Chad Zunker’s ‘Runaway Justice’ is a Legal Thriller with Heart [REVIEW]

A frightened adolescent. A determined killer. The Feds determined to make someone pay. When an altruistic attorney intervenes, will he be able to save the day once more? Find out in Chad Zunker’s riveting third David Adams thriller, Runaway Justice.

If you read Zunker’s two previous novels in this series, An Equal Justice and An Unequal Defense, you already know that David Adams isn’t the typical caricature of what a lawyer is. He’s definitely not some snake in the grass with only his own interests at heart. Far from it! Instead, he’s the Atticus Finch type of lawyer who is resolved to help the underdogs of Austin get justice.

In this case, it’s a 12-year-old runaway named Parker Barnes who needs his help. The FBI suspects him in the murder of a federal witness, although Parker denies everything. And when a hit man sends the boy back to the streets, Adams realizes there’s more to the kid’s story than he initially let on. But first he must find the boy before he can save him, and doing so will take the help of a pro bono investigator and a band of street-savvy friends.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Runaway Justice. I felt an instant kinship to David Adams, although I have only encountered him three times in my life—albeit that was for three to four hours at a time—however, it was enough to forge a bond with someone who wants to make a difference. David’s heart sees people for who they are regardless of their situation, and desires to help them.

This is the case with Parker Barnes, a young child who leaves his foster home in the dead of night only to witness an unspeakable crime while sleeping in a park in the early morning hours. With no one to turn to, Parker realizes he needs to keep away from the police. However, he also needs to eat. So he teams up with an another man living on the streets to steal purses. Once caught, Parker’s new friend calls Adams to help.

David does so, but soon realizes this is not the simple case he initially thought. Never one to abandon a client, he does all he can to not only right a wrong, but also to offer a chance at redemption to all those who come in contact with him.

Reminiscent of John Grisham’s The Client and John Gilstrap’s Nathan’s Run, Runaway Justice is a legal thriller with heart. Tautly plotted and fraught with suspense, this is a book that is as relentless as it is uplifting. Remember the name Chad Zunker. He will change the way you think about lawyer whodunnits!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chad Zunker studied journalism at The University of Texas, where he was also on the football team. He’s worked for some of the most powerful law firms in the country and invented baby products that are now sold all over the world.

He has wanted to write full time since he took his first practice hit as a skinny freshman walk-on from a 6’5, 240 pound senior All-American safety — which crushed both him and his feeble NFL dreams.

He lives in Austin with his wife, Katie, and their three daughters, where he is hard at work on his next novel.

To find out more, visit ChadZunker.com, like the author on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

RUNAWAY JUSTICE
By Chad Zunker
233 pp. Thomas & Mercer. $15.95.

Purchase Runaway Justice direct from Jathan & Heather Books or from one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Half Price Books, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Powell’s, or Target.