Cara Putman's "Delayed Justice"

Wounded as a child, criminal defense attorney Jaime Nichols has finally gathered the courage to do something about it. But when she takes that first step of pressing charges, she finds herself attacked on multiple fronts. Her mentor ropes her into a case that hits too close to home, but also throws her together with her neighbor Chandler Bolton, a veteran whose therapy dog--when not terrorizing her cat--proves vital to helping victims cope with trauma. Will she be able to move past the trauma of her own past to help a wounded child?

I guess I never actually read the blurb on what this book is about--just having read the other books in the series, I went straight into it. I didn't expect the theme of child molestation--one of those subjects that may not be taboo, but is definitely 'handle-with-care'--but to my [to be fair, naive] eyes, the author handled it with compassion, grace, and incredible, raw emotion. The other two books in the series were good, but this one . . . wow.

It is intense; maybe not as much in the suspense aspect as the previous books, but just in the incredible wounds of Jaime's past and her fight to overcome them in the present. With his own experiences with PTSD and his job in counseling, Chandler is the perfect hero for her; he knows not to push, not to rush her, not to invade her space. In everything he does, his actions show that he cherishes her, something that has been missing from her life.

And I love that the Jaime and Caroline's friendship is brought to the forefront, by virtue of Caroline's needing a temporary place to stay. In spite of Jaime's tendencies to close herself off, she and Caroline are still very good friends--they know when to dig deep and how to uphold each other, even when they don't have the same philosophy of life (at least to start). Caroline's insistence on praying for her friend is inspiring; this book whetted my appetite even more to find out her story. Hopefully it will be forthcoming!

Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Hidden Justice
1. Beyond Justice
2. Imperfect Justice
3. Delayed Justice
4. Forbidden Justice (2019)