The Last Justice Is a First-Class Thriller

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It's Black Wednesday, and an assassin has just murdered five of the nine Supreme Court justices while they are hearing a case. A sixth, Chief Justice Thomas W. Kincaid, brandishing a pistol, is mistakenly shot by the police, who think he might be the killer, though it's later discovered "he had surprised the assassin by returning fire," and that "The Supreme Court police officers who mistakenly shot Kincaid had killed the only witness to see the shooter's face." The main suspect of the police and FBI? Security cameras identify the initials "C.B." branded onto someone's neck, but don't catch the person's face clearly. The person whom the cops start to believe has the best motive is, you'd initially think, the one who would be the least likely to commit such a heinous crime - the Solicitor General (SG), Jefferson McKenna. The belief is strengthened when McKenna flees, leaving dead bodies in his wake. But, did he murder the Supreme Court justices, or is someone trying to set him up?

This is the scenario that talented author Anthony J. Franze (a successful lawyer himself) presents in his suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat debut thriller, The Last Justice. McKenna has to prove his innocence and uncover who is really behind the murders while on the run from the police, the FBI, and the people who are trying to frame him and possibly kill him. Also, conservative President Winter, wanting to fill the vacancies on the Supreme Court as expediently as possible, tries to cut a deal with the Congress, "the three-three deal." It's meant, supposedly, to be fair to everyone involved, a way around bipartisan bickering. As Judge Ivan Petrov, a potential nominee for one of the openings caused by the murders, puts how the deal would work:

"It's pretty simple. The administration and the Democratic leadership each would come up with a list of three nominees, and each side agreed not to challenge the nominees on the other's list: hence, the name, 'the three-three deal.'"

The person to come up with the idea? Jefferson McKenna. McKenna, before he becomes a suspect himself, assists with the investigation, going through the cases that the Supreme Court was scheduled to rule on previous to the shooting deaths of the justices. He comes up with two cases that seem to have the most potential to give someone a motive to want the decisions delayed.
What's more, Parker Sinclair, a law clerk that winds up dead with his blood on McKenna's running suit and in his motel room, had accused McKenna of taking a bribe from Nash. When Nash is later stabbed to death, that seems to confirm to the police that McKennna is the one who has the most to gain by it.

The Last Justice is an adrenaline-inducing roller coaster ride, full of enough action and chase scenes to please the most discriminating junkies of thrillers and suspense novels. How McKenna manages to evade capture and gather evidence, with the aid of his love interest, Kate, her brother, Aiden, and Aiden's computer-hacking friend makes for a very entertaining read. I hope to read more excellent, action-packed novels of suspense from Anthony J. Franze in the future. If you enjoy page-turning, exciting, pulse-racing mystery thrillers, I recommend checking out The Last Justice today!

Reviewed by Douglas R. Cobb for http://www.bestsellersworld.com/

Review - Diary: Alone on Earth

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Diary: Alone on Earth, JD Weldy, 2011, B005W3NACK (Kindle e-book)

It's normal to wonder what it would be like to be the last person on earth. That is, until it actually happens.

David is a senior citizen who has reasons for wanting to cut himself off from the rest of the world. He finds an isolated house outside of a small town in Alabama, where he plans to spend the rest of his days with his faithful dog, Ralph. One day, the whole world is menaced a strange humming sound. The media is full of speculation as to the cause. Several hundred people are driven to suicide, including one of David's neighbors. Countries are ready for war, convinced that their "enemy" is about to attack. David goes to bed.

The next morning David wakes up to no electricity, and no battery power, either. Even new, freshly charged batteries are dead. David travels to the houses of his neighbors, to find them deserted. He visits the small town, a place called Axis, to find it also deserted. He finds a motorcycle that he can push start, and visits Mobile, Alabama. He finds hundreds and hundreds of abandoned, burning cars, like people were in a panic. But there are no people, not even dead bodies. He finds the same thing in Atlanta, along with signs that people tried very hard keep something out, or in.

The book turns into something of a psychological battle between David and a being that he calls The Blackness. David feels that it wants him dead, but it can't kill him, so it torments him constantly. David hears Ralph barking, but no matter how much he calls out to Ralph, he doesn't come. David also hears voices that he should recognize. David and The Blackness meet late in the book (think "demon from hell"). David decides to travel west to keep looking for any other people. For some reason, he feels that answers will be found at the end of Interstate 90, in the town of Van Horn, Texas. As he travels, with The Blackness making it as hard as possible, David has to maneuver around thousands and thousands of smashed and burning cars, but still no people. Does David reach the end of his journey? Does he discover what happened to mankind?

Told all in diary form, this is a really interesting suspense story. It does a very good job of showing the despair that will set in after the "novelty" wears off, including the wondering if God would really let such a thing happen to His people. It is very much worth reading.

Paul Lappen is a freelance book reviewer whose blog, http://www.deadtreesreview.blogspot.com/, emphasizes small press and self-published books.

One of My Favorite Mysteries Is Hour Glass by David Baldacci

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When I'm not reading historical fiction, I enjoy a good mystery. "Hour Glass" was an excellent choice. I usually look to James Patterson or Michael Connelly for a great novel. Well, David Baldacci was equally as superb at writing when it came to producing this book. I had a hard time putting it down. It had me from the very beginning. I'll be looking for this author for future reading enjoyment.

One thing I really enjoyed about his writing was the colorful descriptive style of content that I encountered. In this book mystery, the investigators named King and Maxwell are a highly entertaining team of detectives. It was non stop vibrant action while the smart serial killer always seemed to be one step ahead, in his twisted exploits. He seemed to always be clever and able to create complexities in his actions just enough to throw off the trailing duo as they sought him out and tried to solve the mystery.

The story setting is in a small community called Wrightsburg which was home to several well to do families. The Battle family was one of the richest residents there and was also at the center of the mystery. Despite their wealth, they were quite a dysfunctional clan.

Michelle Maxwell and Sean King were the heroes of the story. Eventually, they outsmarted him. They were very entertaining and likeable detectives. The local doctor, Sylvia Diaz, seemed very likeable too, until you discover that she has an evil role in the story. The real villain appears somewhat likeable at first but later you discover the truth. He is clever, intelligent and an accomplished painting artist. He is also involved with civil war reenactments as a hobby.

His sister, Savannah Battle is a genuine nice person whiles his mother, Remmy, is a stern woman whose bark is worse than her bite. The father, Bobby Battle, the kingpin, had made the family fortune and also created the dysfunction. Once he died, the family unraveled even further. Bobbie's past misdeeds would come back to haunt the family as well as the community.

Eddie Battle when he was discovered and caught, then, becomes an escape artist. There is never a dull moment in this story. I highly recommend the book as well as the author and his talent. You too may find it a novel hard to put down if you enjoy the book as much as I did.

John Sprague is an American currently working in the mideast. He enjoys writing and working on his websites in his free time. He has a new site at http://johnsprague.ws/ His website has photos of the mideast and marketing articles that you may be interested in viewing. There are also website analysis tools and articles on genealogy and dna.