Judgment

Judgment

Married Superior Court Judge Juliana fails to use good Judgment and has an one-night stand at an out-of-town conference.

Juliana decides to never repeat her mistake and returns to her courtroom. Unfortunately, she then sees the man sit down as a member of the defense counsel. The man blackmails her to rule in favor of the defense. He threatens to tell her family of their tryst if she doesn’t throw the case. The case, regarding a hostile workplace environment, is high profile so Juliana uses her connections to fight back.

The feeling of dread and the fast pacing really works in Judgment. However, some of the plot strains belief. Russian mobsters, really? Juliana begins as a lower level judge who obviously doesn’t think through some of her actions. She ends up as someone who really should be in a superhero movie.

I have never read this author’s work before and I can’t see myself reading it again. It is as if he took all the trendy tropes (Russian mafia, #metoo movement, advanced military technology, non-subtle digs at President Trump) and developed a plot around them with a strong female heroine (also trendy) without thinking whether any of it could realistically happen. Judgment didn’t work for me so I’m giving it 2 stars.

Thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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