Shattered Justice by Susan Furlong

Welcome!  The Book of Candlelight by Ellery Adams comes out on Tuesday, January 28 along with A View to a Kilt by Kaitlyn Dunnett and Hannah's Courage by Molly Jebber.  The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck releases February 4.  The Long Bridge Home by Kelly Irvin will be out on February 11.  It is the second installment in Amish of Big Sky Country series.  I was fortunate to win a copy on Facebook last week in an author contest.  Are you looking forward to one of these books?

Shattered Justice by Susan Furlong has us in Bone Gap, Tennessee where Brynn Callahan works as a sheriff’s deputy.  She straddles the world between the Travellers and the other residents of their small town.   Her boss, Sheriff Frank Pusser, has laid down the law.  If Brynn wants to keep her job, she must attend AA meetings for her alcohol and pain pill addiction.  After spending the previous night at her friend’s bachelorette party at the local bar, Brynn is awakened early with a call to a crime scene.  An ear was found dangling from the jungle gym at the elementary school and Brynn recognizes the earring.  Brynn last saw the earring on a stripper who was at the bar the previous night for ladies’ night at the bar and the man left with her friend, Mo.  The killer also left a message spray painted on the concrete.  Brynn has her human remains detection dog, Wilco to search for a body, but one is not found.  Then a tongue is found in a park pavilion with another message.  Again, no body is found.  They need to find the culprit before he strikes again.  Brynn has another worry.  A fellow deputy is working on an open homicide that hits close to home.  Brynn knows who committed the crime and is determined to protect them no matter the cost.  

Shattered Justice by Susan Furlong is the third A Bone Gap Travellers Novel.  I have not read the other books in this series and I did feel I was missing important details especially at the beginning of the story.  I picked up Shattered Justice because I enjoyed the author’s A Novel Idea Mystery series (written as Lucy Arlington).  Shattered Justice is not what I expected.  I like that Brynn Callahan is a veteran along with her dog, Wilco.  They both suffered injuries in an explosion and, understandably, have PTSD.  Poor Wilco suffers from nightmares as does Brynn who has been self-medicating with large quantities of alcohol and pain pills.  If Brynn wants to keep her job, she need to give up both and begin attending AA meetings.  I was not a fan of Brynn.  My main reason is she feels she can take the law into her own hands (plus her addictions, attitude, etc.—felt like a cliched character).  It was interesting to learn about the Irish Travellers or Pavee as they prefer to be called.  It is a terrible shame that people are prejudiced against them because of their heritage.  The mystery was complex with active investigating.   I liked the action which helped propel the book forward which was helpful since the pacing was slow.  The mystery can be solved before all the clues are revealed.   As the law enforcement professionals uncover evidence, there are some descriptions that are best not read while eating (fair warning).  Shattered Justice does contain graphic violence along with foul language and spousal abuse.  My favorite character in the story is Wilco.  I found him to be sweet and courageous.  It is amazing what dogs can accomplish with training.  As you can tell, Shattered Justice was not a good fit for me.  Shattered Justice is a grim, tension filled story with a disturbed killer, surprising secrets, a clever canine, the amazing Appalachian, a dogged deputy, and a caring granddaughter. 

Shattered Justice can be obtained from Amazon* (and Barnes & Noble, BAM, Kobo, Google Play, iBooks).  I suggest you read a sample of the book to see if it suits you.  The other two novels in A Bone Gap Travellers series are Splintered Silence and Fractured Truth.  Thank you for dropping by today and reading my review.  Tomorrow I will be sharing my review of Buried by Ellison Cooper.  It is the second novel in the Agent Sayer Altair series.  I hope you have a special day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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