Today I am delighted to be one of the blogs kicking of the blog tour for That Care Forgot by James Warren. My thanks to The Book Folk for inviting me to take part in the tour and providing me with a digital copy of the book for the purpose of review. I have reviewed the book honestly and impartially.
A city on edge, a murderer who holds a secret, and an aspiring female lawyer put to the test…
When her LA law firm hands junior attorney Rebecca Holt the pro bono case of a convicted felon, her heart sinks. She doesn’t want to help murderers go free.
But volatile and obsessive Nick Malone is less interested in his parole hearing than telling Rebecca a story. That of the so-called Crescent City Killer who consigned the beaten bodies of several young women to the humid swamps and bayous of Louisiana.
Rebecca has no choice but to listen to Malone as he takes her back to the suffocating, sultry heat of New Orleans’ sleazy underbelly. A city rife with corruption, the marginalized, and the forgotten, who became the prey.
The assistant district attorney at the time headed an incompetent team of losers and has-beens. It was almost as if she was set up to fail. Pursuing her only lead meant making a tough decision with serious consequences.
But how does Malone know so much about this killer who stalked the backstreets and jazz bars of The Big Easy, yet left no trace? And when Malone reveals his secrets, will Rebecca be ready to step up and fight for the truth?
Regular readers of the blog will know that, as a former lawyer myself, I am a sucker for a legal thriller and I am always looking for new authors in this genre so I was very excited when I was contacted about reading this debut by James Warren, who is himself a former lawyer. Law and serial killers, what’s not to love?
The story is set over two timelines and two locations. In the present, rookie attorney Rebecca Holt is assigned a pro bono case in LA. She is tasked with visiting long-time prison inmate Nick Malone to prepare him for his upcoming parole hearing. But Malone is more interested in talking about the case of the Crescent City Killer – a case for which no one was ever brought to trial. But how does he know so much about the case?
In the sultry heat of a New Orleans’ summer, ADA Cassandra is tasked with trying to solve the Crescent City killer case, which no one else has had any luck with. She is given a group of written-off cops to help her, and is seemingly set up to fail. But her boss has underestimated her determination. What is she prepared to do to get the job done?
The plot of this book works really well, jumping between the two timelines to tell the story of a serial killer targeting forgotten women in a crowded city, with us wondering in the present day how the inmate knows so much about the case. Two mysteries to solve for the price of one. Both of the female attorneys were great characters, although Cassandra was the stronger of the two. The set up in the US is very different to here in the UK – here state prosecutors would never get involved in investigating crimes – but once I got my head around this (being a fanatical viewer of Law & Order: SVU helped a lot!) I was totally invested in the story.
New Orleans is one of my favourite cities in the world so I am always predisposed to enjoy a book set here and the author captured the atmosphere of the Big Easy wonderfully, despite the subject matter being quite grim. Although, as serial killer novels go, this one is not particularly gory. There is not too much description of the murders so it should be a good read for anyone who is too squeamish for the more graphic books in this genre. The author focuses more on the psychology of both the killer and the people pursuing him which I thoroughly enjoyed.
If I had to say anything negative about this book at all, I would say the writing was a little stilted in the early chapters, wth the speech not coming across as particularly natural to begin with. However, this eases over the course of the book and I think it is quite natural for a new writer. I could actively feel him relaxing over the course of the book and by the middle of the novel it wasn’t noticeable. I have very high hope s for his future endeavours.
All in all, this book was right up my street and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is definitely one for fans of John Grisham and Michael Connelly, or for fellow Law & Order aficionados. I will be looking out eagerly for what is coming next from James Warren.
That Care Forgot is out now in ebook and paperback formats and you can buy a copy here. It is also available to read for free as part of a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
This is the first day of the blog tour for That Care Forgot, please do visit some of the other blogs taking part in the tour as detailed below:
About the Author
James Warren is a former attorney and federal prosecutor who resides in the greater Los Angeles area. He is married to Carolyn who is a concert violinist, and they have three adult children. He is a member of Mystery Writers of America.
When not writing, or busy working, James interests include NFL football, watching movies, and reading mysteries, thrillers, and historical non-fiction. His favourite books include The Reversal by Michael Connelly and The Firm by John Grisham.
He particularly enjoys travelling and hopes to do more of it. He has a fondness for the Yellowstone National Park and an Alaskan cruise is on his bucket list, although any excursion to the ocean, particularly to California’s central coast he finds worthwhile.
Connect with James:
Instagram: @j-m-warren66
