| Title | : | Supreme Justice (Reeder and Rogers, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 338 |
| Publication | : | First published July 1, 2014 |
After taking a bullet for his commander-in-chief, Secret Service agent Joseph Reeder is a hero. But his outspoken criticism of the president he saved—who had stacked the Supreme Court with hard-right justices to overturn Roe v. Wade, amp up the Patriot Act, and shred the First Amendment—put Reeder at odds with the Service’s apolitical nature, making him an outcast.
FBI agent Patti Rogers finds herself paired with the unpopular former agent on a task force investigating the killing of Supreme Court Justice Henry Venter. Reeder—nicknamed “Peep” for his unparalleled skills at reading body language—makes a startling discovery while reviewing a security tape: the shooting was premeditated, not a botched robbery. Even more chilling, the controversial Venter may not be the only justice targeted for death...
Is a mastermind mounting an unprecedented judicial coup aimed at replacing ultra-conservative justices with a new liberal majority? To crack the conspiracy and save the lives of not just the justices but also Reeder’s own family, rising star Rogers and legendary investigator Reeder must push their skills—and themselves—to the limit.
Supreme Justice (Reeder and Rogers, #1) Reviews
-
Supreme Justice by Max Allan Collins
This book was my June Kindle First read. The reason I picked this one was because I've always been a Max Allan Collins fan. The timing of the unfortunate Supreme Court decision a couple of weeks ago had nothing to do with my choice. However, I did notice Amazon taking full advantage of the subject matter by heavily promoting it recently.
Sadly, this book just was not up to Collins' usual standards in my opinion. Slightly preachy, a lot dull and boring with the main characters having zip personality and no chemistry. The plot was predictable and not a lot of action to sort of boost the lack of snappy dialogue. Max was way off his game with this one.
Two Supreme Court Justices are murdered and a former secret service agent teams up with a young lady named Patti, to try and uncover the conspiracy. Reeder is supposed to be a rogue ex-secret service agent who took a bullet for a president he didn't even like. Young Patti is smart and fresh out of field training trying to make a mark in a predominately male occupation. She struggles at times but speaks her mind when she feels she is being patronized or left out of the loop. Reeder's character was so formulaic I wondered if Collins' was having a little fun with us by perhaps being a bit satirical. In fact, the thought crossed my mind more than once that Max was maybe poking fun at the whole thriller genre. That I could have taken, but I don't think that was the case.
Overall this one is a 2 star- but only because I just can't bring myself to give Max Allan Collins a one star rating. -
This is a pretty good story, ruined by the author's assumption that everyone shares his political viewpoint.
It is one thing to put an attitude or political philosophy in the words and mind of a character, but when such infuses the narrative and is clearly the author's then it gets in the way. Or at worse just aggravates the reader.
Second fault is the casual prose which too many of today's authors adopt. The use of contractions has no place in serious writing or even the text of garden variety pulp fiction, a genre in which this person's work belongs.
I understand from reading about him that he is commercially successful. But that does not make him a good writer.
So if you do not mind some cheap plot devices, casual writing, and politics fit for Mother Jones readers, then have at it. -
Good thriller
Excellent writing in a story in which a former Secret Security agent is brought into a task force by his friend to help search for the killer of 2 Supreme Court justices. As the agent.,Peeps,closes in on a conspiracy involving someone in the task force itself,his daughter is kidnapped,and he comes to realize his 'friend' is involved. Good storyline,great action,the story keeps you turning to the next page! Excellent book for all mystery/thriller lovers out there,I highly recommend it! -
Joseph Reeder is a former Secret Service agent who took a bullet for the president, a man whom he didn't respect and whose conservative politics he did not like in Max Allan Collins' political thriller Supreme Justice. His politics put him at odds with his superiors and coworkers, and he compared himself to Pete Rose, who didn't get into baseball's Hall of Fame due to his gambling, saying that, like Rose, "he accomplished great things, but would spend eternity on the outside."
Reeder now owns a private security company, and is called into help when a very conservative Supreme Court justice is killed during a robbery at a restaurant where Reeder's company provides security. After viewing the security camera footage, Reeder concludes that the justice was targeted, and the robbery was a coverup for murder.
A task force investigating the case, consisting of DC local police, FBI and Homeland Security, are all protecting their turf and squabbling amongst themselves as to who the culprit is and what their motives are. Reeder's murder theory is dismissed until another incident occurs, and now Reeder wonders if someone is targeting conservative justices, trying to change the direction of the Supreme Court after they have overturned Roe v Wade and made abortion illegal.
The new president is a liberal, and if he can appoint more liberal justices, abortion could be made legal again. But would someone in the White House go so far as to eliminate justices to change the law back? It is an intriguing premise for this action-packed novel.
Reeder is paired with a young female FBI agent, and his relationships with his former coworkers come into play here. They have to investigate on their own, being careful not to tip off anyone who may be involved in the murder.
Supreme Justice is a fast-paced thriller, heavier on the action than on character development. It is the kind of summer read that you can polish off at a day at the beach, quickly turning the pages to find out if Reeder's theory is the right one. Careful readers may be able to figure out who the culprit is, although there are plenty of red herrings here to throw the reader off track.
As I was reading this, I thought that if it was the 1980's, this would make a perfect Clint Eastwood movie: Reeder is a loner, an honorable man, loyal to his values who ends up caught in a situation only he can resolve.
I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Joe Reeder; this is the kind of character who could conceivably spawn an entire series of thrillers for those who like their action spiked with a dose of political intrigue. -
3.5 stars
Supreme Justice is a good overall suspense mystery. Some dialog is kind of hokey and a somewhat predictable plot. The audio book is overall okay. The narrator had too deep of a voice to do female voices effectively.
This tale of Supreme Court Justices being assassinated started off pretty interesting but the plot got more shallow as the story progressed. Joe Reeder is kind of a Jack Reacher clone. The book even has a similar tone as the Reacher books. Rogers is a great character albeit a little to trusting in Reeder. What saves the book is that it moves along at a pretty good clip so it doesn't get bogged down to much in the plot or the characters. The dialog lays it out for the reader and just doesn't quite click to well as one might think characters of the FBI might talk to one another. There are some intriguing parts to the plot but overall pretty well worn. There are some great quotes from various famous people who are buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
A generally quick read and decent mystery story. I will read the next book when I'm the mood for a story that is not too deep to read. -
A pretty decent novel with a premise that would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. Someone has assassinated two justices of the Supreme Court. The purpose is to realign the court into a more liberal stance.
Joe Reeder, an former Secret Service agent who took a bullet for a president he despised is asked by the FBI to use his skill at reading people to assist the investigation.
Collins does a pretty good job of mixing up the political views of the characters. He takes aim at the far right wing nuts and also at the far left wackjobs as well.
All in all an entertaining read for those who enjoy political thrillers. And, like all Collins novels, it moves right along. As for the end game, the clues are there for those who look for that type of thing. -
Cheesy thriller offers no surprises, dumb ending
Spoilers ahead.
There are few things I am able to truly hate about Supreme Justice. I have to respect the complete disregard for originality. The ability to abandon all thought. All effort. Mr. Collins has achieved the unachievable: complete uncreativity.
This thriller starts promising enough. In a seemingly random act of violence a justice of the supreme court is gunned down in cold blood. All involved in the investigation agree that it was a robbery gone bad, until people reading expert Peep Reeder joins the team.
Go ahead and read that last sentence over if you like. Granted, "Peep" is the guy's nickname. But that name feels like a slap in the face. Peep (ugh) is a former secret service agent, famed for taking a bullet for the President, yet shunned by his colleagues for expressing his negative political opinions afterward. I'm sort of with his co-workers as Peep can't help but mentally run people down for their politics every chance he gets.
When Peep sees the footage of the murder he quickly deduces from the perp's body language that there was nothing random about the assault. Amazingly, this somehow JUST NOW prompts a federal probe of the SUPREME COURT JUSTICE'S murder. Peep's best good pal (and godfather to his daughter), FBI agent Gabe Sloan arrives to lead the investigation.
If you don't know: "Sloan" is actually derived from a Gaelic name meaning "stab you in the fucking back before the end of this book". Seriously. When I read this guy's name I said out loud "he did it". Guess what? He did it. His heel turn is highlighted by one of the most laugh out loud lines I've ever read:
"Sloan's eyes glittered with moisture. And insanity."
Hard to miss that body language. Sloan blames right-wing conservative justices for the death of his daughter, who died after a back-alley abortion. In the not-to-distant future Roe v Wade has been repealed. The deaths of the republican justices will tip the scales to the liberals when the current democratic president appoints new judges. All this is revealed in the last forty or so pages in a clumsy, out-of-nowhere manner that renders everything prior meaningless.
There's lots of silly scenes in this book that can be found in the worst mysteries and thrillers. Here are a few:
Peep's partner, agent Patti Rogers, sees the perp's face in a mirror on the security tape (Peep missed it) and says "Got ya." You don't have shit because the guy is right behind you sucking on a cup of coffee.
Sloan kidnaps Peep's daughter. No real good reason. All he does is draw attention to himself. They had NO clue before that.
This:
Of course,” he said. “I’m the people reader, remember? Goddamnit, I hope I am."
Why are there nine people assigned to this case? You'd think everyone in the government down to mailmen would be after these guys. What's worse is they started out with ONE homicide detective until Peep, in his lone act of intelligence, calls horseshit.
No one says anything. They grin. Every sky little slight earns a grin from one to three characters including the speaker. He grinned. She grinned. It's like everyone is flirting with everyone else.
And on and on.
Admittedly this genre isn't really my thing. I didn't expect much from Supreme Justice and somehow this came in below grade. Other reviews I've read suggest this is an easy read. I agree. Chapters are short and bookended with quotes from famous political figures. Bad news: JFK's speechwriters were WAY better then Max Allan Collins. I was never really bored by this book. But I'm not lying when I say I called Sloan as the bad guy right away. Don't be impressed. Total layup.
When I looked up Collins' other works I discovered he's written several CSI novels, which makes sense as this reads like an episode of any given cop drama. If that's what you're looking for, read and be dazzled. If you want something more, I hope you've got a good sense of humor. -
REVIEW OF AUDIOBOOK; JANUARY 30, 2016
Narrator: Dan John Miller
Warning: bound to upset those with strong political (American) views! I'm not interested in politics nor am I American but I enjoy listening to political thrillers provided they don't spend too much time talking about the politics - which this book does. Still, I found it interesting enough to keep listening, though that's likely due to Dan John Miller's excellent narration. He's great with female voices and his skill at giving different voices to each character is the best I've heard so far.
The story itself feels as if it came from a Harlequin Thriller category - it's light, formulaic, with a cheesy wrap-up so if you're a guy or not familiar with Harlequin romances, be warned. Since I already bought the second installment (there are only 2 audiobooks in the series out for now) and I enjoy Miller's narration, I plan to listen to it.
I also bought some of the author's work with the late Mickey Spillane but will leave those till I feel in the mood for some noir PI tales - so far I've never been interested so those Mike Hammers may stay in my folders for another eon! -
Very good book and great narration by Dan John Miller (audible review).
This was a very good book. I really liked Joe Reeder aka Peep. I like a good mystery, conspiracy story and this was one for sure.
The story line and plot was very good. Who is assassinating the Supreme Court Justices? Joe Reeder found out! I liked that it kept me guessing until the end.
I won't give any spoilers but this was a good one, I liked the writing and the story flowed very well it didn't get confusing at all, it was fast paced and entertaining,
As for the narration it was great, Dan John Miller did a really good job on the female voices and read with emotion, He has a very nice reading voice too. This was narrated in 2014 so I am sure he has gotten even better.
I have already started the next book in this series and am enjoying it already.
Also these books are free read free listen with KU subscription. -
Supreme Court Justice Henry Venter is killed in what appears to be a robbery gone wrong and a multi-agency taskforce is established to track down those responsible. Asked to review footage from the attack, former Secret Service agent and kinesics expert Joe Reeder sees something noone else has noticed: The robbery was nothing but a smokescreen, rather than collateral damage, Justice Venter was the target of an assassination. By special request from the FBI's Assistant Director, Reeder is added to the taskforce as a consultant to pursue his theory, which is soon proven correct when a second Justice is murdered. Partnered with FBI agent Patti Rogers, he works to unravel a conspiracy aimed at changing the balance in the Supreme Court for years to come - hopefully before yet another murder happens on their watch.
A fastpaced political thriller that keeps you on your toes, even though the big twist came as less of a high impact surprise than I assume was intended. -
Don’t ask me why I read book three of this series then went back to one. Just goofy, I guess. However, I don’t think I really missed anything important so they can all be stand-alone stories.
This one was about Reeder and how he first met Patti but that’s about all that was different. Miggie and Fisk were in this one too but that’s all. There was Sloan, Cribbs and Eaton, and Nicky Blount from book 3 made and appearance. It was about a conspiracy to kill Chief Justices of the United States, and they did get two of them. But Reeder put it all together at the end of the book and the bad guy was a really big surprise. And there were an awful lot of head-shots in this book. Lots of blood and brain matter. Yuck!
This book was better inasmuch as it described Reeder’s white hair and white eyebrows but that was about all. I really hate not know what all the main characters look like. I mean, really look like.
There was a little sex described between to really young kids, maybe 19 and 20. And the F-bomb was used 32 times.
As to the narration: Dan John Miller did a fabulous job, laughing, yelling, whispering, on the phone, whatever was needed. His reading voice is awesome, even if his women’s voices need a little bit of work. -
Supreme Justice by Max Allan Collins is a political thriller set a decade into the future. The hard-right justices of the Supreme Court have taken a hard right turn. Some earlier landmark judgments have been reversed, the most significant being Roe v. Wade. The justices have allowed prayer back in schools. Murmur of discontent is brewing in certain quarters.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Henry Venter, who successfully spearheaded the efforts, along with other government officials is out eating in a restaurant when two masked gunmen attacked and killed Justice Venter. Though it was initially thought to be a robbery gone wrong, former Secret Service agent Joseph Reeder, who is requested by an old FBI friend Gabe Sloan to help with the investigation, is convinced that the killing was premeditated and only made to look like a bungled robbery. When Reeder joins the team investigating the crime, his theory of a planned assassination didn’t find many buyers. But the opposition soon falls in line when another justice is killed within twenty-four hours.
Much to his annoyance, Joseph Reeder teams up with agent Patti Rogers but as the two are thrust into a world of conspiracy and deception of the highest order, she's the only one he can trust. Max Allan Collins’ Supreme Justice is fast-paced, suspenseful and makes for a compulsive reading. Full of twists and turns with situations that are truly believable and characters you can easily relate to, this political thriller is one story that will leave you breathless. -
A perfectly serviceable thriller, clumsy at times (particularly the "twist" -- a term I use lightly in this book), but I'd honestly pick up a 2nd book with the protagonist, especially if his partner got a bit more time to develop.
Some POV issues, but he mostly avoids the Dan Brown curse of short sentences and overly detailed BS we don't need. There is this AWFUL question right after the reveal of the big bad: "Had -
I received this book for free through the Kindle First program.
I'm glad I'm not in an Indiana Jones movie. Because for the months of May & June, I chose poorly with my Kindle First books.
This one didn't irk me as much as my May choice, but it isn't on my re-read list either. The entire concept of the book was pretty unrealistic and unoriginal--both forgivable with above average characters and prose. Unfortunately, neither of those are in this book.
The politics were nauseatingly in your face the whole book, and I'm a tree-hugging liberal! If your book makes both sides sick, it's not making anyone think anything but "ugh, how many more pages until the end?"
And I will be honest, I hardly ever figure out whodidit in a whodunit. Even after reading as many books as I have, I'm usually surprised by who the bad guy turns out to be. This book? I figured it out by halftime; that's just sloppy writing! -
This mystery was well written, a story that really pulled you in, had quite a number of twist and turns to really make you think. Killing Supreme Court justices to tip the balance to one political side is very intriguing. I enjoyed getting to know the characters as well. I feel like there might be a sequel to develop Joe and Patti even more. However, the pushing of a political message was irritating. There were numerous subtle jabs towards conservatives that weren't necessary. Even the initials for one of the presidents, that was described as a jackass, had the same initials of a recent real president. It just was a distraction to a really good story. The plot line is great, scenarios were very well thought through, just some sloppiness in the political jabs. The chapter quotes by presidents and supreme court justices was a nice touch.
-
I've watched his works, but this is the first book he authored that I've read. If what I'll write for the remainder of this review won't make sense or if you won't bother to read, then know that he is one author I'd be following from now on.
Justices were being murdered. There is a conspiracy, and the brains behind it are always steps ahead of the government task force. In the end, it would come down to who'll survive to tell: the truth or the cover up. As with things government, I had to reread sentences and paragraphs to better understand, but that didn't quell the thrill (the holiday rush did; so note to self to just watch movies at Christmas time). As I said, I'd be following this author, and I think it won't be a minute from now until I get another title of his in my kindle. -
Couldn't make it past chapter 8. It was predictable. For example, chapter eight starts out with a judge and his wife jogging. It was so obvious that he was going to get shot. And sure enough he was. The characters were annoying. Like the setting up of a romance between the FBI agent and the black sheep ex-agent. So obvious, although I didn't get that far in the book, so I might be full of you-know-what here. Also the reason given for the loss of popularity of the main character with his fellow agents was baffling and seemed far-fetched. Finally, the writing is incredibly biased even for me, and I lean toward the left.
-
Great!
suspense packed, loved the quotes at the beginning of the chapters. great reading, good plot twist, really enjoyed reading this author for the first time look forward to reading more of his work! -
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
Secret Service agent Joseph Reeder should be a hero after taking a bullet for his neo—conservative commander-in-chief, but his outspoken criticism of the president he saved made him a pariah in the Service and short-circuited both his career and his marriage. After conservative Supreme Court Justice Henry Venter is killed in what appears to be a robbery gone wrong, Reeder – a body language expert whose skills have earned him the nickname “Peep” – earns a shot at redemption when he’s asked to join the task force investigating the murder.
Paired with FBI agent Patti Rogers, Reeder makes a startling discovery while reviewing security tapes of the incident: the shooting was premeditated. Soon, the pair discover that Venter might not be the only justice on the killers’ hit list, and that a criminal mastermind is mounting a coup aimed at changing the very face of the Supreme Court. To crack the conspiracy and stop the killings, Rogers and Reeder must push their skills to the limit before time runs out for the justices – and maybe for Reeder’s own family.
I was quite interested in this story when I read the blurb. Ended up being no more than "That was alright, I suppose..."
Let's look at the positives - quick and easy read, nothing to deep and substantial as far as plot or characters (actually felt a little like a novel based on a TV show with the short chapters and simple, linear plotlines); the characters - Patti, in particular - were serviceable and worked pretty well within the story. That was the good news...
Sadly, this story had a number of issues that disappointed me: the ending was just silly. After 300+ pages, to be given a finale like that felt like a copout, like "this is how it would end on an episode of CSI"...the plot itself was rather unimaginative - not badly written, just nothing new...but the final thing that annoyed me, almost to the point of closing the book, was the politics. I consider myself to be a left-leaning voter but this book was just a Republican bash-fest. So very unnecessary.
If you can get past the politics and the unoriginal story, then this is a reasonable story. Just the downsides far outweighed the positives here.
Paul
ARH -
Joseph Reeder was a Secret Service Agent when he took a bullet for President Gregory Bennett. He lasted a month on a desk job until he decided to retire on disability and lead his own command. As CEO of ABC Security headquartered in Georgetown Reeder’s agency has a high profile with law enforcement. It is no surprise when DC Homicide Detective Carl Bishop calls and asks Reeder for a favor as ABC handles the security for Verdict Chophouse. It is the same restaurant where ultraconservative Associate Justice Henry Venter was shot and killed during a robbery the prior evening. Beyond Reeder’s Secret Service training and experience he is an expert in the field of kinesics and has a different opinion about the shooting. It is essential that a multi-agency law enforcement investigation team determine the motive and arrest those responsible. It is an isolated event, isn’t it?
I was riveted from the 1st sentence! It quickly became eerie on page 2 to read the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision had already occurred as I knew this was a 3-book series. Even then I had to immediately stop and check the copyright date that revealed ©2014. Adrenaline-pumping, compelling reading that in the polarized political arena of the current day is taut and relevant. The selection of the epigraphs, identification, and format style was thoughtful and meaningful not only to the theme of the story but helped to set the mood including the connection to where Reeder takes walks.
I didn’t recognize the author’s name until I began reading About the Author and realized his work has previously captured my attention. Regardless of the format, Collins selects he is a master storyteller. -
Fun to Read, Easy to Forget
Strength:
• Well written---fast and short read
• Plot focused tight novel
• Fun way to kill several hours
Weaknesses:
• Political parodies evident
• Somewhat predictable
• Flawed plotline
• Stereotypical characters
Excellent airplane book that will keep your attention but likely one you'll leave in the seat pocket. Some books aren't meant to be literature or even memorable, but that doesn't mean this book is less than entertaining.
The author's character development of the two main characters (I grew to like them) works well for beginning the novel series. I'm willing to read more to find out what they do in the next volumes.
Although this novel has some dystopian tones, the author's political risk taking illustrates well how most extremists feel when their party is in or out of power. Likely this book will offend nearly everyone more than once politically, while also reinforcing their biases too. As such, it's a gamble how any single reader will interpret the whole work. Most will probably see many direct comparisons with current and past Washington intrigues. All who finish reading it will be grateful it was mostly fiction.
If you have deep-rooted biases, you will find much within this story to love and hate. Just because a book is fun to read doesn't mean it's worthwhile. I'm still trying to decide.
As always, the Audible narration facilitates my reading experience and added more than it distracted. -
Some good, some not so good
I don't know where to start with this one! I actually started with the second book of this series and was feeling a title uneasy about the tone of the author's narrative. As a writer of fiction of course, the author is in full control of the story line. He can put impossible obstacles in the path of his hero simply to give equally impossible solutions that no normal human would be able to conjure up. The basic story line was good and kept me guessing about what he would dream up next! My beef with this author and his stories is they are extremely political in nature getting into such things as The Patriot Act and Roe v Wade! He has a tendency to want to include progressive liberalism as a co hero of his story! An unseemly bias against anything conservative was a definite turn off for me! If writing only for the entertainment his liberal progressive readers, then he was quite successful. But as a 76 year old life long conservative, I was not impressed. He should consider writing for his entire audience and not just the 50% that lean in his direction! For me, it's a definite thumbs down and I believe I'll just pass on the third book in the series!
