About the Book
What if the deadliest train wreck in the nation’s history was no accident?
When a passenger train derails in North Philadelphia with fatal results, idealistic criminal defence attorney Vaughn Coburn takes on the most personal case of his young career. The surviving engineer is his cousin Eddy, and when Eddy asks Vaughn to defend him, he can’t help but accept. Vaughn has a debt to repay, for he and his cousin share an old secret – one that changed both their lives forever.
As blame for the wreck zeros in on Eddy, Vaughn realizes there’s more to this case than meets the eye. Seeking the truth behind the crash, he finds himself the target of malicious attorneys, corrupt railroad men, and a mob boss whose son perished in the accident and wants nothing less than cold-blooded revenge. With the help of his ex-con private investigator and an old flame who works for the competition, Vaughn struggles to defeat powerful forces – and to escape his own past built on secrets and lies.
Format: ebook (317 pages) Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication date: 23rd January 2018 Genre: Crime, Thriller
Find An Engineered Injustice (Philadelphia Legal #2) on Goodreads
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My Review
An Engineered Injustice is the second book in the author’s Philadelphia Legal series. The series commenced with A Criminal Defense which I’ve not yet read although I read – and very much enjoyed – the third book in the series, A Killer’s Alibi, back in January 2019. You can find my review here. By the way, although it may look like it, I’m not deliberately setting out to read the series in reverse order. It’s just happened that way!
An Engineered Injustice has references to events in the first book but works perfectly well as a standalone and, if anything, the consequences of past actions help to propel its plot. There are also return appearances for some of the characters from A Criminal Defense, including some particularly unsavoury ones although sometimes even they can have their uses. Having to live with the consequences of past actions is especially the case for lawyer, Vaughn Coburn. Despite his lack of experience with the type of litigation involved, he feels an obligation to his family to clear his cousin Eddy, the driver of the derailed train, against charges of culpability for the crash. Along with a keen sense of justice, Vaughn has personal reasons – a secret buried for sixteen years – why he must succeed: ‘What he owes his cousin is nothing less than victory. And with it, salvation.”
What seems an open and shut case of driver error initially, proves to be anything but as Vaughan, with the assistance of some unlikely allies, gradually uncovers a web of corruption and breathtakingly evil intent. The case involves Vaughn going out on a limb like never before, risking his reputation and livelihood.
Given the author’s legal background, it’s no surprise the book is full of detail about legal and judicial procedure. The final courtroom scenes during the preliminary hearing of the case are not only convincingly realistic but as tense and thrilling as you could wish for. Will Vaughn’s unconventional ploy succeed? Does justice prevail? You’ll have to read the book to find out and, if you do, be prepared for surprises.
An Engineered Injustice is another fast-moving, intricately plotted and compelling crime thriller from the pen of William L. Myers, Jr. In case you need further persuasion, you can read my earlier spoiler-free interview with the author about An Engineered Injustice here. The fourth book in the series, A Criminal Justice, was published on 17th March 2020.
In three words: Taut, fast-moving, suspenseful
Try something similar: Lying in Vengeance by Gary Corbin
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About the Author
William L. Myers, Jr. is the Amazon #1 best-selling author of the Philadelphia Legal Series. The series debuted with the legal thriller A Criminal Defense in 2017. Following that, Mr. Myers released An Engineered Injustice in 2018 and A Killer’s Alibi in 2019. His latest novel, A Criminal Justice, was released March 17, 2020 to strong reviews.
Born into a blue-collar family, Mr. Myers inherited a work-ethic that propelled him through college and into the Ivy League at The University of Pennsylvania School of Law. From there, Mr. Myers began his legal career in a Philadelphia-based mega defence firm. After ten years defending corporate America, he realized his heart wasn’t in it. So he started his own firm and began fighting for the common guy.
That was twenty-five years ago and since then, Mr. Myers has devoted his legal career to representing honest, hard-working people who have been injured by others. He has become a highly-regarded trial attorney up and down the Eastern Seaboard, and has had the rare honour of arguing before the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Myers and his wife Lisa live with their two pit bulls in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo/bio credit: Author website)
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What Cathy Read Next... 
Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed this one as well and am now following the author.
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