Review: A Matter of Justice by J.C. Long

Title: A Matter of Justice

Series: Hong Kong Nights: Book Three

Author: J.C. Long

Length: 240 Pages

Category: Contemporary

At a Glance: J.C. Long has created a roller coaster ride of a story in A Matter of Justice, with action, suspense and danger. The plot is intriguing and a shocker when all the pieces started to fall into place.

Reviewed By: Maryann

Blurb: The battle between the Dragons of the Eastern District and their bitter rivals, the Twisted Vipers, is reaching a dangerous point. The Anti-Gang Task Force is hard at work trying to bring down the Vipers. Tensions ratchet when Johnny Hwang guns down a prominent inspector on the task force, and Conroy Wong, Wei Tseng’s second-in-command is a witness. Now, to keep him safe long enough to locate a second witness and put Hwang behind bars, Conroy is forced into close quarters with Allen Hong, a man who once fought side by side with the Dragons until he turned his back on them by joining the police, betraying them. As sparks fly between them once more, the two men must put aside their differences and work together, because the Twisted Vipers aren’t going to let Hwang go down without a fight.

Review: The conflict between Conroy Wong and Allen Hong still looms heavily. Conroy and Allen have a history; they were both Dragons and are former lovers who had good intentions but different views on where they would fit best in protecting the people of the Eastern District. After the war and the fall of the Nine Stars, Conroy stayed loyal to the Dragons, and Allen decided to join the Hong Kong PD. The criticism he received from the leader of the Dragons, Wei Tseng, also led Allen to form his own thoughts on how Conroy would react, and he left Conroy without an explanation.

On a night out at his favorite karaoke bar, Conroy plays witness to the murder of Inspector Yang, who has been working diligently to bring down Johnnie Hwang and his Twisted Vipers. Now, with Hwang behind bars, the situation becomes even more dangerous. Those who want to be the next leader of the Twisted Vipers are now after Conroy, so Allen puts his life on the line for Conroy and takes him under protection. But, Conroy being younger than Allen, he’s sometimes full of himself and gives Allen a very hard time. He has never gotten over what he feels is Allen’s betrayal of the Dragons and himself. Allen also carries guilt, not just about Conroy but his brother-in-law too, whom he couldn’t protect.

Allen, Conroy, and Wei have had their suspicions all along about corruption in the HKPD, and Allen finds himself under investigation. With more devastation from the Twisted Vipers aimed at Conroy and the people of the Dragons territory, the fear is real that another war with a triad could destroy them all.

J.C. Long has created a roller coaster ride of a story in A Matter of Justice, with action, suspense and danger. The plot is intriguing and a shocker when all the pieces started to fall into place. The storyline also gives a more in-depth look at the Eastern District and the different triads that could cause a brutal takeover. As for Conroy and Allen, there’s a lot for them to work out, so this isn’t exactly a HEA. The ending leaves some doors open for the next novel. It will be interesting to see how things develop between them.

There’s a good, solid group of secondary characters, most of whom are members of the Dragons. For me, Tony Lau, who is a member of the Dragons with forty years of hard life on the streets, and Ao Cheung, Allen’s partner at the HKPD were very impressive throughout this story.

I highly recommend reading the Hong Kong Nights series in order, as I don’t see this as a standalone. There is just too much history you’ll need before getting to this point. As for me, I remain impressed with J.C. Long’s creativity in this all-around exciting series.

You can buy A Matter of Justice here:
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