Justice (Jess and Mark Book 2)

I liked most of Robard's earlier books and would buy one as soon as it came out in paperback. Unfortunately, she went the way of Linda Howard and some other writers who moved away from romance and romantic suspense, and began writing much darker books. It is an author's right to write whatever he or she wants. I'm sure there are many fans who prefer the darker styles, but I'm not one of them. If I want to read about children being abducted by pedophiles, I can read it in any news story, on almost any given day. I stopped buying Robard's books, but would occasionally read a new one from the library. I liked the synopsis and sample of "Justice", though, and bought it at the sale price of $1.99 on Kindle. I'm very glad I did because it was a good book. "Justice" was much closer in style to some of Robard's earlier romantic suspense, although I believe it is a straight suspense novel.Since it was not a romantic suspense book, there was no traditional "happily ever after". The hero and heroine's relationship was left open-ended, with them together, but not formally committed to a permanent relationship. Still, they were appealing characters who cared about each other, and there was the potential for a future "happily ever after". Some things could have been fleshed out or resolved better. For example, why did the girls run away from the group home? It was introduced as a key reason for the girls' witnessing the first murder, but we were never told what it was. The suspense itself was fairly low-key, without a lot of tension, but it still made for a pleasant rainy afternoon read. However, the final scene was unexpected but totally satisfying---poetic "justice" indeed. Not politically correct, mind you, but very satisfying."Justice" was not as outstanding as some of Robard's earlier works, but if you liked her older romantic suspense, you will probably like it.

Fast moving romantic who done it. Bad guys get their arrogant asses toasted - good guys get justice ! Loved the book.

Having read "Pursuit" prior to reading "Justice" I was looking forward to see how Jess and Mark's life together was going, only to find out they are not together any more. Mark's done something stupid, a fact of which he was well aware at the time he did it, and did it anyway (a passionate kiss with a former lover, who happens to be Jess's boss, knowing Jess could walk in, and she did). This kiss taking place after Mark had asked Jess to marry him and while they were still living together. Jess breaks off the relationship. Mark then begins accusing Jess of having "trust issues", saying it was only a kiss and she won't "commit" to a real relationship. Well........duh!"Justice" then procedes similar to "Pursuit", bad guys trying to kill Jess, Mark trying to keep her alive (while trying to get her back), same senario as "Pursuit", different situations and different bad guys. If you liked "Pursuit" (and I did) you'll like "Justice".Makes me wonder if there's going to be a third book with Jessica and Mark, just to get things worked out between them.

Kept me intrigued throughout the book. The twists I kept me interested and I could not put the book down. I recommend it highly.

I started reading Karen Robards several years ago, when I picked up a copy of  Bait  at my local library. I fell in love with her style of romance and suspense, but what compelled me to find and read her other works were the characters she created that really drive the story. Since then I've begun purchasing her new books almost on auto-pilot, as soon as I see she has a new one coming out.  Pursuit  I loved. Justice... not so much.There were a couple of things that bothered me about this book. First, the characterization of some of the principals surprised me, Mark in particular. I had a hard time understanding his motives and that made it difficult for me to champion their relationship. He proposes marriage to Jess, and then betrays her by kissing her boss, one of his many ex-lovers, in what he later describes as a "hot, salacious kiss," but she's supposed to forgive him because it was only a kiss, not an affair, and really it's her fault for pushing him away, and she has screwed up attitudes about men... Really? (Is it any wonder why?) In terms of relationships, he comes across as completely unsupportive and untrustworthy to me, a huge departure from his character in Pursuit. Consequently, I completely understood Jess's reluctance to renew her relationship with him, even at the end of the book, refusing to commit to any sort of permanent arrangement. Thankfully, his willingness to protect her and the lengths he goes to for her keep him from being completely irredeemable.Secondly, the suspense plot relies heavily on happenstance and wraps up rather quickly and neatly in the end, as is often the case in Robards' books, but it's not something I was unable to get past. It was interesting enough to keep you guessing, and I honestly never would have predicted the identity of the villain prior to his unveiling. Still it could have used a little more development.All in all, it was a decent read, though certainly not her best work. I'd recommend the library on this one.

Excellent book - had read it before and forgotten, but still enjoyed it very much once I realised, and then read it all againj. So good.

A good read really enjoyed the story and style. If your thinking of a decent crime thriller then this should hit the spot.

Great story as always from Karen Robards

Easy read

Robards writes a really good romance/thriller