My morning walks always lend themselves to a riveting suspense audiobook. I often choose books I have missed or authors I haven’t read yet. A few weeks back I listened to Shattered Justice by seasoned, but new-to-me, author Karen Ball. While this book was published some years back, it still was a fresh and relevant read, due mostly to the questions that it generated about how Christians live their faith, especially in times of hard testing. Main character Dan Justice can be likened to a modern day Job — he suffers loss after loss and begins to question the goodness of God. Ball made him so very real! I liked his very realistic and relatable struggling — glad he is only fictional! The novel is suspense all the way and helped to pass the miles away. I also liked the reader very much. One of the best parts of this book? More to come from other characters introduced in this novel! Two more books in the Family Honor series are available.

A great choice for fans of suspense and for book club discussions, Shattered Justice is a recommended read.

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(I purchased this book from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

The cover of this book does such a good job of showing what this story was all about. This was a story that showed, as the author stated in her letter at the back of the book, "No matter what we face, no matter how deep the suffering: God is in control. He is with us, He sees all we face, and He will not let us go. Not now. Not ever."

Sanctuary, Oregon is the town where deputy Dan Justice moved to with his two kids (who were so precious and full of love), after his wife tragically died. A town where folks know their neighbors and care about them. But as in all towns, there is always the bad seed. Shelby Wilson loves her town of Sanctuary and works with troubled teens. She seeks Dan's help in reaching out to one, Jayce Dalton.

All I can say from here on out, is be prepared to have your heart broken, as Dan's will be. Be prepared for evil to think it has triumphed, but God can and will heal the broken heart and the 'shattered justice' will in the end be resolved. This is not just another romance novel, although there is romance in this story. It is so much more than that and I appreciated how well this author handled "the whole bad things happening to good people". Looking forward to getting to know Dan's sister Annie in this next story in this series, "Kaleidoscope Eyes". ( )

If you're in the mood to read something that will pull you through the absolute worse grief by introducing you to multiple characters and then brutally killing them off one by one, then by all means read this book immediately. Once again, I have to say that the reason that I read Christian fiction is for the uplifting joy of realizing again and again that God is there. I guess I'm weak and need an escape and that is what I need fiction for, but I can not handle books like this. Shattered Justice is real life in a fictious story. Real things like this happen, life like this happens. This story does have some terrible turn of events and God does get to show his love and it does end on a wonderfully happy note. It's just not my cup of tea and make-believe. But with that said, I will be reading the other two books in the series to find out what else can happen in the lives of the Justice siblings. All of that said about the context of the book, let me tell you that Karen Ball is a great author. Her writing makes you feel the realistic-ness of the story, and truly feel a part of it. She can rip your heart out and make you cry, but also giggle and laugh with the biggest grin. Even if it is not your favorite cup of tea, give her a chance, every once in a while you need some reality and see it take grief into healing. ( )

If you're in the mood to read something that will pull you through the absolute worse grief by introducing you to multiple characters and then brutally killing them off one by one, then by all means read this book immediately. Once again, I have to say that the reason that I read Christian fiction is for the uplifting joy of realizing again and again that God is there. I guess I'm weak and need an escape and that is what I need fiction for, but I can not handle books like this. Shattered Justice is real life in a fictious story. Real things like this happen, life like this happens. This story does have some terrible turn of events and God does get to show his love and it does end on a wonderfully happy note. It's just not my cup of tea and make-believe. But with that said, I will be reading the other two books in the series to find out what else can happen in the lives of the Justice siblings. All of that said about the context of the book, let me tell you that Karen Ball is a great author. Her writing makes you feel the realistic-ness of the story, and truly feel a part of it. She can rip your heart out and make you cry, but also giggle and laugh with the biggest grin. Even if it is not your favorite cup of tea, give her a chance, every once in a while you need some reality and see it take grief into healing. ( )

Wow, what a sad book. A good one, but definitely sad. "Shattered Justice" is a well-written novel about a man trying to put his life together while trying to keep others' from falling apart. I can't go into much detail without giving away the ending, but it's about a widowed Deputy Sheriff who finds himself in a sleepy little town with some very big problems. Eventually, those problems hit close to home and he's in danger of losing everything he's ever held dear. I started reading this book around midnight and didn't get to bed until close to 5 - after I'd finished the book; I just couldn't stop reading. Karen Ball captures the human mind very well and really allows the reader to connect with the character's emotions. I recommend the book... and some tissues to go with it. ( )