WOW!, April 29, 2008

Michaela Riley
Publish America, 2007
1-4241-9767-8
5 Stars
WOW!

Occasionally, a book comes along that grabs your attention and will not let go. Embittered Justice is one of those books. When I started reading Embittered Justice, I truly thought it was a true story or inspired by an actual event. After checking, I discovered it was completely fiction. Few authors have the talent to make a story seem so real.

Jennifer buys a house and has a problem getting the former owners to move out. The older couple are very unreasonable and friends of the police. She should have met the neighbors before buying the house. The neighbors were not "neighborly." The former owners and neighbors acted as though she had taken the house away from them instead of buying it. Shortly after moving in, a box was left on her doorstep. It did not have her name on it, but it did have her address. Of course, she opened the box. Who has not opened mail that has delivered to their house--sometimes by accident and sometimes out of curiosity? Soon she was charged with theft.

Embittered Justice is a highly charged story. The plot and characters were well-developed. Jennifer reacted and took some bad advice. Her character was highly emotional and multidimensional. When she and Michael went climbing, I feared for her life. I did not trust him. You can tell I became very involved in this story. The lawyers and law enforcement people were all unreasonable and dishonest. If you like high drama, you will love Embittered Justice.

By Debra Gaynor "Debra Gaynor" (Hawesville, KY USA)