Misjudged by James
Chandler (Severn River Publishing, 2020) is the first book in a new legal
thriller series with Sam Johnstone as the lead character. Chandler is the
pseudonym of Paul Phillips, a retired career Army officer who now is a circuit
court judge in Wyoming. Johnstone is a disabled veteran who loves to fish and
who has a great reverence for the law. His untreated PTSD has left him unable
to hold steady employment on the East Coast, and he accepts the last-chance
offer of an old law school friend to join his small law practice in Custer,
Wyoming.
The effects
of PTSD on Sam, even years after the precipitating event, are wrenching. When
an easel falls over in the courtroom, Sam has a flashback and screams
“Incoming!” as he dives under a table, disrupting judicial proceedings. The
only place Sam finds peace is fishing alone in the scenic mountain lakes and
streams. Sam accepts the help he’s declined for years during the story in a
strong effort by the author to show veterans the impact of the hard years of
middle Eastern conflict can be reduced.
The town of
Custer is a far cry from the law practices of Georgetown in Washington, DC,
where Sam has been working. The lawyers in town are often uncomfortably cozy
with the two judges who hold sway over the courthouse, and the janitors often
know as much about cases being tried as the participants. To get along, lawyers
go along, sometimes at the expense of the equitable application of the law.
I’ll never trust a small-town lawyer again after reading this book. The degree
of wheeling and dealing and under the table arrangements is staggering,
especially considering the size of Custer.
The caliber of cases is depressingly mundane. Custer has a severe substance abuse problem and most crimes can be traced to alcohol, prescription drugs, or illegally manufactured ones. Soon after Sam’s arrival, another alcoholic veteran with PTSD is arrested for a particularly gory murder, and Sam feels compelled to take the case to ensure the man is treated fairly. Since a conviction would be convenient for everyone but the defendant, Sam finds himself battling powerful forces. How he prevails is a well-organized and immersive story with memorable characters in an atypical setting for a legal thriller. Highly recommended.
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Publisher: Severn River
Publishing (November 10, 2020)
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Language: English
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Hardcover: 364 pages
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ISBN-10: 1648750354
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ISBN-13: 978-1648750359
Aubrey Nye
Hamilton ©2021
Aubrey
Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and
reads mysteries at night.
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