Search - Fatal Judgment: A Novel (Guardians of Justice, Bk 1)

Fatal Judgment was the first romantic suspense novel I've read in quite a long time. It was also the first time I've read anything by Irene Hannon, and I have to say that I was very impressed. The first novel in her new series, Guardians of Justice, was a thrill ride with U.S. Marshals, the FBI, and a murderer on the loose. The action was consistent throughout, but sprinkled with moments of grief and healing for both Liz and Jake. It was up to Jake to protect Liz at every turn, and he was definitely a hero worth reading about!

Another thing I loved was that, as a reader, I knew who the bad guy was all along because he was revealed about 1/3 of the way into the book. From past experience, sometimes that works for a story, sometimes it doesn't. In Fatal Judgment, it defintely worked! I was given a glimpse into his crazy mind, and his motives for striking out at Judge Michaels. On the other hand, his character saddened me because there are so many people in the real world that have his same twisted logic toward our country.

I have no doubt that the next installment in this series will please suspense fans as easily as this one did. Irene Hannon has enormous talent within this genre, and the thoughts and research that went into this novel was evident on every page. And now that I know that a few characters from this novel were a part of her previous series, I can't wait to get my hands on those next!

4.5 Stars

Fatal Judgment is a chilling story that can be taken from today’s headlines. Irene Hannon pens a realistic, intriguing, gripping story I couldn’t put down. In light of a recent shooting that took place in Tucson, Arizona a month ago, of a female politician and a man in Florida who held a school board at gun point earlier this year, the situation in this book is very real. I was thankful to receive a review copy of a book where a federal judge’s life is in danger. The FBI procedures Irene Hannon describes, add to the drama and realism of the story.

This book felt like a combination of the television shows CSI and Law and Order, without all the graphic photos, explicit violence and foul language. This author did extensive research on how U.S. Marshall’s operate and the FBI agencies work together to protect the innocent. It was fascinating to see things from their point of view.

There was a believable spiritual thread throughout the book that I enjoyed. I also liked the authors’ balance of violence and faith, too. The judge says, “Faith is a funny thing. It’s easy to believe while life is rolling merrily along. But in times of trial, it’s tempting to turn away from God. Yet, that’s when we need him the most.”

Judge Michaels had to think about her situation-there was no time to freak out.

“She had to keep her wits about her. Think clear. Her life depended on it. Who would try to kill her? She forced herself to examine the facts, just as she did in the courtroom, doing her best to take emotion out of the equation. The facts were straight forward…her stalker was committed in finishing the job he set out to do three weeks before.” She realized she needed supernatural help.

The judge's life is turned upside-down and not in a good way-she craved her routine. Anything normal-she liked her organized, predictable life. She prays as she looks through case after case to see who could possibly want to kill her.

U. S. Marshal, Jake, had met Liz Michael’s five years ago at her husband’s funeral. Liz’s husband was his close friend. Funny his friend didn’t have nice things to say about his wife over the years. He had a good idea what this Liz was like and wanted nothing to do with a woman like her.. He’d do his job and be civil. The more interactions Jake with Liz the more he was surprised at what he discovered. He found a sensitive, broken woman in the middle of a crime scene, worried more about others than herself. She wasn’t anything like his friend described. How could that be? Jake was uncomfortable with the feelings he felt in her presence and when he smelled her perfume, oh my—he had to stop this line of thinking? He was a professional and would separate his emotions from his work. He couldn’t get distracted...the Judge’s life depended him being focused on finding the killer.

I liked how this author took her time in having the reader get to know Federal Judge Liz and the U.S. Marshall Jake. Both parties had their own personal baggage to deal with, which affected how they operated in current time. Fatal Judgment is a captivating, romantic, suspense story that I was drawn into quickly and stayed up late reading. This is the first book in the Guardian of Justice series. I highly recommend this book. I can’t wait to read the next installment.

Nora St.Laurent
The Book Club Network www.bookfun.org
Finding Hope Through Fiction www.psalmt516.blogspot.com