Critical Reaction by Todd Johnson had been languishing on my shelf for far too long. I loved his debut novel, The Deposit Slip and was anxious to read book 2. But life gets busy and other book review deadlines seem to push some books to the bottom of the TBR pile. But a long road trip during the New Year’s holiday allowed me to finally pick this title up. I had to put it down with just 7 pages to read when my turn at driving came around (just as the action had hit its peak!). By the time I was back in the passenger seat, it was dark. So the flashlight app on my phone allowed me to get to the end. Yeah! Critical Reaction is a great novel for fans of legal suspense.

There’s been an accident at the defunct Hanford Nuclear site and a huge cover-up is under way. Kieran survived the accident and wants some answers. But the lawsuit he has filed looks like a long shot in the company town of Sherman. When he retains new counsel, the stakes go higher and the company increases its pressure and intimidation. How far will the company go to make sure its plans are successful and the people investigating will shut up or just disappear?

Critical Reaction has all the elements of a legal suspense novel — a David versus Goliath story, cover-ups and conspiracies and a legal team with issues of their own. While the plot kept me turning the pages, the characters were what made me love this book. Emily is an idealistic public defender who takes on Kieran’s case because of it rightness. Her father, Ryan, reluctantly signs on to the case after years of grief and malaise following his wife’s death. Kieran and Poppy are honorable men just trying to find out the truth. The villains are complex as well. Adam Worth has many motivations and enough sociopathic tendencies to make him very interesting. There are lots of shadow characters on both sides of the action to cause plenty of reader speculation.

So if you are looking for a suspense a la Whitlow, Singer or Grisham, then be sure to check out Critical Reaction.

Recommended.

(Thanks to Bethany House for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

This book has a great premise. This book deals with a mysterious industrial accident at the Hanford plutonium production site. The beginning of the book details the accident, and this part was very well written. The rest of the book fall s flat. The characters were bland and indistinctive. Only Poppy really stood out as an individual. I found that I didn’t really care about the others as the book progressed. The main body of the story was sprinkled with plot, and little else. I found myself yearning for something of consequence to happen through most of the book. The author could have cut out the bulk of what happens in the pre-trial portion. The plot tries to pick up, and the ending is rather exciting. But the conclusion is so abrupt, I didn’t see it coming. It was as if the publisher lost 100 extra pages that would have drawn a satisfying conclusion. This book could have been great, but the author draws uninteresting parts out too long, and left the conclusion unfulfilling. ( )

Critical Reaction by Todd M. Johnson is a refreshing new legal thriller that is tight, taut and terrific. If you believe in the art of storytelling, then this is for you.

It’s October 16, 2013 and Kieran Mullaney, a new hire at the shuttered Hanford Nuclear Facility, is working the night shift. Also inside the facility is Poppy Martin, an old hand, a lifer, marked by loyalty. His father had worked for the company before him. He feels that he is one among the owners. The plant is supposed to be non-active, just being guarded and maintained until it is cleaned up and closed for good. Nothing seems to be amiss until three loud explosions shook the facility.

Eight months later, Emily Hart is at work in the Public Defender’s Office, King County Courthouse, Seattle, Washington, when she received a voicemail from Kieran Mullaney, a friend from whom she have not heard in four years. He’s anxious and desperate, needing a lawyer. He tells her that he’s dosed out at Hanford with radiation. When he approached the company they are unwilling to help. His health is destroyed, his questions are unanswered, and the explosion officially didn’t happen. He filed a lawsuit against the company but his lawyer withdraws from the case just before the trial. He asks her to help him out in suing Hanford.

Ryan Hart is a successful lawyer, and he is the father of Emily. But he’s estranged from his daughter, and things have been going from bad to worse after the death of Emily’s mother. When his daughter asks him to help Kieran, he couldn’t say no and decides to step in as this could be a blessing in disguise. He hopes that as he works on the case he could mend fences with his daughter, and start a fresh chapter in their family life.

With the people at Hanford in denial and cover-up mode, will Ryan and Emily be able to expose the truth? What really happened at the facility that October night? Is the facility harboring any secrets? Will there be any hope for Kieran if he is really exposed to radiation?

If you love action, suspense, intrigue, conspiracy and courtroom drama, you’ll enjoy this book. Recent I reviewed John Grisham’s Sycamore Row and James Patterson’s Cross My Heart, and I’m sure fans of the two authors will love Todd’s style of writing. ( )

Title: Critical Reaction
Author: Todd M. Johnson
Pages: 378
Year: 2013
Publisher: Bethany House
Do you enjoy reading about conspiracy theories, intrigue, courtroom/legal proceedings? Then, this legal suspense novel is for you. The story is set on a Native American reservation in the state of Washington. The time is present day, and the action is nonstop. Get ready for an intense read!
Kieran Mullaney works at the local nuclear power plant on the security/maintenance crew. The plant he is assigned to has been out of commission for over 20 years, but there are still a few workers employed and safety is still checked every day to ensure no radiation leaks and the remaining equipment is working properly. On a routine check, he discovers a vat of something…he doesn’t know what, getting ready to explode. He barely escapes with his life. After he is released from the hospital, he wonders how much radiation he was exposed to. He begins asking questions and is stonewalled. Finally, he is left with no alternative but to bring a law suit against the power plant. His first lawyer drops his case two months before his trial is due to start. How can he possibly obtain a new lawyer at this late date? Will he ever find out the truth of that explosion and what he was exposed to?
Emily Hart is at odds with her dad and has been since her mother died a few years ago of cancer. Her dad has withdrawn from his law practice and pretty much from everything else as well. Emily is a lawyer in the public defender’s office. She has two years of experience trying cases. She receives a phone call from an old college friend who is desperate for a lawyer in a civil case. Emily hasn’t heard from Kieran in three years, but still feels the connection they had while in college before Kieran had to drop out to take care of his family when his father died. Emily reaches out to her father to see if he will meet with Kieran to hear his case. Emily’s father, Ryan, used to be a stellar lawyer in the civil arena and his experience is telling him to advise Emily not to take this case. He knows she is going to ignore that advice, so he says he will help her prep for the trial as a way to ease his guilty conscience that has been constantly reminding him of the years he has neglected his only child.
As their investigation proceeds, more and more inconsistencies come to Ryan and Emily’s attention. Could this fantastic story of a massive cover-up really be true? Ryan finally fully hops on board in believing his client’s story and the search for truth ramps up another notch. There is a lot of goings on and the story is fast-paced. The tension created kept me glued to my chair, reading as fast as I could to find out what was going to happen next. This is a story that will engage, enthrall and entertain. I’ve read the author’s previous book, The Deposit Slip, which was another great legal drama so I have been looking forward to this next entry into this genre. Don’t miss this one! I highly recommend this book as well as the author’s prior work mentioned above. This would be a great as a Christmas gift!
My rating is 5 stars.
Note: I received a complimentary copy for an honest review of this book. 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 ( )