Book Review by Mauri Moore Shuler: While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

I bought this book because it sounded like something I would enjoy as a summer read and because I wanted to support the author, as a gesture of gratitude for her civic engagement and fight for voting rights.

Stacey Abrams, a lawyer, is known as a Georgia State Representative who ran for Governor and barely lost but helped turn Georgia into a swing state with a campaign for full and fair elections. 

But, unbeknownst to me, she was also writing books. Eight earlier books were all romances written under the name Selena Montgomery. She writes black women in roles of lawyers, sheriff, undercover agents, botanist… and, frankly, I didn’t even notice the race of the characters in her latest, this fast-paced political thriller, because I was simply caught up the in story.

She worked on While Justice Sleeps for 12 years. Aptly named, it revolves around a Supreme Court Justice who falls into a coma. How it happens and why is happens is unraveled in a tense international story of very high stakes intrigue. He leaves instructions that one of his law clerks is to have his Power of Attorney and Guardianship. This young woman then starts to unravel the full story.

Plot:
Sometimes I could not keep all the details straight, but it hardly mattered. Just keep reading if you get lost. You might be able to predict some twists, but I’ll bet you won’t be able to predict everything. And there is enough truth in the sinister plot of the villains to scare a reader.

Characters:
The hero is well drawn but others are flat. Again, it hardly matters in such a plot-driven story.

Style:
Abrams' style is very easy to read and there are occasional brilliant turns of phrase.

Footnote:
In the Acknowledgements, the reader will get a glimpse of the author’s very impressive family, all of whom helped her write this book.

Bottom line: A good read for political thriller fans.

--Review by Mauri Moore Shuler