Unreasonable Force

LEGAL:  William Thomas has a thriving law practice, a loving family, and the misfortune to be the wrong man, at the wrong place, at the wrong time - and with the wrong skin color.  A chance encounter with two police officers after a baseball game lands him in jail as a cop killer.

Brent Marks is Thomas’ only hope.  An experienced defense lawyer, even he is unprepared for the layers of corruption and self-serving politics he encounters trying to defend his client.  With the help of ex-FBI Agent Jack Ruder he begins the mammoth task of digging through a mountain of lies and half-truths in an attempt to discover what really happened that night.

Kenneth Eade’s passion for his subject matter is obvious in the quality of his prose and his excellent character development.  Mark’s journey through the labyrinth of the criminal justice system to discover his client’s guilt or innocence is exciting and compelling and keeps the reader hooked most of the way through the story.

The weakness in “Unreasonable Force” is the ending, which seems rushed and incomplete. Additionally, the interesting backstories are never fully realized, leaving a vague sense of dissatisfaction that could be easily resolved with a couple more chapters in an otherwise very good book. “Unreasonable Force” is an insightful and thought provoking look into the politics of the criminal justice system, well worth reading.

Gwenellen Tarbet