Book of the Month: The Justice

Can you believe it's June? Time for another book of the month!

One of my older titles has just been re-released by Greenbriar Press:  The Justice.  Sharp new cover, isn't it?   Here's the blurb:

From Publishers Weekly:
When you've written more than 70 books, either you keep improving or the wear-and-tear of cranking out copy begins to show. Hunt's fans will be delighted that this newest inspirational novel of adulterous love and political intrigue only enhances her reputation. The president is dead, felled by an aortic aneurysm. Vice-president Daryn Austin, formerly only a figurehead, takes over, becoming the first woman president in U.S. history.

As the tough-as-nails Southern belle ruthlessly plots her strategy to assure her political future, she determines it will include her former lover and soul mate Paul Santana. Ironically, she appoints him as her ethics officer before placing him on the Supreme Court. They resume their affair, but when a tabloid television show breaks the story of an abortion in Austin's past, Santana realizes the extent of her lust for power. Unwilling to act as her puppet judge, he cuts his strings to Austin, turns to faith and rethinks his position on a Supreme Court case linking abortion and breast cancer. Bitter and lonely, Austin hits the bottle and ponders how to eliminate Santana. Meanwhile, radical racist and woman-hater Clive Wilton plots the demise of the president, whom he sees as the biblical "Great Whore of Babylon." The conclusion is full of surprises, although Santana's wife strains credibility with her forgiveness and concluding invitation to Austin. Hunt's award-winning writing, the book's pro-life themes and an edge of suspense will score points with many CBA readers.


From Booklist*Starred Review*
Hunt's The Justice is about the first woman vice-president, Daryn Austin, who becomes president when the sitting president dies. President Austin concentrates on domestic affairs and on being reelected. She shows herself to be a steady hand in a crisis, and her popularity rises. Then she brings in an old lover to be White House counsel, Cuban American Paul Santana, known for fighting against the return to Cuba of Elian Gonzalez. Rapidly, the two become lovers again. Paul is torn, however, over his disloyalty to his wife and daughter, and the president overplays her hand when she appoints him to the Supreme Court in an attempt to influence their agenda on women's issues. Hunt makes a good many references to the Clinton presidency, and in her chronology, Austin would be president now, rather than George Bush. This takes the novel down some mistaken paths, particularly given the huge shift in world affairs after September 11. Still, Hunt's evocation of a woman in power ("You have to play nice with girls, but if you're sharp and think ahead, you can beat them") is always suspenseful, seldom predictable, and frequently insightful.

John Mort Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.

Tomorrow: How the idea germinated
~~Angie