J.D. Trafford

Little Boy Lost is one of those books that right from the start felt right. I instantly liked and later came to love Justin Glass, his daughter and the rest of his family, well perhaps not so much his brother Lincoln who is, to be honest, a bit of a jerk now and then. I also love the story. I mean it starts off with Justin being hired by a little girl to find her brother and she is paying him through money from a cuss jar. Yeah, I know, I was sold right from the start.

This is the kind of show more book that is a true enjoyment from the beginning until the end, the case with the missing and then later found dead boy together with other dead boys are interesting, but I enjoyed as well everything that was going on around in Justin life, from his daughter getting bullied, to him getting a very assertive assistant that makes his working life much easier. The book deals with a lot of issues that plague our time, from racism to bullying. And, as Justin notice, a black man reporting a crime is most likely going to be treated as a suspect and it's awful to read about how violent the police are towards an unarmed man. That is one scene that is very disturbing because how many times haven't I read about a black man or a woman who is unarmed being killed in the US.

Now, the ending was not terribly surprising, but I liked it. It fitted the story. And, I would very much like to read more about Justin Glass and his family.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! show less

Justin Glass is a member of a prominent black family in St Louis. His father is a US Congressman, his brother is a Senator and Julian is a lawyer doing mainly pro bono work for those who are unable to pay. But since the death of his wife, he has not been coping well. He has spent most of his days struggling with grief, letting his work slip and ignoring his daughter, Sammy who is being bullied at school. In fact, things have gotten so bad that he and Sammy have had to move into a guest house show more at the home of his white father-in-law.

But his life is about to change drastically when eight-year-old Tanisha Walker tries to hire him to find her missing brother. Although he tries to convince her he can’t help, he decides to phone a friend in the police department. He learns that Tanisha’s brother is just one of several teenaged African-American boys who have disappeared, all with criminal records going back to their pre-teens. Not exactly a priority issue for the police who assume that they have run away and, frankly, are not unhappy they are gone. But then bodies of several of these missing boys are found, all clearly the work of one killer and Glass is asked to help find him since many of the families and friends of the dead kids refuse to talk to the police.

Despite strong reservations, Glass decides to help. He soon finds himself up against racism, and a legal system that seems to have no interest in finding the killer especially as the clues that Glass uncover appear to point to one of their own.

Little Boy Lost by author J.D. Trafford is listed as a thriller but, as several other reviewers have pointed out, it is more a legal/murder mystery. Much of the story is about Glass’ relationship with his daughter, his brother, and his father’s efforts to get him to run for his seat in Congress as well as the Bosnian refugees who run his favourite coffee shop and introduce him to his new secretary/office manager. There is also a great deal about his daughter’s bullying and a client who refuses to plead guilty to a misdemeanor offence because, although this is hardly his first arrest, it is the first for a crime he is innocent of. All of this seems like it should have taken away from the story but, for the most part, it didn’t. These characters were interesting, mostly likable, and added to the story.

The book is well-written and gives an interesting look at race relations in America both inside and out of the judicial system although, again judging from other reviews, if you tend to be on the more Conservative side of the issue, you might want to give it a pass. For the rest, I give it a high recommendation.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

This book started with lots of promise. I expected to love it, but ultimately I barely managed to get through to the end.

The description and title lead us to believe that the story centers around a murdered child, and, eventually, a group of murdered children. This is true only in the broadest sense. The children are a vague backdrop. We learn little about Devon Walker and pretty much nothing about the other dead boys. These dead children only serve to give the plot a launching point on the show more topic of racism.

We have several prominent subplots, giving this story a convoluted feel. We spend too much time on the issues of bullying, grief, extramarital affairs, and politics. These subplots distract from, rather than support, the main plot.

We also spend a whole lot of time on a local homeless man's court case that Justin Glass takes on. This case has absolutely nothing to do with the dead boys and, again, only takes focus away from what is supposed to be the main plot.

The issue of racism is the main focus throughout the book. By midway, this becomes too heavy-handed. Parts read much like nonfiction sociology books. The facts are correct and sad, and it's indeed a topic that needs to be discussed, but the writing feels preachy. Ironically, the author inadvertently ignores the dead boys in his effort to show that racism is responsible for everyone else ignoring the dead boys.

In the end, this isn't a thriller or even a crime novel; it's an exposition on racism within the police force and politics. Sadly, this comes at the expense of character and plot development. show less

I read Little Boy Lost by J.D. Trafford last year and was blown away by the book's fabulous story. So, picking Good Intentions by J.D. Trafford was not a hard decision.

Judge Jim Thompson mentor has just been murdered and he's the first to stumble over the body. As if that is not bad, he's under media scrutiny after a boy that he decided to go back to his mother was later found dead. He's under pressure, trying to figure out why his mentor Judge Meyer was killed, as well as dealing with media show more and a new case.

I enjoyed reading Good Intentions. Just as Litle Boy Lost is the story in this book engrossing and it's not hard to be upset and angry when everyone seems to be out for blood. Jim's blood. He's under enormous pressure from work and he can't let go of a feeling that there is something in the past that could be the reason for the death of Judge Meyer. Perhaps an old case...?

The book is well-written and the last part is really tense! I recommend this book warmly!

I want to thank Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! show less