Mens Rea by Brooke Edwards


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Daily Dose Short Story

MensReaBlurb

James Carter is forty-five and has been a police officer most of his life. He married young, lost her young, and his life revolved around his work and his son. Young is a recurring theme in his life, he thinks, when he meets the considerably younger AUSA Derek Moore on a case and finds himself ruled by the whims of his heart.
The road to love between a hotshot lawyer and a veteran cop was never going to be smooth, not in the real world, but there are criminals, misunderstandings, and a lack of communication standing in their way too. Both are so stubborn and convinced their interest is one-sided that it takes a murder case, exhaustion, and an adjournment for them to get their act together. They move fast after that, but they both know there’s no guarantee for tomorrow.

Review

This is how a short story should be written.

The author moves us forward through time without the obvious – “two weeks pass”, instead showing us the important information with well written examples.

Both characters are very well developed, and again this shows the author’s skills in that it is all shown to us rather than dumped on us in one long spew.

There are even well-developed secondary characters!

I thought the love story was very sweet but wish there had been more steam as the sex is fade to black.

Be warned, this is told in third person present tense and that can be difficult for some readers. It’s done well, though it isn’t my favorite writing style.

All in all 4.25 of 5 hearts, well done!

4.5

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