Uniform Justice is a legal thriller by K.J. Sutherland.
It belongs to the series of legal thrillers called "Storm DeVries Legal Thriller."
As is apparent from the name, the main character is Storm DeVries, a military lawyer. In the first book she is tasked with an investigation of a military plane crash. Storm's dad was one of the passengers, so the investigation is personal.
First, let me form my opinion for the lazy ones. I like this book. For a thriller, it has just two instances of tension, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. Be warned that the author loves to give exposition, short history lessons, or explanations of different terminology. It wasn't a bummer for me, but I can't say what you will feel.
The characters are different; they have motivations and personalities, and they are active. Most of the characters are intelligent and competent. When something went wrong, it was often due to circumstances. When things were going well, it was usually because the characters were prepared, educated, and smart. The ending was also satisfying.
However, Storm was sometimes negligent, which decreased my appreciation of the book. The author also sometimes overexplained and didn't trust her audience enough. These two aspects don't allow me to call the book great. But it was very good and very enjoyable, and I definitely recommend it.
Now, let's dive a bit deeper.
The book is written in the third person, past tense. Not all chapters are dedicated to Storm. Some are told from the point of view of the main villain, and others are told from the point of view of a more or less neutral party who just wanted to make quick money.
In my opinion, the main points of the story are the dangers of being a whistle-blower and the difference of opinion about loyalty. To whom should Storm have been loyal? To the Air Force as an organization? To the generals in charge of it? To the abstract concept of the law? And what does loyalty mean? Does it mean that the organization can't be harmed by Storm, even in the short term? Or is the short-term harm worth it due to long-term gain?
Different characters have different opinions about it and are willing to fight to make their views a reality. Ultimately, it all boils out to the struggle between making money and being true to yourself in your battle for the truth.
The truth prevails in the end, primarily due to Storm's mind, ears, and memory. Other characters played their roles, too. The book does a very good job of setting up and paying back. If something is mentioned, if something exists, if we know that some character behaves a certain way, it often becomes useful later.
The book also cleverly hides the truth from its readers. I wasn't sure who or what caused the crush for a long time. As I learned the truth, I wasn't sure how much of it was known by others. And even when I realized what they knew, I wasn't sure about their motivation. All was revealed in the end, but while I was reading, the mystery proved to be a constant source of wonder and speculation, and I enjoyed it very much.
The book used cool idioms and told me some aspects of the inner workings of the military, especially their lawyers. But as I said, sometimes it overexplained and didn't trust its readers enough. That decreased my enjoyment of the book.
I liked Storm's reaction when she learned the truth. It felt natural. But there were instances when she, a lawyer, behaved in a strange manner. She didn't register a pistol that came into her possession, even though she had a lot of time to do so. She didn't consider a missing flight voice recorder important. Sure, no one knew why it was missing, but how could she, a lawyer, think it couldn't be important when it could've recorded what the pilots were saying? That decreased my enjoyment of the book.
The ending was done very well. Storm created a trap for the main villain, and it worked. It all made sense because we knew that the villain's nerves weren't that strong. Then, the book started explaining how Storm did it, even though it was apparent to me, and this somewhat decreased my enjoyment.
Overall, despite the book's downs, the amount of everything it does well is higher. I will reread the story in the future and recommend this book to my friends. And I'm looking forward to reading the sequel that has already been published.
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