By Richard Lee Orey
 

"WHEN JUSTICE IS SERVED" is one great novel!

Bright, beautiful, law-school educated with a great future--it all falls by the wayside for young Nicole Duval as she is victimized in a vicious, brutal, life-changing sexual assault. It traumatizes her physically. It cripples her mentally and emotionally. And her aftermath memory ruptures her every attempt to resume a normal life.

Rape Trauma Syndrome is the catch-all name mental health professionals use and legions of courts accept as fact to describe its three phases: Disorganization, Reorganization and Integration. The author's insightful treatment of the subject shows us it's not all that cut-and-dried.

For man or woman, author Jeanette Cooper fashions a tale in "When Justice is Served" that makes you live through every gut-wrenching phase of Nicole Duval's brutal attack and emotional aftermath. Central to Cooper's great plotting is a wonderful, heartfelt love story like no other. Unique and compelling.

In Cooper's riveting, page-turning, totally absorbing tale of mystery and suspense is a story filled with love, longing and unrequited desires of the flesh and heart in which she plays out the volcanic-like rumble and explosion of dear Nicole's uncontrollable emotions. In vivid passages, Cooper reveals a deep personal understanding of what happens to a normal, warm-blooded woman who has been subjected to violent and tortuous sexual degradation. In shocking detail, she gives us an unforgettable play-by-play account of one of the worst sins of man against woman. You don't just read words. You feel it in your gut until it sickens you.

As Cooper's central man-woman romantic storyline develops, she demonstrates a remarkable ability to capture the raw, carnal-driven nature of a loving, passionate and viral man in his prime struggling to be a compassionate and understanding lover and committed partner-for-life of young Nicole Duval.

Cooper writes of the backroom goings-on in a metropolitan courthouse as if she were one of the in-crowd. Her expert presentation of courtroom etiquette, tactics, rules of evidence and procedure is spellbinding. You are there. You see and feel the jurors shrinking back and folding their arms over their chest for security as the accused rapist-defendant Nicole Duval is prosecuting is ordered to openly display to the jury the telltale physical evidence of his body for all to see.

Suddenly, you feel the dynamic young district attorney's heart pounding in her chest as she discovers with a start--in the middle of trial in the courtroom, itself--that the arrogant defendant she is prosecuting is, in fact, the very same man that viciously attacked her years ago. Without warning, Nicole Duval stands face-to-face with her savage rapist. Emotionally mesmerizing!

I was hooked and drawn into Cooper's "When Justice is Served" in its first few pages. As I read on, I had to tear myself away in order to take a break to eat and sleep. Everything unessential had to wait. This great story could not wait!

Jeanette Cooper's skill in developing breathtaking suspense is nothing short of masterful. "When Justice is Served" is an emotional trip to rival the best novel I have ever read. The story plot is intoxicating. I simply couldn't move from my chair as I ripped through the pages to the dramatic resolution, a totally surprising and unexpected climax that pulls at the heartstrings.

Yes, it's true : In the last few pages of this magnificent novel, I cried. What a trip!

"When Justice is Served" is an absolutely wonderful read. For most men--at least, those who are open to learning how it feels to be a traumatized rape victim struggling to get back to a normal existence--it will be an extraordinarily enlightening experience. I believe most women will understand and soulfully feel the emotional and mental journey, even if they--thank God--have not been there.

If you read nothing else this year, read, "When Justice is Served." This is one great novel!

Reviewed by Richard Lee Orey
Author, Lawyer, retired
Official Court Reporter