Book Review / Framed by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey

 

In his first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man, #1 bestselling author John Grisham and Centurion Ministries Founder Jim McCloskey share ten harrowing true stories of wrongful convictions. Impeccably researched and grippingly told, Framed offers an inside look at the injustice faced by the victims of the United States criminal justice system.

A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty there is very little room to prove doubt. Framed shares ten true stories of men who were innocent but found guilty and forced to sacrifice friends, families, wives, and decades of their lives to prison while the guilty parties remained free. In each of the stories, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey recount the dramatic hard-fought battles for exoneration. They take a close look at what leads to wrongful convictions in the first place, and the racism, misconduct, flawed testimony, and the corrupt court system that can make them so hard to reverse.

Told with page-turning suspense as only John Grisham can deliver, Framed is the story of overcoming adversity when the battle already seems lost, and the deck is stacked against you.

Published:  15th October 2024 

Publisher:   Doubleday

Goodreads :  Click Here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone

Source:  Bought

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this book ...    This book was such an eye opener for me.  Living in England, I don't tend to hear a lot about stories like this in the news despite the fact that it probably does happen here also.  There are some truly heartbreaking stories in this book that I just couldn't believe even though its true.  What made this book even more interesting was the fact that you had two different perspectives, both authors.  One from the side of an author who used to practice law and one from the founder of an organisation that is dedicated to the vindication of the wrongly convicted.   

Would I recommend?  Absolutely.  This is such an important read even for those who live outside of the US.  

Series Review / The Empyrean (Fourth Wing) Series (Books 1, 2 and 3) by Rebecca Yarros

 

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders...

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die

Published:  Book 1 (2nd May 2023), Book 2 (7th November 2023) and Book 3 (21st January 2025 

Publisher:  Red Tower Books / Platkus

Goodreads :  Click Here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Books 1, 2 and 3, The Empyrean

Source:  Bought

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story so far ..  I adore this series so far!  It may be better to list here what I didn't like about this story because it wouldn't be a long list.  The writing was easy to read and follow.  The story was addicting, for me, right from the first page.  There are characters that I both like and dislike (sometimes both for the same character).  If I had to pick one thing that I liked the most about this series so far it would have to be the history of the world and certain characters.  I am not going to spoil it for those who either haven't started the series or have not read all of the books yet but there are certain characters where its obvious that there's a lot more history to be discovered.  That's not mentioning the world they are living in which I feel like there's so much more we don't know about yet.  I can't wait for the next book, but I fear I may be in for a bit of wait....

Would I recommend?  Absolutely!  Not too complicated and so much fun to read.  Book 3 read a lot slower than the first two books but feels to me to be more of a book in the series that is laying down the ground work for the next books.