Reviews with content warning for Addiction - While Justice Sleeps

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

37 reviews

mangofandango's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I've never really read a political thriller before, but I have so much respect for Stacey Abrams and I like to sometimes try something outside of my typical reading choices, so I picked this one up at the library. I can't say I have a new favorite genre, but it was worth reading. It involves chess, which I don't know much about, probate court and guardianship (which I know more about than I used to thanks to the podcast Toxic, about Britney Spears' conservatorship and the issue of conservatorship and guardianship abuse, check it out), genetic bioengineering, which I could mostly follow, and a lot of other Stuff that makes it a fairly weighty read for a thriller. I didn't have as much fun as I usually do when reading something marketed as a thriller, but I did find this to be an interesting experience.

Content Warnings

powkaye's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book comes off as very conflated and confusing. You get the gist of what’s happening but we are definitely going around the side of the barn a couple of times to get there.
The protagonist is believable but makes questionable choices and some of the other characters were so paper thin I had to go back in the book to figure out who they were and why they were in the present scene.
And yet…it’s highly readable and will only take a day or so to finish being so compelling with a mystery that unfolds well paced and with a nice

Courtroom ending

.
I hear the book is being fitted for a tv series so that should tell you something about the quality (good) and strength (excellent) of the writing.

Content Warnings

laurenleigh's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is Stacey Abrams’ first novel published under her name (not her pen name, Selena Montgomery), and I was really excited to read it! It’s a mystery/thriller about a Supreme Court justice and political conspiracies. It’s got some House of Cards vibes, but you’re rooting for a much more moral and likable protagonist. I enjoyed it overall, but I have to say I really disliked the audiobook format here. The narrator’s style felt very affected and over dramatic to me, which was kind of a bummer. It constantly took me out of the story. It’s tricky to separate my feelings about a book vs the narration, but I’m pretty confident that I still liked the text. This would be a difficult novel to write for someone outside the legal profession or even outside of Washington. Abrams is definitely using her expertise wisely in her writing! (Is there anything she CAN’T do??) I appreciated how Abrams kept the legal content very approachable, not too opaque for a regular reader. Though I should maybe note that all my parents were/are lawyers, so I perhaps have slightly more familiarity. I also like how Abrams didn’t tie up every single loose end, but it still felt finished, not like she was leaving you hanging for a sequel. It just felt very grounded in reality, where we don’t get perfectly neat endings. If you’re into this genre, definitely give this a go and support Stacey, but maybe do the regular book rather than audio.

Content Warnings