My Rating

Paul Batista’s Accusation is a legal thriller that uses the #MeToo movement to highlight the inherent complications that are tangled up with this movement.

The author brings forth the question of how this fight for justice is played out completely on social media and thus the core issue of a man abusing his power is sometimes watered down. In the Accusation, a world-renowned movie star Aaron Julian is accused of sexual advances and defense lawyer Raquel Rematti has her task cut out for her.

The plotline of ‘death by social media’ had me terribly excited and I was looking forward to a thrilling courtroom juggle. Unfortunately, the struggle for truth is played out before the media instead of in a courtroom. There is also the fact that most of the characters introduced in the story including the technical wizard who manipulates the phone data, the prosecutor, a senator who is Aaron’s friend are all playing for their personal gains, and none of them are the least concerned about their public persona or careers which felt implausible. The attacks and counterattacks kept me involved until a point but the scenes and dialogue delivery were short of conviction.

The build-up of tension could have been better, as a reader, the helplessness of the situation that Aaron finds himself never carries thru. The ending was expected and thereby lacked the surprising element of the story. Raquel Rematti was a strong character and I loved how utterly calm and unruffled she comes across. The Accusation by Paul Batista could have been a 4 star read if only with a tighter plot.

Many thanks to Edelweiss, Oceanview Publishing, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

USA Today Best-Selling Author

An icon’s life implodes—at two in the morning

World renowned, revered actor Aaron Julian is awakened at two a.m. by his agent who informs him that he has been accused of sexual harassment. Young actresses will break the story on prime-time TV that morning—with their lawyer, the attorney who led the charge in the priests’ sexual abuse cases.

Aaron and his celebrity pop-singer wife, Veda, vehemently deny the charges, and hire powerful defense lawyer Raquel Rematti. But when the plaintiffs’ lawyer is murdered in Central Park, the stakes skyrocket and the conspiracies spiral out of control.

Despite revelation after revelation, Aaron continues to proclaim his innocence. And in his defense, Rematti uses every tool in the legal system to produce courtroom drama that is unparalleled.

The outcome—impossible to predict—is guaranteed to stun and to linger with you for a long time.

Fans of John Grisham and Scott Turow will devour this cutting-edge thriller

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