Title: Witness Elimination: Vigilante Justice (Nick Justin Chronicles Book 2)

Author: Scott Johni

Genre: Political Thriller

 

Nick, Andrea, and their seven-year-old daughter, Jessica, are still wrestling with the psychological and physical damage caused by Andrea’s sister, Sarah, whom Nick discovered was involved in a criminal network trafficking fentanyl into Florida on behalf of a Venezuelan drug cartel.

As deadly Hurricane Helene makes landfall and a second, Hurricane Milton, follows closely, a prisoner transport convoy carrying Sarah and her enforcer/lover, Sally, is ambushed. Nick and Andrea know they must protect Jessica, but with corruption rampant, the city storm-ravaged, and the cartel circling, the odds are stacked against them.

Following a useful précis of his first book, Johni opens the second in slick, menacing style as a Senator plunges from her sixty-first-floor office courtesy of cartel hitman, El Verdugo, “The Executioner.”

It’s a chilling Prologue that mirrors the previous book’s. Throughout, Johni uses the same reassuring framework as before, sharing half-reveals and information with the reader through a multi-perspective narrative, while the Justins remain unaware as they struggle to maintain normalcy.

Johni excels at depicting the heavy, suffocating atmosphere of foreboding within the Justin household. A corrosive sense of dread permeates the narrative, which intensifies with the devastating arrival of Hurricane Helene and then, Hurricane Milton.

The impact, effects, and aftermath of both hurricanes are portrayed brilliantly, not just their noise and destruction, but also the loaded silences. The storms reflect narrative developments and characters’ emotions, yet become powerful characters in their own right.

Nick’s bone-weariness seeps into the prose, which takes on a brittle, edgy quality as the Justins barricade themselves against the storm and the escaped prisoners. It’s a masterclass in tension, paranoia, and rising fear. Every movement is measured, and sensory awareness is heightened.

It’s compelling and suspenseful. Jessica’s emotional reliance on “Zara,” her lion plush, brings the toy to uncanny life, and the girl’s acute observations of the adults’ behavior are sharply telling.

The action is divided into three parts. The pace is propulsive, and time is distilled into short, vivid chapters that end in cliffhangers. Johni drives the action forward with efficient force through a tight sequence of betrayals, revelations, and twists.

The crux for the Justins is when and how Sarah and Sally will appear. The women’s escape and much of what occurs in Witness Elimination are tied to the shadowy cartel, and the introduction of El Verdugo and enigmatic cartel boss, La Reina, “The Queen,” brings the South Americans to the forefront.

Both are beautifully ruthless, able to repress base viciousness beneath cultured sophistication while keeping it visible. El Verdugo’s exchange with subordinate Alvarez in Chapter Ten is a masterful example of this.

Law enforcement corruption is widespread, and Johni makes unexpected yet credible decisions about who can be bought and who is expendable. Gino Myers, despite appearing briefly, has evolved into a powerhouse of focused alpha male brutality with a frisson of humor, making the crooked ex-cop oddly charismatic.

Sarah seems a touch insignificant in the face of La Reina, but this makes her satisfyingly pathetic. Sally undergoes a volte-face that, at first, lacks conviction but, as events progress, creates a rewarding plot turn and future intrigue.

The showdown at Tropicana Field during Hurricane Milton is electrifying. The narrative splits as the reader follows Nick, Andrea, trusted investigator José, and their respective foes. One character’s outcome is a little too obvious, but overall, the denouement is intensely cinematic, with violence swift and clinical.

Stylishly written and tightly plotted, Johni’s Nick Justin Chronicles keep getting better. Witness Elimination is a taut, polished, and pulse-pounding thriller that delivers a gripping, unsettling narrative while promising much for the next book.

 

 

This Editorial Review was written by the Book Review Directory staff. To receive a similarly honest, professional review for one of your own books, click here.