Jilliane Hoffman

C.J. Townsend is a prosecutor in the DA's office in Miami, Florida, several years after she had been raped and mutilated in her former incarnation as Chloe Larsen. As a member of a task force investigating a probable serial killer, C.J. is early on the scene when a man is picked up with a body in the trunk of his car.

It is when this man is arraigned that she recognizes him as her rapist. And she begins a trip down retribution lane that disturbed me.

***You may not want to read any further show more until you've read the book***

C.J. knows that if she admits to the DA that she knows this man as her rapist then the case will have to be taken out of that office and be assigned to another, less competent one. He could go free. She also has not told anyone of her rape and prefers to keep it that way. She chooses not to tell. The ends justify the means.

Later, other awkward situations arise and she makes essentially the same choice: to flout the law in pursuit of a better ending. Much later, near the end of the trial, crucial evidence comes to light just at the right time, assuring a conviction. Does she question the convenience? No. She is blinded by her own sense of justice. And she gets away with it.

I was disturbed by the arrogance of her choices. If the truth had come out it's possible the man would have gone free and not been able to be tried again. An ethical attorney would never have done what she did, regardless of personal history. C.J. is not a person I'd want on my side. show less

After reading Jilliane Hoffman all I can say is John Grisham who? Damn this woman can write a wicked good legal thriller! Fast paced, on your toes action and always making you guess what the heck is gonna happen next.
Dr. David Marquette is a successful surgeon living the life in Miami. Married with three kids, he has a picture perfect life. That is, until he decides to slaughter his wife and children. Cue in Julia Valenciano, your ordinary "fight the trenches" lawyer. She is pleasantly show more surprised when she gets recruited for the prosecution as second chair, as this could be the launch her career needs. The defence is claiming Dr. Marquette is innocent by pleading insanity arguing that he is schizophrenic. From here, the action spins and swirls from gruesome crime scenes to flashbacks to Julia´s childhood; where a terrible secret has been waiting to resurface. Will David Marquette be sentenced to death if found guilty or confined to a mental facility if found innocent? The ending will make your skin crawl, I guarantee it. show less

After reading Jilliane Hoffman all I can say is John Grisham who? Damn this woman can write a wicked good legal thriller! Fast paced, on your toes action and always making you guess what the heck is gonna happen next.
Dr. David Marquette is a successful surgeon living the life in Miami. Married with three kids, he has a picture perfect life. That is, until he decides to slaughter his wife and children. Cue in Julia Valenciano, your ordinary "fight the trenches" lawyer. She is pleasantly show more surprised when she gets recruited for the prosecution as second chair, as this could be the launch her career needs. The defence is claiming Dr. Marquette is innocent by pleading insanity arguing that he is schizophrenic. From here, the action spins and swirls from gruesome crime scenes to flashbacks to Julia´s childhood; where a terrible secret has been waiting to resurface. Will David Marquette be sentenced to death if found guilty or confined to a mental facility if found innocent? The ending will make your skin crawl, I guarantee it. show less

That was a gripping thriller. I could hardly put the book down.
New York 1988:
Chloe is really looking forward to spending the evening with her boyfriend Michael. Although she's in the middle of her law exams, she's been persuaded to go out with him during the week. It's their anniversary and she's hoping he'll propose to her. The evening doesn't go quite as she had dreamed. He drops her off at home and she goes to her flat alone. Meanwhile, a man is lurking in the bushes under her window and show more has obviously been watching her for a long time. As she sleeps, he breaks into her flat and brutally rapes her. She is hospitalised the next morning with severe cuts to her chest after being found by her friend.
Miami 2000: Chloe becomes C.J.
Twelve years later, Chloe is a prosecutor in Miami and has changed her name. For the past year, the population has been shaken by the crimes of a serial killer who has been given the name Cupido: Eleven young blonde women have already disappeared and nine bodies have been found without hearts. Then something happens that nobody would have expected. During a traffic stop, a black Jaguar is pulled over, suspected of having drugs in the boot based on an anonymous tip, but the dead body of Anna Prado, Cupido's tenth victim, is found. C.J. is the prosecutor in the case, but at the arraignment she recognises William Rupert Bantling as the man who inflicted this great suffering on her 12 years ago. She is now in a predicament: she can't tell anyone about it and she can't actually hand over the case as she has been working on it for a year. But can she summon up the strength for the long process? And what would happen if her tormentor were to go free? show less