A review by theavidreaderandbibliophile
Shattered Justice by Susan Furlong

3.0

Shattered Justice by Susan Furlong is the third A Bone Gap Travellers Novel. I have not read the other books in this series and I did feel I was missing important details especially at the beginning of the story. I picked up Shattered Justice because I enjoyed the author’s A Novel Idea Mystery series (written as Lucy Arlington). Shattered Justice is not what I expected. I like that Brynn Callahan is a veteran along with her dog, Wilco. They both suffered injuries in an explosion and, understandably, have PTSD. Poor Wilco suffers from nightmares as does Brynn who has been self-medicating with large quantities of alcohol and pain pills. If Brynn wants to keep her job, she need to give up both and begin attending AA meetings. I was not a fan of Brynn. My main reason is she feels she can take the law into her own hands (plus her addictions, attitude, etc.—felt like a cliched character). It was interesting to learn about the Irish Travellers or Pavee as they prefer to be called. It is a terrible shame that people are prejudiced against them because of their heritage. The mystery was complex with active investigating. I liked the action which helped propel the book forward which was helpful since the pacing was slow. The mystery can be solved before all the clues are revealed. As the law enforcement professionals uncover evidence, there are some descriptions that are best not read while eating (fair warning). Shattered Justice does contain graphic violence along with foul language and spousal abuse. My favorite character in the story is Wilco. I found him to be sweet and courageous. It is amazing what dogs can accomplish with training. As you can tell, Shattered Justice was not a good fit for me. Shattered Justice is a grim, tension filled story with a disturbed killer, surprising secrets, a clever canine, the amazing Appalachian, a dogged deputy, and a caring granddaughter.