James Scott Bell is the king of lawyer snark. He writes fascinating stories that feature attorneys with serious flaws. Imagine that, you say, an attorney with flaws! Suffice it to say Blind Justice features Jake Denney who's about ready to pack it in, maybe once and for all.
Jake's a jerk. Major. Big time jerk. He's divorced with a 5 year old daughter Mandy who sees deep into his tattered soul. He gets visitation with her, but the whole situation with his ex-wife and her husband stinks, and he's not about to make it friendly - even for Mandy. His cases have dropped to zero since his drinking has pre-empted everything else. He managed to perform poorly in a court appearance and that pretty much shut down his ability to land cases and pay the rent on his office space. Until . . .
A childhood friend's mother calls Jake and asks for his help. "Howie" is now grown up, sort of, married, one young son named Brian. He's been working construction in Alaska to make the kind of money his wife seems to want. Howie's bringing her a Teddy Bear, flying home one day early, but when he arrives, the house is dark and quiet and he's locked out. Howie manages to break into the sliding glass door and goes to their bedroom where his wife Rae reveals she wants a divorce. Howie cries and pleads with her to change her mind, and then . . . that's all he remembers. Except for the appearance of the devil.
Howie is accused of murdering his wife, stabbing her 25 times and then wounding himself, and his parents and sister ask Jake to be his attorney. When Jake takes the case, Howie's sister Lindsay insists her brother could not and would not kill Rae. Jake finds he's attracted to Lindsay and tries to explain to her how the evidence looks pretty convincing. She refuses to accept it, and although Jake admires her pluck, he's convinced the best he can get is some reduced charge.
Jake calls his Shakespeare-speaking P.I. to help him with the case and investigate Rae. He finds a kid who'd been sleeping with her and who says he saw someone running away from the house after hearing a scream but went home without telling anyone.
Howie is slow and considers Jake his only real friend. Jake can tell Howie looks up to him which only makes his alcoholic regression that much more despicable. But Jake can't help himself, and nothing seems to slow his demise, even the fury he feels after his wife refuses to allow Mandy to see him again unsupervised since their last visit didn't turn out too well.
Through all of the drinking, the investigation, the determination to get Howie acquitted, and the bully prosecutor's handling of the case, there's a creepy undercurrent in the proceedings. Jake's investigator "Triple C" feels it and even Jake senses something wrong, but Jake immerses his fears and doubts in the bottle.
When multiple things go terribly wrong, Jake is forced to realize his answers can't be found at the bottom of those bottles. And injustice can't turn a blind eye to the truth.
Blind Justice by James Scott Bell is a well-written, thoroughly entertaining story about a young attorney on the skids who somehow manages to do just enough damage to himself to wake up and search for a reason to quit retreating from life. With a hopeful and satisfying (albeit a tad convenient) ending, Blind Justice is a quick and valuable read that captures the destruction of alcoholism and the beauty of unconditional love while taking a hard look at the evil Howie recognized.
Good story. Highly recommended.
Father, James has been writing books to honor you for many years. Please continue to bless his life, family, and inspiration. Please continue to supply the readers for his books and give him many more stories to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.