Karen Ball's Shattered Justice~Reviewed

Shattered Justice
By Karen Ball
Published by Multnomah
ISBN 1-59052-413-6

What happens when justice fails the lawman?

Sanctuary, Oregon. A town where the local diner owner makes you drink you milk—no matter how old you are. Where juvenile delinquency means blowing up outhouses. Where folks not only know their neighbors, but care about them. For widowed sheriff's deputy Dan Justice, it's a place where he and his kids can heal and grow.

Shelby Wilson loves Sanctuary and her work with troubled teens. Teens like Jayce Dalton. Sure , he's as troubled as they come, but Shelby knows the new deputy is exactly what Jayce needs. She just doesn't expect that Dan might be what she's always needed, too.

But sleepy little Sanctuary has a dark side, steeped in pain and secrets. Secrets that could destroy everything Dan holds dear. Secrets that will one day have Dan groping through the fog toward a lifeless body—and faith-shattering grief.
Can Dan find sanctuary in the light of God's justice?

I'm not a reader of suspense, but after the first chapter of Shattered Justice, I was hooked. Karen Ball is one of the best writers I've read. The world she creates on paper becomes real, and I became invested in her characters' lives. The tension increased with the introduction of Jayce's friend, Marlin, who did not like Dan's interest in Jayce. I won't give away any endings, but the stakes got high, and I didn't want to know what was coming. Yet, I was unable to put the book down. I stayed up nearly all night reading.

In Shattered Justice, Ball takes her readers on an emotional roller coaster ride, and mine had been rung dry by the time it ended. I absolutely loved it!

Reviewed by Ane Mulligan
http://www.anemulligan.com/