“Larry Jamison violently entered the WDXR news studio with an MD-9 handgun. After a small confrontation, he made his way to the newsroom and began to execute `judgment'. His target was reporter Rachel Crawford, who recently had run a story about his human trafficking scheme. As the SWAT team arrived and began firing at Jamison, he opened fire on Rachel, killing her and her unborn child. As news about the case began to surface, it was discovered Jamison purchased the gun illegally through a gun dealer with multiple citations and questionable practices. Since the manufacturer of the gun knew about the reputation of the dealer, should they be held responsible for Rachel's death?
Two young attorneys, Kelly Starling (plaintiff) and Jason Nobel (defense), square off on a case that has the potential to either launch or destroy their careers. While both bring charisma and enthusiasm to a long debated issue, each also brings a dark secret from their past. When a blackmailer, positioned to make millions on the case enters the scene, both lawyers are forced to make decisions that will drastically alter their life. Will justice win in this high stakes game?
The Justice Game is a tough book. While I would like to say it presented an unbiased opinion on gun control, I don't think it did. I do not know Singer's personal beliefs, but I get the impression he's not a proponent of guns. While it was mostly neutral, there were times when a strong case for gun control was made without an equally strong case for gun ownership. Without presenting either sides of the issue, the characters alone were enough to persuade the reader the gun manufacturer, Melissa Davids, was a jerk and needed to be penalized. Some repair was made to her character towards the end of the book, but for the most part, Davids was portrayed as an aggressive, abrasive, cold-hearted, stereo typical gun fanatic, which off set the balance of objectivity.
I found it difficult to pull for either side. I loved the plaintiff, Blake Crawford, but, at best, was neutral towards his attorney, Kelly. She was alright, but for the most part I didn't sympathize with her as much as I did Jason. On the other hand, I found the defendant, Melissa Davids, annoying but loved her attorney, Jason. He was a wonderfully written, multidimensional character that brought The Justice Game to life. His dark secret was one that kept me reading late at night and hoping he'd find a resolution.
Probably most disturbing about The Justice Game, is the over all presentation of justice. It's uncomfortable to view trials as games and the lawyers, juries, and judges as pawns. Though knowing the novel is fiction, the realism that Singer brought to the story was enough to be unsettling.
Including Brad Carson and Bella was a great idea. It was nice to revisit these two characters from previous books. Carson's role was very minor--more of a cameo, but was still good to have him back.
The Justice Game is certainly loaded with plots, characters, and subjects for debates. The ending was surprising and fitting. There were a few loose ends I would have liked tied up, but maybe those are for a later book. While it was certainly enjoyable, it would have been nice if the characters had been more balanced on both sides or at least one side was completely likable. One of the best parts of legal dramas is pulling for your side to win and it's hard to do that when you really want both sides to win for different reasons. Regardless, Singer put together an entertaining story with a central hot topic for debate.”
Meli wrote this review Wednesday, July 29 2009.
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