Defending Violet

by Jennifer Louise Jefferson

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594145369
• ISBN13: 9781594145360
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Five Star (ME)
• Length: 285 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Reviewing: "Defending Violet" by Jennifer Louise Jefferson

Ginger Rae Reddy practices law in the city of Port Grace, located somewhere along the northeastern seaboard hard against the Atlantic. A city that, like herself, has seen tough times and still sees them and yet survives despite all odds. Ginger Rae is practicing Family Law these days which is primarily about the final collapse of a family during divorce proceedings. She also takes the occasional misdemeanor case such as a marijuana charge or underage drinking. A baby in the hospital in a coma implies a major criminal case and one that Ginger Rae should avoid for her own mental health. But, the baby mother's is Violet and a former client. Ginger Rae got a restraining order several months ago against AJ, Violet's boyfriend, the baby's father, and a married man with a history of violence. Violet should have let the order do its work, forgot about AJ, and tried to change her life for her own sake and the baby, Teddy. However, as Ginger Rae knows, the cycle of domestic violence is hard to break. Violet loves AJ, is convinced he loves her and their baby, and that if she just makes him happy everything will be fine. Things are far from fine. The baby, Teddy, is in the hospital in a coma probably induced by being violently shaken. Violet is in jail, charged with the crime, and the only suspect as far as the police and the D.A.'s office is concerned. Ginger Rae believes the teenage mother is not responsible and sets out to prove it. Billed as a "legal thriller" in the jacket copy, "Defending Violet" is more of a psychological one. The law is a constant theme but personal relationships are the prominent hard hitting theme and take precedence over everything else. Not just the relationship between Ginger Rea and Violet, but Ginger Rae and her family and Ginger Rae and her assistant, Marco. Nothing is easy for Ginger Rae with others and her own self destructive streak runs wide and deep. Others make allowances for that, but, there are limits and she constantly tests them. Written from the perspective of time after the events in the book have run their course, the novel is constantly looking back at how relationships evolve and change and what outside forces can do to them. Featuring fully formed realistic characters that are flawed, in some cases very seriously, the novel winds through the legal cases in criminal and family court with Violet. Along the way with some social commentary, is a tale of repercussions, consequences, and ultimately acceptance and survival. While this isn't light escapist reading by any means, it is a very good book and this is one author worth keeping an eye on. Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2009

A most compelling read

Defending Violet is not a light read. It is not really an entertaining read. It is, however, an important and compelling book that everyone should read. Ginger Rae Reddy is a former criminal attorney who currently practices family law. She's drawn back to criminal law when a former domestic abuse client, nineteen-year-old Violet, is accused of harming (shaking) her ten-month-old son, Teddy. Teddy is in a local hospital in a coma, and Ginger is building a defense for her client while negotiating a possible plea agreement. When Teddy dies, the stakes are raised and Violet is facing a murder charge. Ginger believes that AJ, a prison guard and Violet's boyfriend, is really the person responsible for murdering Teddy, but Violet isn't talking. Things are looking dark for Violet, and Ginger continues to dig for answers at the expense of her personal life. She's been neglecting her professor husband Tommy and stepson Jake-a dangerous behavior as it resulted in a separation earlier in their marriage. Ginger also has a strong attraction to Marco, her investigator (soon to become a lawyer), and that relationship, if not watched could also negatively impact her marriage. Ginger struggles with the limitations of the legal system as she strives to work with Violet and see justice served. Justice, however, might not look like Ginger wants it to look and she must be able to live with that. But after all, Ginger knows that there is justice and there is mercy-and what if both justice and mercy fail a client? Then the client hits the pavement. Jefferson's novel Defending Violet is dark, gritty and deeply disturbing. But it is truth-an ugly truth in our country and in the world. I like Ginger immensely and hope this is just the beginning of a series. I'd hate to think we met and then she's gone. I loved that Defending Violet is different, not the typical mystery. It's refreshing. Armchair Interviews says: Defending Violet is highly recommended.

Reviewed by Amy Lignor

Dear Readers: This is a tough one. The subject matter is hard for me but others will get quite an education on the law and how our justice system works. The main character, Ginger Rae Reddy, is a street-smart attorney who stopped practicing criminal law and turned to the more mundane, and better-paying, divorces. However, when, Violet, a young woman who she'd protected from an abusive boyfriend years before, contacts her, Ginger is pulled back into the world of family abuse and domestic violence. Violet, the young teenage mom, is arrested for shaking her baby and putting her son, Teddy, into a coma. Ginger suspects that the abusive boyfriend has returned and that he, in fact, is the one responsible for the horrific deed. When the baby dies, Ginger's world falls apart as she neglects her family, her clients, and her own health to save Violet. She finds herself pitted against the toughest defense lawyer in the city and, when the truth is revealed about what happened that horrible night, Ginger is shattered by the harsh, cold revelation. Ginger is a wonderful character. I've worked in this type of "situation" before and Ginger is one of the good guys. She is one of those wonderful people who step in to save children and families from horrible, nightmarish futures. Unfortunately, even with these wonderful people out there, this kind of thing still happens. The injustice still filters through the courtrooms of America, and little children still lose their lives. Ginger's family, her husband and her stepson, are intriguing and delightful. You really care about them as they try with all their might to hang on to Ginger and to understand the drive she has that takes her away from them so much of the time. In addition, her investigator, Marco, who is studying to become a lawyer, is also a breath of fresh air with his friendship and advice for Ginger in her time of desperation. All in all, this is a well-written book about a horrible subject that I think everyone would like to see disappear. The author is a lawyer who worked on domestic violence cases and child abuse/neglect cases in New Jersey. She knows what she's talking about and doesn't pull any punches. One of the most frightening things is that I received the press release with the book and a statistic was mentioned: As many as 1,400 children, from a few days to five years old, die every year from Shaken Baby Syndrome. This made my blood run cold. For anyone interested in a well-written plot, good characters doing a hard job, and the legal practices that are used in cases such as these - Defending Violet is a good read for you. I would put this one in the learning column rather than entertainment. That being said, it's probably a very good idea for everyone to read this story and understand how hard the fight for justice really is.

An Engaging Mystery

Burnt out after having worked both sides of criminal law, attorney Ginger Rae Reddy switched over to a private practice of Family Law, an area that still encompasses emotionally wrought disintegration of families. Yet representing bitter wives seemed to be a better alternative to the criminal law stresses that nearly ripped apart her marriage to her professor husband. However, Ginger is brought back to criminal law when she is contacted by Violet Rosado, a nineteen year-old former client who has been arrested for shaking her baby into a coma. Believing that Violet would never act violently towards her child, Ginger focuses her attention on the baby's father, a married correctional officer with a history of alcoholism and abuse. As Ginger finds herself falling back into her own pattern of obsessing with a case to the point that she neglects her own family, she must struggle with her own battle with alcohol and her dangerous attraction to her investigator, Marco Tavares. Once again, Ginger must reconcile herself with a legal system where justice and the law are not he same and where she must challenge her own moral and legal responsibilities for her clients. Despite the bleak topic of this novel, the tone never becomes so morose as to depress the reader and instead presents a very likeable and vulnerable heroine who has never completely given up hope on the legal system. Sprinkled throughout with fascinating anecdotes of family and criminal law cases, the pace continues steadily towards a resolution that ultimately satisfies the reader. The one element that weakens this novel is the author's habit of listing the books various characters are reading. While this would be fine if the reader were composing a reading list of good books, after the sixth or seventh mention of a title it just becomes distracting and throws the reader out of the story. Otherwise, this is an extremely well-written legal novel that presents the frustrations of attorneys burnt out on a system that deals out as many injustices as it does justice. A Family Court attorney herself, Jennifer Louise Jefferson has created a very strong mystery with realistic characters. I definitely look forward to future novels by this author.

Though a legal thriller, feels more like a gripping true crime tale

Family lawyer Ginger Rae Reddy left the Port Grace District Attorney's Office because she detested working crime cases. Thus when a former domestic violence victim nineteen year old Violet calls that she has been arrested and charged with child endangerment, she agrees to help because she believes the young single mother would never harm her baby Teddy. Ginger Rae questions Violet who says she took a nap, but when she awakened Teddy did not. She took Teddy to the hospital where he remains in a coma and seems to be an apparent abuse victim due to infant shaking. The attorney becomes upset when she learns that Violet is still seeing Western State Prison Guard AJ, prone to violence as a court order to stay away from her and their child states. The prosecution puts its top gun Eduardo Fortunato, who Ginger Rae worships as the mentor who taught her how to work a criminal prosecution, on the case. However, when Teddy dies, the DA goes for a murder conviction as Ginger Rae struggles to provide the best defense for a client whom she begins to believe is guilty. DEFENDING VIOLET feels like a gripping true crime tale more than just a legal thriller as Violet and to a lesser degree AJ seem real. The story line is character driven by Ginger Rae who initially believes AJ is the villain while her client is a stupid innocent, but begins to have doubts. Legal thriller fans will appreciate this strong tale from start to final deal. Harriet Klausner