Tribal Court

David Brunelle Legal Thriller Series, Book 2

By: Stephen Penner

Narrated by: Paul Costanzo

A man is murdered in Seattle's Pioneer Square. The killer is caught just blocks away, blood still on his hands. When it's discovered that both killer and victim belong to the same Native American tribe, the tribe asserts jurisdiction, and homicide DA Dave Brunelle has to prosecute the case in their tribal court. It's bad enough when the defense attorney claims the killing was justified under the ancient custom of "blood revenge". It gets worse when blood revenge turns into a blood feud. The bodies start piling up, and it looks like Brunelle may be next. Can he stay alive long enough to win the case?

©2013 Stephen Penner (P)2016 Tantor

A Case of Blood Revenge

This is my first book by Stephen Penner and the narrator Paul Costanozo. I understand Penner is an attorney from the Seattle area who has worked both as a defense attorney and a prosecutor. What attracted me to purchase the book was a story about Native American Tribal Court in the modern world. I was a bit disappointed the author did not provide more information about tribal law and their court system, also some more information about tribal life would have been interesting.

A Native American man is found murdered in Seattle. The perpetrator is also a Native American and from the same tribe. The Tribe demands jurisdiction over the case. Brunelle, the prosecutor from Seattle, is assigned to assist the Tribal prosecutor. The defense attorney is a beautiful Native American woman who apparently is supposes to be very brilliant. She puts up a defense of Blood Revenge as the defendant killed the man who molested his niece. Now it looks as if a feud is starting and Brunelle’s life is at risk.

The book is well written. The plot is creative with some twists and turns. Most of the characters are realistic. The author has provided some humor to offset the underlying discrimination of Native Americans in the story. The court room drama is exciting. The pace is fast but I would have preferred Brunelle kept his mind on the court case and not looking at the women in the case. I felt the story had far more potential than occurred in the book so felt somewhat disappointed but I am sure if one was only looking for a “get away from it all” book this would do. Paul Costanozo did a good job narrating the story.

Too long to be so simple

Side stories good...main story weak. Courtroom good, murder mystery weak. Slow at times - struggled to stay engaged.