The Memphis Cold Case series by Patricia Bradley debuts with Justice Delayed.  As the series title implies, there is a lot of time that has passed, before the truth is finally uncovered.  This means there is a lot of pent up emotions regarding the crimes committed.

Andi is a reporter and her brother, Brad, is a police officer.  Both of them have some serious issues regarding the murder of their sister.  These issues play an important role in the story and add some depth to the characters.  Jimmy is a man on death row who appears to have been falsely accused.  There are a lot of significant issues that seem to only be superficially addressed in this novel.  Hopefully future books will address these in more depth.

Much of the plot revolves around selfish and greedy actions which lead to unwise choices.  This is not a feel-good story about how everything ends up perfect and no one ever gets hurt.  Rather, the book has readers thinking about how they might feel or react given similar circumstances.  There is plenty of action sprinkled throughout the story, a touch of romance, and opportunities for characters to seek redemption.

Review of an Advance Reader’s Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Revell

Content Analysis:

Profanity:  None

Violence/Gore:  Many references to a murder in which a person is found holding a gun and surrounded by blood of the victim; characters threaten others with guns; there are several instances of guns being fired and blood flowing from the injuries, one scene is a multi-page account; reports that a person died from carbon monoxide poisoning and suicide is suggested; report of a bar fight in which a man hits his head on the bar and dies; a person tackles another person; report that people were murdered by drug or alcohol overdoses.

Sex/Nudity:  Non-married male character lowers the neckline of a female character’s top, but she steps away; multiple references to a girl who is a prostitute.

Mature Subject Matter:

Mental illness, murder, human trafficking, addictions, death of family member, terminal illness, smuggling.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Many references to a character consuming alcohol and being intoxicated; report that a person consumed an entire bottle of wine; a teen indicates she began using drugs at thirteen; marijuana is mentioned.