In "Confirming Justice" by wife-husband authors Diane & David Munson, who use their professional law enforcement and legal experience, create realistic crime fiction. Just like in the their first book a significant Christian imprint appears throughout the book in numerous character's story arcs.

Unlike the author's first book, there is no central plot in "Confirming Justice" instead they intermingle two strong story arcs that from time-to-time merged briefly before once again separating before coming together to achieve a climax. The two main characters in the book were both secondary characters introduced in the previous book, Judge Dwight Pendergast and FBI agent Griff Topping. Pendergast's arc shows a fair minded jurist not allowing his thoughts for a particular defendant influence the handling of a trial, then dealing with health and family concerns before and during the announcement that he is a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Topping's arc begins with him attempting to find a fellow agent who is testifying in jury presided by Judge Pendergast then being asking by the judge afterwards to work on a private matter to find his long-lost older brother and while doing so stumbles upon a major drug case that partners him with former colleague.

Both main story arcs are well written and are the main reason why I gave this book the rating it has, but unfortunately other elements are also why I gave this book the rating I did. The secondary characters in "Confirming Justice" fall into either one of two categories, well-rounded and flat, and are evenly divided between both which hurts the narrative. The nefarious behind-the-scenes political intrigue subplot is unfortunately more a hindrance to the book's quality than a benefit. And like "Facing Justice" this book has Christian faith, or lack of it in most cases, prominent throughout numerous character's lives, while this is not a negative in and of itself, the heavy-handed nature of it even made a Christian like myself think it was too much.

After finishing "Confirming Justice", I thought it was a nice second effort by the authors especially in terms of the main story arcs however it faulted in other areas which has made me decided not to continue the series. ( )

Title: Confirming Justice
Author: Diane and David Munson
Pages: 344
Year: 2006
Publisher: FaithWalk Publishers
Griff Topping is the main character in this political/spy/government agent thriller. The story is set in Florida and Virginia/Washington, D.C. area. Griff is an FBI agent who is asked to take over a case for an agent with one month to go before trial. Then, that agent disappears and with the case hinging on his testimony the case is dismissed. The accused is the son of a presidential cabinet member. Griff was given a weekend to find the missing agent. He was successful in finding the agent, but not in getting him to court in time to testify. The judge presiding over the case is one with a no-nonsense, but fair demeanor. After the dismissal of the case, the judge asks for Griff’s help in a personal matter. Griff agrees to begin searching for answers for the judge, which leads him to Skeeter, a recently released prisoner and his parole agent, Dawn Ahern.
So the story centers around two main events. The first one is the aforementioned judge’s appointment to the Supreme Court after a hasty exit from the prior candidate for the position after a smear campaign. There is a nasty senator who has his eye on the White House and will do whatever necessary to eliminate anyone blocking his path to get there. Then, there is the personal investigation the judge as requested Griff to perform, the one trying to find his long lost brother. Through both investigations, readers get lots of action, intrigue and maybe a little romance for Griff. Griff has not wanted to enter a relationship for eight years after the death of his wife from cancer at a very young age. Now, he meets Dawn Ahern and they have many things in common and he is attracted to her, wanting more than friendship. She is a Christian and Griff is not. Will this pose a problem for their future?
While there was plenty of action, suspense and thrills, I thought there were too many character names and relationships to remember. I had to concentrate to keep everyone’s name and relationships straight. That being said, this was still a terrific book! I loved seeing several characters begin to recognize God at work in their lives or even some begin to pray to God and see the results of their prayers so as to strengthen their faith. I thought that was a great thing to showcase in the story. I’m excited to see if Griff and Dawn are still together in the next book and how Griff is dealing with the idea of God being interested in his life and how he lives it. I look forward to reading The Camelot Conspiracy, which I will review here soon.
My rating is 5 stars.
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. Other reviews can be read at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/. Also follow me on Twitter @lcjohnson1988, FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/lisa.johnson.75457 ( )