Crime of Privilege - Walter Walker

Ali Mark
Dec 30, 2015
2 min read

When you witness a crime, it changes your life. But can it change your entire life, for the rest of your life? For George, it did. Enough that he later became a lawyer and found himself (at first) unwillingly looking into the family who committed the crime that changed everything. But will white privilege push aside the findings, or will George finally find (and release) all the evidence... even if he is at risk for losing everything.

Goodreads readers ranked this book a 3.31 and I'd recommend it if you're into:

crime
law/legal
murder
sexual assault

Pros: From the beginning, I was in shock. The story starts off with a crime, about 12 years before the present day. This crime is detailed, it's realistic, and it's reminiscent of what so many victims & families encounter before their life changes eternally. What I didn't see coming, was how it influenced the witness, George, to later become a laywer (with a twist, of course). The story line is realistic (as the author is actually an attorney), but it's easy to understand. I never felt as if the "legal-mumbo-jumbo" was too much or too confusing.

This could easily become a movie that I would watch, and that says something. The detail, the traveling, the energy the author puts into the book makes it easy to visualize as a movie. If you're secretly a millionaire, please make this happen. It'd be perfect as a Lifetime made-for-TV-movie.

I almost could see a sequel out of this book - and I'd read it, because I want to know what the future holds for George, and the future of his career (more details unfold about the lingering questions I'm having when you get into the book).

This book was a simple read - I wasn't challenged by the author's writing style, nor was the language used difficult to use. (If we saw more legal details, it might have been lost on me throughout several pages.) The detail, the questions, the path at which we look for the killer, and we investigate each clue given makes you feel a bit like an investigator. I had no clue (for sure) who the killer was until the last 10-15 pages, which was really exciting for me. I never felt bored, or annoyed with the constant questions.

Cons: I noticed one misspelled word (it happened to be short, but was spelled shirt), which wouldn't bother most, and wouldn't stand out after an intense story line branched out over 415 pages, but it stood out for me despite it being towards the beginning of the book.

I was also disappointed, without giving too much away, that a few other crimes were committed throughout the book and we never got any resolve out of them. You'd think with a legal foundation, we'd see some things resolved before the end of the book, even if only as a reflective moment towards the end.