Customer Reviews

Simple Justice

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Given the plethora of mystery novels on the market today, if a writer is going to launch a series of mystery novels, especially using Los Angeles as the central locale, in order to achieve success, the writer is going to have to take extraordinary efforts to make their work unique. John Morgan Wilson accomplishes this in his first, Edgar winning novel, Simple Justice (1996). What distinguishes Simple Justice from the multitude of other mystery titles available is the complex, yet very real character of Wilson's protagonist, Benjamin Justice.

By the time of the events in Simple Justice, Benjamin Justice, at age thirty-eight, has already known incredible highs and lows in his life, both professionally and personally. A man haunted by his past, Justice also knows the pangs of loss-- his lover of ten years having died of AIDS. And there are deeper scars that weigh this man's soul-- scars reaching back to when he was a teen, living in a home with a physically abusive father and one terrible night in particular that would forever change the landscape of Justice's family and his life.

With the ironically named Benjamin Justice, Wilson has created a character that, because of his personal history, should know more about justice-- or the lack of it-- than most and a character that is motivated by the highest code of right and wrong. Therefore, when he is given a second chance by his former editor to work in journalism again, Justice is extremely reluctant to

open old wounds, but when he does, he does so with a keen sense that nothing is more critical than the truth and that he owes it to himself and those few who have stuck by him to always find that truth.

Narrated by Benjamin Justice, Simple Justice has elements of a modern noir detective novel to it with plenty of edge to the story without becoming a parody of classic hard-boiled detective fiction ala Chandler and Hammett. Justice finds himself dealing with a cast of unique characters,

all of whom have traits which cast suspicion upon them. Though the murder plot to be found in Simple Justice is well done, the turmoil in Benjamin Justice's own life is as real and captivating to the reader as who done it.

Although the way it is presented telegraphs the identity of the true murderer in advance, the final confrontation between Justice and Billy's killer is gripping and worthy of the best of Perry Mason. All in all, Simple Justice is an impressive, satisfying mystery with an exceptionally well-drawn and sympathetic protagonist, that belies the fact that it is a first novel.

Like another of your reviewers, I am a heterosexual male who at first was turned off by the graphic male on male fantasies and the more graphic sex. But unlike your other reviewer, it didn't make me homophobic. Instead it was simply an interesting angle in a decent whodunit in which the who was a little too evident.

On second thought, why not male on male fantasies. Most books of this genre have male on female or (more recently) female on male. It's what makes this book a little different.

It must be something about the California climate, but that state keeps producing one good mystery writer after another: Joseph Hansen, Walter Mosley, Michael Nava and now John Morgan Wilson. His first novel SIMPLE JUSTICE is told from the viewpoint of Benjamin Justice, a former journalist who had to give back a Pulitzer-- hey, this character is right up to date-- for writing about what appears to be two fictional characters, one of whom is dying of AIDS. He is coerced into coming out of his alcoholic retirement by his former boss Harry Brofsky to work on a story about a murder outside a gay bar in Los Angeles. Besides these two, Wilson creates other memorable characters. Justice's landlords, Maurice and Fred, could have become stereotypes, but they don't. Alex Templeton, a black heterosexual reporter, makes for an interesting character as does the closeted tennis chamption Samantha Eliason. Wonder whom she's based on.

Wilson avoids doing what many mystery writers do, i.e., he doesn't make the story a treatise on some profession-- journalism, college professors, police departments, for example. Also, the narrative is fast-paced and you do not see the scaffolding underpinning the story line. Most importantly, the characters, particularly Justice, are fully developed as people. Justice actually becomes more self-aware and actually grows as a character, something I don't expect from a mystery character. Finally, Wilson makes a political statement but does it with finesse and subtlety.

There are nice touches. Wilson pays tribute to Walter Mosley by having Samantha Eliason's beefy bodyguard reading Mosley's mystery BLACK BETTY, for instance.

The novel is ultimately quite moving as Wilson takes on difficulty subjects: relationships, homophobia, single gay parents, dysfunctional families, love, forgiveness. SIMPLE JUSTICE is simply a very good mystery.

Im not comfortable posting raves. Im always suspicious of the ones I read, since many of them sound like a publishers secretary paraphrasing their own ad copy. This is an exception.

Simple Justice deserved the awards and accolades it got. I am a mystery buff with a bad habit of sticking to tried and true writers. I went looking for fresh authors recently. Out of about twenty new talents, this is the one real gem I found.

Unlike the homophobe who posted in 1997, whether I personally like a character or his/her motivations is irrelevant to me. I want tight, convincing prose, an interesting mystery that doesnt cheat, and a collection of unique characters that remain true to themselves and grow during the book. Wilson gave me all of that and more.

The writing is truly award-caliber. Each character is deliciously flawed and extremely well-realized. The mystery is a great first effort, and aside from the Perry Mason confession, I was intrigued throughout. Yes, any student of mysteries would pick the killer from the line up in the first half of the novel, but its still a good read. I recommend this book, with the single caveat that mystery novelists of the last ten years have become obsessed with the ... exploits of their characters, and Wilson is no exception. Since his characters are ..., expect ... (duh). Alternately, you can skip the ... scenes and jump straight (no pun intended) into a first-rate mystery novel.

This book deserves the Edgar more than some of the recent winners. Good story, told well. I'm eager to read more of this writer's work.

I had never bought a mystery novel until this one. I read a review on John Morgan Wilson's most recent book in this series & it prompted me to try mystery as a genre. This book was tough to put down! I really enjoyed following a less-than-perfect journalist through his trials getting back into the biz. I've recommended this to many! (I have to admit...I did like the second book in this series better, though!)

This is the first in a series of novels about a gay reporter Benjamin Justice, who once won and lost the Pulitzer prize. In this story Justice is called back to work to help discover the murderer of a young gay man. The accused is a young Hispanic, who is gay, too. The plot works fine for half the book and then the reader figures out who the murderer is. The climax is not very much fun, since it is all talking. Interspersed with the plot Wilson integrates gay issues in a not-too-heavy handed manner. His writing style is most readable.

With simple prose and words that paint a picture of West Hollywood and the newspaper industry in bold strokes, Mr. Wilson draws the reader both into the mystery as well as the characters and their surroundings. His writing is tense and with Matthew Justice, he has created one of the more credible and interesting characters.

The plotting is fast, the cast of characters both amusing and realistic and story itself is without fault.

Mr.Wilson's debut novel is set in a very specific environment. Gay and lesbian world of LA. Benjamin Justice, his sleuth, is a man on a brink of destruction. Overwhelmed with grief and regrets he spends his days drinking cheap wine. The writer is blunt and to the point, and he doesn't care(and he shouldn't)who gets offended. There is no law that forces anybody to read or finish the book they started.Everybody is intitled to his own opinion or bigotry but what always amazes me is the inability to understand those different that we are.That simple thing is the key of coexistence in this world. This is a good book and I am happy I found it.

Let me admit my bias first. I'm a Southern California-based mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, and I've met John Morgan Wilson several times. In fact, we shared the same table at the awards banquet at the last Bouchercon and then had drinks together afterward. After coming clean with my bias, I still freely admit that SIMPLE JUSTICE is one of the finest mysteries published in recent years. Mr. Wilson takes a flawed character, Benjamin Justice, a reporter who slipped up a bit on journalism's ethical standards and hence blew a Pulitzer Prize, and gives Justice a chance to begin to reclaim his life and his reputation. SIMPLE JUSTICE is a terrific mystery. It is a terrific novel. John Morgan Wilson has created a fabulous plot, and he vividly describes his settings and his characters. This novel deserved the awards it received. Read it soon, if you haven't already.