A Bounty of Books

Imperfect Justice by Cara Putman tells the story of what happens to the people left behind when those in the middle of domestic violence pay the ultimate price. The main characters are the victim's brother and the lawyer who was helping the victim get ready to flee.

Unbeknownst to me when I agreed to review it, Imperfect Justice is the second book in the Hidden Justice series. However, while I probably would have appreciated the characters more if I had read the first one, I wasn't confused or lost while reading Imperfect Justice, so it does work on its own.

Imperfect Justice has fast pacing and flows well. The characters are engaging and very relatable. Anybody who enjoys legal thrillers or just good contemporary fiction should enjoy this book. However, I would caution that Imperfect Justice does contain realistic depictions of domestic violence that may act as triggers for some.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookLook book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife: My Story of Finding Hope after Domestic Abuse by Ruth A. Tucker is part autobiography, part treatise on male headship and complementarianism in marriage. Tucker was in an abusive marriage for almost twenty years. She weaves together stories from this time with stories of other women, as well as her views on hermeneutics and interpretation of various scripture passages dealing with male headship and the role of women.

I'm not sure why, but I was expecting this to be more biography and less theological treatise. Sometimes I felt Tucker was angrily preaching rather than sharing her view, though I understand the subjects she discussed are very personal and passions of hers. I doubt that we'd land on the same side theologically regarding at least some of the passages of scripture she mentions. What can't be argued with though is her personal experience, and how her ex-husband's view of scripture influenced his abuse.

One of the main takeaways from this book that cannot be ignored is that the church has to do a better job of addressing abuse and helping those in the middle of it. Placing blame on the one being abused is never the right answer. Neither is pretending abuse isn't happening in families we sit in the pew with every week. Through stories in her life of how people in the church inappropriately responded to Tucker's situation, the reader can learn what not to do, and hopefully from there figure out how to respond.

Overall, I'm glad I read Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife. I don't know that I can say I enjoyed it, because the subject matter is difficult to say the least. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject of domestic violence, especially in the context of the American church.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookLook book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255