Publisher: Revell
Date of Publication: June 5, 2018
It’s Elvis Week in Memphis, and homicide detective Rachel Sloan isn’t sure her day could get any stranger when aging Elvis impersonator Vic Vegas asks to see her. But when he produces a photo of her murdered mother with four Elvis impersonators—one of whom had also been murdered soon after the photo was taken—she’s forced to reevaluate. Is there some connection between the two unsolved cases? And could the recent break-in at Vic’s home be tied to his obsession with finding his friend’s killer?
When yet another person in the photo is murdered, Rachel suddenly has her hands full investigating three cases. Lieutenant Boone Callahan offers his help, but their checkered romantic past threatens to get in the way. Can they solve the cases before the murderer makes Rachel victim number four?
Clueless Gent’s Rating
If you want an education on how to properly pace a Suspense/Thriller novel, you need to read Justice Betrayed! I was hooked before the end of the first chapter.
Bradley spreads her puzzle pieces out pretty well in the first few chapters. Once you get halfway through the book, they slowly (emphasize slowly) start coming together. I don’t mean this as a bad thing, either. This author requires her readers to have patience. You know, that virtue we’ve always heard about. She saves the final puzzle piece for the climax, but she does provide a few hints as we inch closer to that point.
In some novels like this, when the climax comes, it’s like popping a balloon – it deflates quickly. Not so with Justice Betrayed! We get to cling to the edge of our seats for a number of pages!
The Protagonist of Justice Betrayed
Rachel Sloan, a somewhat new homicide detective, is our protagonist. I love characters like Rachel because they’re full of all kinds of flaws. Remember how we talked about patience? Rachel has none. She also has an internal footlocker full of repressed emotions and blocked memories about the night her mother died. She also has insecurities about her former marriage, which ended tragically when her husband was killed.
There are a number of other delightfully flawed characters that help make this story work. Her somewhat estranged father, a judge, who wanted Rachel to follow in his footsteps as an attorney. There’s also a fellow cop who Rachel briefly dated after her marriage, who she still has feelings for, but since he is now her boss, she must keep her emotions in check. Add in her grandmothers and a few other friends, and that’s a pretty formidable cast.
I should also mention that it’s August in Memphis, where the story takes place, and that means two things: lots of hot days and Elvis Week. Thus, there are all sorts of Elvis impersonators running around! Oops – sorry! That should be Elvis tribute artists.
Technically Speaking
The electronic copy I read was not a final text, so any SPAG errors are moot.
The character arcs are there, but the ones to really watch are Rachel’s and her father’s. If you’ve already started this novel, you may not think the arcs are there, but just keep reading. You’ll find them!
I previously touched on the pacing. It’s really incredible! When those super duper big airliners start rolling down the runway, they start off slowly. You don’t think it’s ever going to get off the ground. However, it starts speeding up, and the plane gets off the ground before the end of the runway. The same is true for this story. The pacing is slow at first, but it’s very consistent, and it ever so slowly begins to build, and then it just takes off!! Please ensure your seat belts are securely fastened before takeoff!
This was a highly entertaining read, and thanks to the pacing, I got through it quickly. Do you know what that means? I now have time to get through the first two books in this series!
This book is highly recommended!
Patricia Bradley is the award-winning author of Justice Delayed and Justice Buried, as well as the Logan Point series. She is cofounder of Aiming for Healthy Families, Inc., and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. She lives in Mississippi. 
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8/15/18
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Excerpt Part 1
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8/15/18
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BONUS post
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8/16/18
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Excerpt Part 2
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8/17/18
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Review
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8/18/18
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Author Video
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8/19/18
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Review
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8/20/18
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Character Interview
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8/21/18
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Review
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8/22/18
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Excerpt Part 3
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8/23/18
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Excerpt Part 4
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8/24/18
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Review
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2 thoughts on “Justice Betrayed”
Wonderful review – thoughtful and insightful! I always want to read the books after reading your reviews!
You won’t be sorry if you spend some time with this one! It was one of my favorite reads of the year!