Do You Solemnly Swear?

A Nation of Law, The Dark Side

De: Lin Wilder

Narrado por: Mark Kamish

What if your former girlfriend decides to use her 6-year-old daughter to punish you for breaking up with her?

How do you prove that you are innocent of the worst case of sexual perversion against a child?

Is it possible to refute the lies of a beautiful, seemingly innocent, little girl?

When Gabe McAllister, decorated former Marine and respected Texas State Trooper, walked out of his condo in West Houston on a Tuesday morning to head to a meeting of the newly formed task force of the DEA, Texas State Police and Border Patrol, he found five Houston cops waiting to collar him for the rape of 6-year-old Annie Bridges.

His next several days and weeks are a blur as he realizes belatedly that he has no chance against his diminutive accuser. His implicit trust in the fairness of the justice system shattered, McAllister lands in the Huntsville prison, sentenced to three counts of 20-to-life sentences.

In the sequel to The Fragrance Shed By a Violet, Lin Wilder embroils characters in another complex web of dysfunctional family, deceit, revenge, and the politics of courtrooms. Pulitzer Prize reporter Kate Townsend's front page story for her newspaper, The Houston Tribune, about a juror - the foreman of McAllister's jury - stepping forward to speak about the case and her concern about why McAllister was not granted a retrial, galvanizes Houstonians once again: Had a Houston jury convicted another innocent person?

Dr. Lindsey McCall, former inmate at Huntsville and now Medical Director at the Prisons, and Rich Jansen, Chief Warden at the prisons, are faced with the all-too-familiar question of just how involved should they get as Townsend begins to dig into the background of little Annie Bridges and her mother. When Townsend reveals the details of her new investigative series: A Nation of Law: The Dark Side, Jansen is more than intrigued.

©2015 Lin Wilder (P)2017 Lin Wilder

Strong story potential; too many rabbit holes

I have mixed thoughts on this work. First off; the narrator does an excellent job of portraying the different character as well as filling in the rest of the plot which made the listen a rather easy one.

As for the work itself, and as my title alludes to, this is an important topic for a story and one that certainly bears telling. This particular title starts off with a ton of promise and it carries itself along to a satisfactory ending in justice finally being done for a man convicted in the most vile of crimes; crimes he did not commit. The story, although fictional. is one worth telling as it is a very real problem in our society today. The sexual abuse of children is a horrendous crime, and the false allegations and convictions (often out of vengeance) as a result of the public outrage makes it all the more horrible.

The problem I have with this work, and the reason I only gave it 3-stars is simply because the author strays off the story-line too often . . . goes down a rabbit hole. For example, although military dogs play a minor role in the story, I found the full chapter dedicated to how the rods and cones in the eye of the dog servetheir lack of color recognition to be a bit much. Also, there were several side stories involving the characters which really were not pertinent to the main plot. The characters were already well developed, complete with interesting backgrounds, to make the story work; frivolous inclusions (i.e. the side effects of a pregnancy on a 35-year-old woman) only served to prolong the listen. Frankly, I think this work would be all the more powerful after a solid editor trimmed it from 8:45 hours to about 8-hours and it would be a much tighter work, in my opinion.

It becomes apparent that this is a volume in a series of books, yet it is certainly capable of standing on its own. That being said, I will likely check out one of the author's other works as the potential is clearly there for enjoyable reads/listens.

I would recommend this book with the caveat to have a little patience when the story seems to stray as it does come back around with some great drama in the closing chapters. A review copy of this audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in return for this unbiased review. My hope is that this review helps in your decision to obtain this book.

How do you prove you are not guilty!

What an enthralling story! I couldn't put it down! Well written. All the twists and turns held my attention throughout!

Narrator was excellent!

"I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Gripping Legal Thriller

This story is a sad commentary on today's society and probably occurs much more often than we realize. It sickens me that parents, usually the mother, can use their children as pawns for their own personal gain or revenge. Lives can be devastated with even the mere accusation of child molestation and it is often an uphill battle to prove their innocence. As was stated in the book, how do you prove that you didn't do something? In Gabe's story, the presumption of innocence was almost completely absent during his initial trial, compounding his fight.

Do You Solemnly Swear? was a compelling listen that gripped me from the start. Gabe made some bad choices but certainly didn't deserve to be in his current predicament and I really felt for him. The writing was powerful, with a great story and interesting characters. My only criticism was that so many side stories somewhat detracted from the main emphasis, namely proving Gabe's innocence. With a large cast of characters, Mark Kamish did an excellent job with the narration. I enjoyed Do You Solemnly Swear?: A Nation of Law, The Dark Side and would recommend it.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This review is my honest opinion.

Powerful and emotional

What did you love best about Do You Solemnly Swear??

It was an intense listen. We don't hear enough about how easily an innocent man can be convicted of this type of crime when he is innocent. People often overreact without getting the details and using their heads. I have seen this many times myself. People tend to assume what they hear is true without using their reasoning skills to see the facts don't hardly add up.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Do You Solemnly Swear??

I loved when Gabe met the former juror who had doubts about his being guilty. She fought hard for him and got others to listen to her. When he finally met her in person it was a bit intense.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I expected this to be a very emotional book and it was. There were a few times I got frustrated and angry over it and at one point I even teared up while listening. I am very well aware that child molestation happens all the time but I'm also aware that women can be cruel and spiteful and can easily ruin a life over these types of accusations when there is no truth to them. All of that comes through in this book.

Any additional comments?

I liked this book overall, though for me there was so much background on many of the characters that I almost forgot what I was listening to. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

An Intriguing Legal Thriller with Strong Narration

This is an intriguing Texas-set legal thriller that has medical, political, and journalistic elements that keep the story moving.

Telling the story of a former Marine who endures hell after being accused of molesting his girlfriend’s young daughter, I found this to be a realistic look at the Texas criminal justice system and a good reminder to avoid at all costs using a public defender as your attorney if ever charged with a crime.

Some of the subject matter regarding the child abuse was difficult for me to listen to, especially the more graphic details, but I realize this was necessary in telling the story.

Narration is strong throughout with exquisite inflection. The narrator is especially good at doing different characters’ voices, and being from Texas myself I can attest that his Southern accent is spot-on.

Parts of the book tangential to the main story tended to meander a bit, and I found myself most drawn to the courtroom drama, but overall this was a very entertaining and enjoyable listen.

*I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.