Imperfect Justice by Cara Putman

 

To the world it seems obvious: Kaylene Adams killed her daughter and then killed herself. Attorney Emilie Wesley knows a different story: Kaylene would never hurt anyone and was looking for a way out of a controlling, abusive relationship. Her death shakes Emilie’s belief that she can make a difference for women in violent marriages. Self-doubt plagues her as she struggles to continue her work in the wake of the tragedy.

Reid Billings thought he knew his sister—right up until he learned how she died. He discovers a letter from Kaylene begging him to fight for custody of her daughters if anything should happen to her. No attorney in her right mind would support an uncle instead of the father in a custody case, but Kaylene’s letter claims Emilie Wesley will help him.

Thrown together in the race to save Kaylene’s surviving daughter, Emilie and Reid pursue the constantly evasive truth. If they can hang on to hope together, can they save a young girl—and find a future for themselves in the process?

Imperfect Justice by Cara Putman is the second novel in the Hidden Justice series, following Beyond Justice. The first novel follows Hayden's story, while this novel follows Emilie, her roommate. The plot of this novel was well written and contains moments of suspense, danger, reflection, and romance. The first few chapters were a little confusing because the story jumped from a few months previous to present time without much warning, but after that it was easier to follow. The narrative was primarily third person from either Emilie or Reid's point of view, but Emilie also has a stalker that has been following her since Beyond Justice, and there are a few short chapters from his perspective, without letting the reader in on who he is. I appreciated the intrigue and suspense created by this, but I was able to figure out by about halfway through the novel who the stalker was. While I could understand how Emilie had not figured it out yet since she did not have this inside information and was busy with a separate case, it did create some anxiety for me as the reader wondering when she would finally figure it out.

I liked both Reid and Emilie as main characters, and I appreciated the inside look into their thoughts and feelings, but I did wish there was a little more delving into Reid's personality in comparison to what was revealed about Emilie. And while I liked the ending of the story, I thought that the conclusion of what Emilie had been feeling and experiencing seemed flat and almost unrealistic...hopefully this will continue to be pursued as a background piece in future novels. Overall, I enjoyed the suspense in this novel, and I look to reading the rest of the Hidden Justice series.

I received this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.