Customer Reviews

Treason (Navy Justice)

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(44)

 

 

Don Brown's novel Treason is the opening installment in his Navy Justice series, which follows Lieutenant Zack Brewer, a young JAG (Judge Advocate General) officer in the United States Navy. Some may regard this as a literary rip-off of the television series JAG. But Brown himself is a former JAG officer, and his book reflects a great understanding of the United States Military Justice system.

Treason opens with a meeting in Zurich between two wealthy Muslim men who discuss the creation of a new terrorism cell called the Council of Ishmael, which will infiltrate the United States military, creating cells within. Fast-forward seven years: a lawsuit against the military results in the Navy being forced to admit Muslim cleric into the Navy Chaplain Corps.

A petty officer in San Diego releases grenades at a church Bible study, killing eight people and injuring several others. A marine staff sergeant assassinates the Israeli ambassador to the United States during his visit to a USMC base in California. And in North Carolina, a fighter plane explodes over a lake, and some of the residue found in the wreckage indicates the use of plastic explosives.

While investigating the explosion, NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) agent Harry Kilnap discovers that the three incidents are all connected, and Islamic chaplains within the Navy incited all three. Lieutenant Brewer, coming off a huge win in a high profile rape case, is assigned to prosecute the three chaplains and to seek the death penalty for all three. The media begins to bill this case as the "court martial of the century." When Wellington Levinson, a well-known civilian trial lawyer, is hired to defend the chaplains, Brewer enlists the assistance of his longtime JAG rival, Lieutenant Diane Colcernian.

Don Brown is a born-again Christian, and this book does have some instances of characters wrestling with faith issues. But this novel is largely about the case of the Muslim chaplains and their connection to the Council of Ishmael, making this a story that both Christians and non-Christians can enjoy. Treason is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I would love to see this book adapted for the screen as a movie. Brown offers a lot of detail without becoming overly technical. This is a very fast-moving story with short chapters which are easy for the reader to digest.

I am now reading and enjoying Hostage, the second book in Don Brown's Navy Justice series. If you love legal thrillers, I suggest you give the Navy Justice series a read, beginning with Treason. I look forward to more great novels in the future from Don Brown.

Treason is an incredibly fast-moving story. The chapters are short and easy to digest. At times it was difficult to follow the story early in the novel because the author jumped from one plotline to another. But I was pleasantly surprised when everything tied together and I was almost to the end! I agree with several of the reviews that say Don Brown writes understandably and in detail without being too technical. He is a responsible storyteller who writes for both a male and female audience.

One thing that I think our less enthusiastic reviewers fail to see is that there is not open racial hostility expressed toward the Muslim characters in the book. These characters are not stared at in the church or on the military base or in any other setting in the story. In other words, they're just seen as people by the other characters until they behave like terrorists.

I downloaded this book because it was free for Kindle; I am not generally a fan of Christian lit. But I promise you, only about 5% of the book was about lovin' the lord. The book is very suspenseful and a pleasure to read. The character relationships are somewhat awkward (prude), but there is no preaching against pre-marital sex or randiness in general. The quality of writing isn't the best, and at times, it reads very much like a first novel, but the interesting story makes up for it. In fact, I liked it so much that I am (gasp) considering PAYING for the next three books in the series. I would say give this book a try if it's still free. It's a really easy read (something like 68 VERY short chapters), and, again, the prosthelytizing is really negligible.

Obviously I am in the minority but here goes... I found this book to be overly simplistic and only finished reading it to see how I might have missed what all the other reviewers found so interesting about the book.

As other reviewers note and accurately detail, the book follows two very high profile trails prosecuted by an up-and-coming, Christian JAG officer. But the story line is obvious and linearly plotted. In fact these attributes were even strengths for one reviewer who wrote "What's amazing about Brown's writing is that it is in so much detail and is easy to understand. Even if you know nothing about the justice system in either the civilian or military courtrooms, he makes it easy to follow." So if you are looking for a book that will challenge you with twists and turns, then try another author.

This author apparently believes that an abundant use of product placement is a substitute for plot and character development. Virtually every mention of an automobile is preceded with an irrelevant reference to the brand - Mercedes and Toyota where his favorites. References to Wells Fargo, McDonald's, and Starbucks.were also frequent although irrelevant to the development of the plot or the characters.

Perhaps the most disturbing trait of the books was its stereotypic and simplistic presentation of the conflict between Western (Christian) values and Islamic Extremists. It was also troubling that the author could include a story element where the novel's main character is presented as a highly moral and devout Christian who aggressively prosecutes an almost certainly innocent defendant as a means to advance his career and impress his superiors. Sadly the author and the main character move on to a high profile terror trial with no regrets and no looking back.

I ordered the other two books in the series (Hostage, Defiance) before I was even finished with Treason. I think Zach Brewer is a great character, and the story moved along at a fast clip. There is a Christian theme, but it's not preachy. I learned a little bit about the JAG Corps, too.

The aspect that was unsettling is that this story could have been 'ripped from the headlines.' Don Brown must have a crystal ball? I hope not.

Just finished reading Treason by Don Brown. This book was fascinating and held my interest throughout. I couldn't put it down. I had already read The Malacca Conspiracy by this author not knowing it was a series. That too was a terrific read which led me to this book. Both books were spellbinding and I intend to read the other books in this series in order. I can't say enough good things about this author and the way he relates his stories. I am very happy to have been introduced to his writings.

I enjoy reading books with a military setting. This one has that and much more. It gives us a glimpse into International matters as well as internal military conflicts. I like it!

This book captured from me from the very first sentence. I especially liked that the book was not complicated by an overabundance of characters. The plot was timely and I can visualize a sequel - such as how the jihadists will react to the outcome (or even IF they will for that matter) of the actions of the "Chaplains."

Reading some of the one star reviews of this novel causes me to beleive they may have read a different book than I did. I think they may have been touched by the under currents of christianity and the knowledge that the publisher specializes in Christian writings. In my case I found it to be a very good read. I had read the Malacci conspiracy and strongly enjoyed it. This lead me to read all the novels from the beginning. The theme of the Novel ran very straight through and the complaints of the trial by other reviewers were beyond me. It was a young very competent Lawyer against the best in the world. The way it was handled in my opinion was quite understandable and enjoyable. My self, I will continue to read on with his books, we know that everyone has a right to their opinion and mine is very "Outstanding" in our Naval Jargon.

As an avid reader of crime and courtroom fiction, I was very impressed with Don Brown's first novel. The novel read as though it was written by a seasoned author!

I liked the interaction of the characters and the 2 courtroom scenes. Even though this is a work of fiction, the scenario in the second trial is extremely believable and dangerously possible in today's world.

I have started reading "Hostage" which continues where Treason left off. I can already tell it is going to be just as exciting!

I highly recommend this new author and his first two books.