What if one minute you are riding the high life, with a beautiful girlfriend, loving parents, and a law career that is skyrocketing...and the next minute you realize your loving family has deep dark secrets that involve a half-brother on death row?  This is just a taste of what you will find in the intriguing novel by J. Leon Pridgen II titled Color of Justice.

James Pruitt has just tried and won his first major SOLO case and is on top of the world.  Asking his wonderful girlfriend to marry him will be icing on his already sweet cake, but before he's able to propose,
he suffers the tragic loss of his father, a man who has taught him everything in how to become a good man.  His father's dying words are, "Have brother...help him," and though James isn't sure what he means by this, soon enough, his life will take an adventurous turn that will unravel secrets pertaining to his family life.

James is adopted, this he knows, but among the many surprises, twists and turns you will find in this novel, James learns that he has a half-brother who is on death row for the rape and murder of an elected
official's daughter.  James becomes deeply immersed in helping his brother stay alive, while trying to deal with the secrets and his father's death.

I have to say, I truly enjoyed this novel.  Pridgen vividly portrays the pain of losing a loved one, and I could feel the pain the characters were going through in this gripping story.  The choices that the main character had to make felt real, and you couldn't help but to attach yourself to him and go along with him on his journey to finding the truth about his brother's case.  I loved Pridgen's writing style and the characters that surrounded James in the novel...they all had their own distinct voice.

As I finished this book..with its bittersweet, yet promising ending, I wondered..or maybe HOPED that the author might revisit these characters in future stories.  I could definitely see a mystery/suspense series with James...and his best bud, Chuck.  If you haven't checked out this novel yet, I would definitely recommend it, and I will be on the look out for future works by Pridgen.

Reviewed by Shonie Bacon - co-author of Luvalwaz, from The Nubian Chronicles