While Justice Sleeps is a cracking on the edge of your seat thriller. Avery a law clerk with an eidetic memory is suddenly thrust into the limelight when Judge Justice Wynn falls into a coma and has named Avery as his legal guardian with power of attorney. Many are conspiring against this outspoken Judge including his ex wife and the President of the USA. Political corruption, unethical genetic research and murder all come into play in this rollercoaster of a story. Averys life is on the line and what she discovers is horrifying but she’s determined to do her best for the judge even though he’s always more or less ignored her as is his cranky way with everyone. Not wanting to give away any spoilers all you need to know is that this is a suspenseful, fast paced exciting read. Stacey Abrams is a new author to me, one I will be following closely in the future. My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

This was a spectacular story with intelligent descriptions and logical thinking which really fired up my neurons. I was invested in the story from the start, with its appealing characters and non stop action. The conclusion exceeded my expectations and I came away feel I had increased my knowledge, as well as having a thoroughly enjoyable experience..

Stacey Abrams is someone I really admire, and when I saw she had written a thriller, I had to read it. I was not disappointed at all, and would highly recommend it – whatever your politics. I had sort of expected it to be anti-Republican, but it was not overtly so. President Stokes was definitely not modelled on Trump – and indeed, it took me a lot of the book to work out whether he was a bad guy or not. There was obviously something suspect going on – but whether or not it was a matter of genuine national security, whether the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security …. were involved, trying to stop terrorists (if so, which terrorists?), playing party politics – or something altogether more sinister – remained to be seen. In the tradition of all top-class thrillers, I was kept guessing. The hero, Avery Keene, was a young female legal clerk, who was thrown into an unholy mess when the Supreme Court judge she worked for fell into a coma, and named her as holding his power of attorney – not his son, not his estranged wife, not another judge. Why? There is a very important (again why?) ruling coming up for the Supreme Court, where Justice Howard Wynn is expected to cast the deciding vote. If he dies – another judge can be appointed. But so long he is in a coma, nothing can be done. By the way, he has an incurable disease, which makes it likely he will not come out of the coma. Avery does not only have the ethical (turn off life-support or not) and politics of the situation to deal with, but family issues too. Her mother is a junkie, always looking for money to feed her habit. And then people connected to Avery and Justice Wynn go missing and/or die. Like Avery, the reader is left floundering in the dark. Justice Wynn is not a sympathetic character. He expects everyone to dance to his tune, regardless of how much his machinations destroy their lives. He could have made things a lot more clear – but instead chose to hide obscure clues in chess games and other esoteric places. Thankfully, Avery finds two people she can trust, to help her. Apart from a very good plot that kept my avid interest throughout, the book was really well written. A couple of the lovely phrases that appealed to me were: ““Such a shame about poor Howard,” offered an eggplant-attired matron of impeccable breeding and questionable chromatic theory.” and “Aware that her family ties to the White House faded with each president, she had made ingratiation her blood sport.” The book also raised important questions about the way the USA is governed. I like to think that anyone on the Supreme Court has earned their place there, and will make judgements based on the law and not personal desires or politics. But what should happen if a justice is no longer capable of doing their job. As one character points out, the founding fathers did not know how much or how quickly medicine could advance. Two hundred years ago, a job for life would have had a much more limited term. They also did not know how science could change, or the media – did anyone? “Despite knowing how vulnerable technology can be, bureaucrats placed their faith in the myth of privacy. Their job relied on the fairy tales Americans told themselves about their government, despite ample proof to the contrary. Surveillance. Covert research. Targeted retribution. All disguised by pleasing stories told by men like Vance and President Stokes.” Medical ethics and scientific discoveries play a big part in this story – making for a very thought-provoking – as well as compelling and fascinating – read. “I am suggesting that scientific curiosity may get the better of humanity yet again. As it always has. Oppenheimer wasn’t a pioneer. He was just another scientist afraid to stop thinking.” I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced by either the author or publisher.

Avery is a young law clerk, working for the legend that is Justice Howard Wynn. She is just about keeping her head above water juggling work with her troubled home life. She arrives to work one day to find out that her boss and mentor, Wynn, is in a coma. Still reeling from this information, she is even more shocked when she finds out that he has left instruction that she, Avery Keene, should now act as his legal guardian and granted her power of attorney. Why her, she is completely flummoxed? And scared. Especially when this piques the interest of several of the initialled authorities and she is almost arrested. It appears that Wynn had been researching a merger between companies specialising in biotech and genetics... And so begins an intriguing tale of political and personal shenanigans that pits Avery against authorities and pretty much everyone else as she tries to work out friend from foe and, well, basically stay both alive and out of jail as she tries to get to the bottom of whatever in heck is actually going on. This is a very fast paced legal thriller that kept me on my toes throughout. Holding my attention nicely all the way through until the wholly satisfying ending. Yes there is quite a lot of legalese to be found throughout, mostly of the American variety but what I didn't quite understand was easily accepted and didn't mar my enjoyment of the book as a whole. It's very well plotted, clues that Avery follows which lead to further information or which takes her in a new direction. Kinda a bit DaVinci code-esque if you will. With Avery replacing Langdon! But don't let that put you off - Avery is far superior :)

Phew! This is a gripping story. I’m not going to pretend that some of the political and scientific jargon didn’t go over my head(!), but I was literally hooked. How on earth anyone could even think up a plot like this beats me! An outspoken and cantankerous Judge who suffers from Boursin’s Syndrome slips into a coma, and his law clerk, Avery, finds that he has made her his legal guardian and has given her Power of Attorney over his ex-wife and his son. The Judge often has the swing vote in the Supreme Court and the President, and many others, would like him to be removed. There is nothing they won’t do to achieve this. Avery is left to solve a mystery by following cryptic chess clues that the Judge has left for her. This is a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller, and I absolutely loved it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.