Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Beneath the Palisade: Justice
SERIES: A Beneath the Palisade Book
AUTHOR: Joel Skelton
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 298 Pages
BLURB:
Despite a spirited inner debate pitting right against wrong, Owen Grady is lured off a forest trail by a handsome stranger. Just as he is about to surrender to an urgent desire, Owen realizes he is making a mistake and attempts to leave, but the rejected man wrestles Owen to the ground and discloses he is a cop. Wrongly accused of sexual misconduct, Owen seeks legal help.
Ambitious young lawyer Brent Burns is a junior partner at Burns & Callahan, a law firm located within the Men’s Center in Two Harbors, Minnesota. He takes on Owen’s case, determined to prove him innocent. But Brent can’t possibly predict the obstacles on the bumpy road to an acquittal—not the least of which is an ethical taboo involving his heart, which threatens to defeat him before he ever sets foot in the courtroom.
REVIEW:
When this book first appeared on Dreamspinner’s “coming soon” list, I was a bit up in the air about whether or not I wanted to read it. Joel Skelton is by no means a new author but I had yet to read any of his books. And to start with the third book in a series seemed a bit risky. But then a request came through for a review, and I figured it was a sign, I was meant to read the book. So I did, and I liked it. However…(and this isn’t a complaint but maybe something for potential readers to consider)
I was told the book could be read as a standalone, and that’s true, it absolutely can be, but I think not having read the first two books in the series impacted on my enjoyment of this one. The storyline covered in the blurb (with Brent and Owen as the MCs) is completely told in this one book. There’s no missing backstories, the men haven’t met in other books, it’s all here. The reason I question calling it a standalone is because the main characters from the two previous stories also have a lot of page time in this book. And not necessarily with Brent or Owen. I’d be right into Owen’s drama and then suddenly a previous MC would become the main focus and, unfortunately, I just didn’t care about them. Switching to one of these people I had no clue about made me lose interest in what was going on and I had to force myself not to skip through to get back to Owen. Having said that, had I read the first two books then popping in on the previous MCs would have been great. In fact I love it when series do that. So some people may see this as a pro rather than a con.
As for the plot, I really enjoyed it. Poor Owen! What he went through was horrible but I must admit I kind of liked the character of the nutjob cop. Owen, though was my definite favourite. He was very well written. At first I thought he was stupidly naïve and I was surprised that he would actually have the guts to protest his innocence and accuse the cop of attacking him. But as more of his character was revealed it became apparent that he was a much stronger person than I first thought.
Brent, well truthfully, he confused me at first. I think because he was a lawyer I expected a certain maturity and confidence. I actually had to stop and remind myself that he was only young and that he was in fact written in a perfectly realistic way. Brent is learning that attending law school and actually practicing law are two totally different things and being madly attracted to his first client doesn’t help matters.
I did have one complaint though. Owen was arrested for intending to have sex in public. I can’t exactly remember now, but I guess the charge would have been indecent exposure, or maybe lewd conduct? Brent is the lawyer who is fighting to prove that his client would never do something like that. So why on earth did both men think it was a good idea to have sex on the roof of Brent’s house? On the fourth of July, which isn’t exactly the quietest night of the year. In the end I liked the way that scene played out, but seriously!
So, I’m giving this 3.5 stars – which means I liked it. I do intend to read the first two books at some point because those other characters appeared to have interesting stories of their own, but I definitely wished I’d read them in order. I have a feeling that if I had, then my rating would be higher.
RATING: 
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