The Pardon

The book has many factors that I don't like, that isn't to say this is a bad book, but it feels very lacking. Any element of surprise is quite underwhelming because you either expected it or it's made a bigger deal than it is. You can guess pretty well if someone is going to be killed based on the character getting their own chapter or a special emphasis. I will say I like the pacing of the book for the first half, the chapters are short, and you glaze through this book, but this factor later bites itself in the ass when you reach the more interesting parts of the plot, and it's over before you know it. I would say the trial is the most entertaining part of the story and it's disappointing to see it finish quickly, it feels like the author didn't want to add too many questions to the witnesses on the stand to keep some suspense.

If we dive more into the characters, Jack is... there. He's not bad, but to be a lawyer he does do some questionable things and at some points you wonder how the “smart enough to have graduated summa cum laude from Yale University” man is a lawyer. I could tell Gina was going to get killed, I just didn't know how and when I read it I hated it. Not many chapters ago Jack was saying how he was being stalked and later when he confronts Gina about her confession on the stand and she admits she made a deal with Stafford he gains hope in a mistrial, to which he proceeds to leave her alone and then she obviously gets killed. At this point Jack had already confronted his stalker and he knew what he was capable of and yet it makes no sense to me how the man who was concerned about Cindy knowing any details because he didn't want her to get a subpoena is the same man who allowed Gina to spend the night alone. This is also the same man who was concerned of Gina testifying against him, the same man who lied to his lawyer, making him think that he was sleeping at Gina's the whole night of the murder.

Since I mentioned Cindy, let's talk about her. She serves as shock value, that's it. She doesn't need to be a part of the story, you could write her out and not much changes. She doesn't serve as an alibi for Jack, she doesn't even serve as an anchor of hope for Jack. The turmoil of Jack sleeping with Gina doesn't affect much in the plot. Jack wanted Gina to testify anyway, he didn't seem to care much of Cindy finding out and he wanted to tell her anyway. Gina didn't want to testify because of Cindy but the only reason Jack agreed to not tell Cindy wasn't because he never wanted her to find out, he just didn't want Gina to tell the jury that he had been receiving threats prior to the murder because it creates a motive. She really is just a love interest. The women in this book serve for two things: sex and getting killed. Except Cindy because she is Jack's love interest.

The one element of this book I wanted more of was Eddy Goss, I mean the chrysanthemum killer, that's a cool name, I wish we got more of that instead of the “you killed my brother so now you must die blah blah blah” plot.