and how this change is often received by others. I plan on reading other books by this author. If you are looking for a good suspense read, with a realistic glimpse into the politic of the pro-abortion crowd, this will be an excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Great Christian Fiction
Review: This was the first book that I have read from Mr. Bell. It is a riveting yarn about the power of politics over the duty of the Supreme Court. What happens when a liberal Justice is made Chief Justice and gives their life to Christ? This is the key question addressed in this book. Mr. Bell does an awesome job of writing about how the heart can be changed by a saving knowledge of Christ and how this change is often received by others. I plan on reading other books by this author. If you are looking for a good suspense read, with a realistic glimpse into the politic of the pro-abortion crowd, this will be an excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: Who writes these "Publisher Weekly" reviews anyhow? Do they read the same books the rest of us do? Bell has given us another great read with realistic characters
and an intriguing twist. This is one I didn't want to put down until I finished it. He keeps getting better and better, and this one is his best yet!
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