Romeo's Justice by James Scott Bell is Book 8 in the A Mike Romeo Thriller Series. (Originally posted on 10/30/23 as "Seeking . . . Romeo's Justice".)
Mike Romeo isn't looking for trouble, but if it comes to him, after trying to calm and distill it, he will finally decide to "bring it". In his quest for justice as his friend, attorney, rabbi, and former Mossad Ira Rosen's investigator, nothing is ever simple in their cases. Romeo's attempt to render justice often comes with violence interfering with his hard work. And their present case is no exception.
A grieving mother who can't afford Ira Rosen has been told that her only son (Steven) has committed suicide in his room at a "spiritual" school that is clearly of the "woke" variety, making environmental robots of students with their man-made climate change dogma and other freakish "spiritual" gobbledy-gook theories. Ira insists on taking her case and Romeo sets out in his classic Mustang "Spinoza" to either confirm or deny that the boy killed himself.
His welcome to the school is "interesting" and he asks to see the dorm room where Steven was found. During his inspection he meets the janitor who appears to be handicapped, scared, and nervous. Romeo does his best to put him at ease.
New leads pop up resulting in some more violence and back to Square One, but finally after Ira doing his "thing" with his research, a real lead starts to actually lead somewhere. Perhaps to a kind of justice?
The Romeo Series is labeled a thriller, and there are definitely parts of these stories that are matched with that genre. However, there is yet to have a genre label to fit these amazing stories. Maybe "Sardonic Thrillers" or "Witty Noir Investigative Thrillers". I know: ridiculous. But the absolute wit and intellect of James Scott Bell shines to the max in these books, especially between him and Ira. I've read hundreds of thrillers, mystery, suspense, procedurals, and no author I've read can come close to duplicating their repartee in these novels. Romeo is as unique a character as can be found in any story, any era. And the only fault I can list in these stories is the moment I finish one of them, I can't wait for the next one which can't quite get here soon enough with Jim's multiple other writing diversions.
Highly Recommend. Although each novel is essentially a "stand-alone", to get the ultimate experience of Mike Romeo's story, I do strongly suggest you begin with Book 1. Believe me when I say, they're quick reads and well worth the time it takes.
Father, you've blessed James so incredibly. Please continue to shine your face upon him and fill him up with the stories you have just for him to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.