Recoil of Justice
a Ryan Wolfe Thriller
by Brad Elder
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date May 19 2025 | Archive Date Aug 31 2025
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Description
Scott Turow meets L.T. Ryan in this sophisticated and chilling crime thriller.
In the practice of trial law, winning is everything. But are you willing to sell your soul for a payout?
The seventh level of the dark web might as well be Dante’s Inferno.
The world’s most advanced dark web AI software has been stolen from attorney Ryan Wolfe’s oldest client, Baron Tech. Now they need Ryan to prove their competitor, Bidwell, did it, and usurped their government contracts.
Bidwell’s team of ruthless lawyers are on the precipice of victory, but when Ryan takes a surprise meeting with a secret source, the intel obliterates everything he thinks he knows about the case. He might have just what he needs to make Bidwell regret the moment they set eyes on his client’s IP.
But something feels wrong. Very wrong.
Why would Bidwell make such a stupid mistake? Could they be a puppet instead of the evil mastermind? Who would be powerful enough to pressure a billion-dollar tech firm to cave to their demands?
Ryan’s conscience won’t let him rest until the darkest secrets come to light.
Out of legal remedies, with no other options, he turns to his closest allies and launches a desperate plot against the most dangerous criminals in the world.
Staring into a shootout in the Mexican desert, Ryan Wolfe must decide if he is a lawyer whose hands are tied… or if he is willing to deliver the Recoil of Justice.
Recoil of Justice surprises and entertains with a plot twist that is as jaw-dropping as it is satisfying.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781965340608 |
| PRICE | $27.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 278 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Average rating from 12 members
Featured Reviews
Barbara S, Reviewer
This book had many moving parts and some of them were difficult to navigate. Ryan Wolfe, a Texas lawyer, is the glue to keep the momentum going. Plenty of action, harsh reality, and good scenes where human goodness seeps through when needed most.
Reviewer 1630700
This book had many moving parts but I found some of them were hard to keep track of. There were lots of action, harsh reality, and good scenes where human goodness shone. I can’t wait to read more books by Mr. Elder. Thank you for this opportunity!
Doug Y, Educator
Good start to a promising series. The characters will develop as the series progressi an we, the readers, get to know them better.. At present they’re pretty much stereotypes. Story doesn’t lack in plot and action. Well designed story and plenty to keep the pages turning.
The story is about Ryan Wolfe who is a lawyer from Texas trying to find his way through a pretty intense case where artificial intelligence computer software is stole from one of his clients called Baron Tech.
The more Ryan digs, the more he uncovers information that changes not only his perspective of the case but yours as well.
Ryan is very much willing to put aside his usual style of calculated risks in order to take more reckless risks to find out the truth, battling with his standard of ethics versus justice.
The book really explores how greed, corruption and morally grey ethics can have a huge impact on smaller entities and others involved, with a lot of good twists and turns; however, some elements felt a little difficult to keep up with.
I definitely think it has good potential as a series.
This book has everything you need! Action, drama, lawyers. This is a great introduction to a series. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters and can’t wait to see where the story takes us next.
Darren B, Reviewer
I had the opportunity to read this book, and I would like to thank the author, his publisher (MindStir Media), and the fine folks at NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I originally selected the novel based on the title, thinking it would be more of a legal thriller. As I got into the story, the protagonist was a mid-level (maybe this was an assumption on my part) lawyer in a New Mexico firm who accepted what I understood to be an intellectual property case dealing with computer software.
The story then jumps to a point in time where the protagonist is twenty-two years younger to establish his bonafides as a hunter (a skill that comes to play a main part in the story in the latter half of the novel) and then jumps to a moment in time that was twenty years before that to establish the backstory of the cartel members (which I found a tad challenging to follow).
I became momentarily confused as it seemed that the intellectual property case was solved almost at the moment the discovery process began, with seemingly little to no real effort on the part of the protagonist. As a result of the amount of the sudden settlement, our protagonist's financial and professional future is advanced to a point where it seems that tales of future adventures in this series may become unnecessary (I hope that is not the case).
The second theme of the book came out of nowhere as it was revealed that it was actually one of the Mexican drug cartels that was the instigating party behind the theft of the intellectual property in question to provide security for two of their other "revenue streams." The action of the second part then proceeded at a breakneck pace to its finale.
That said, on my self-determined five-star scale, I would give this author a solid four stars (more so for the action of the second half), as I really enjoyed the author and would likely be sure to read the next book in the series. I believe that this author would be enjoyed by fans of Jack Carr, Harlan Coben, David Baldacci, and Brad Thor.
As with all my literary ramblings, this is just my five cents' worth.
Think of an amazing HBO miniseries where a humble man fights against a cartel and lives to share the amazing outcome of saving over 50 women who were being trafficked! Really gripping story with descriptive back-stories to catapult you to the thrilling ending. It felt like it was straight out of a scene from one of my favorite movies, "Sicario”! I thought I might be intimidated by the tech talk in the 'Preface' but it all made sense and really added to the suspense of what would happen next! If you like a mystery/thriller with some crime drama, you will really enjoy this fantastic book from Brad Elder!
Media/Journalist 1748942
One thing is abundantly clear in Recoil of Justice - Brad Elder is one heck of a storyteller! How refreshing to have a protagonist who is an everyman, a simple lawyer from the Lone Star state, believably called into action who must rely on the lessons from his younger years to protect the ones he loves. Three things absolutely shine(r bock) in Recoil of Justice:
1) Characters: Brad creates a truly memorable ensemble of characters each with their own unique backgrounds and personalities able to to come together and get the job done
2) Law: Without being strictly a legal thriller, Brad's writing jumps off the page and hooks the reader in when behind closed doors with elite powerbrokers in the law offices and deposition rooms
3) Setting: Brad masterfully combines a true down home feel "deep in the heart of Texas" with grand sweeping panoramas of incredibly well crafted and detailed ranches spanning the Rio Grande and the US/Mexico border.
As discussed in our interview with Brad on ThrillerPod.com, you would never know this is a debut book. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Recoil of Justice today. Oh, and one last perk - the book concludes with a mesmerizing teaser for Ryan Wolfe book #2 - Core of Truth!
Mark S, Reviewer
Brad Turner wrote a page turner complete with surprises and great character development.
Nice job......
Brian K, Reviewer
Although I was skeptical at first, by the end, I really liked this book. The chapters, at times, jumped around a little TOO much for me BUT I did like the fact that we went back and forth in the timeline to fill in important gaps. As the book went on, I felt those gaps were filled in a very appropriate manner and contributed to my enjoyment of the overall story a great deal. Good character development by the author throughout the story. I certainly want to see more of these characters and hope this is the start to a lengthy series.
Thank you to Net Galley and MindStir Media for this ARC. #bradeldernovelscom #NetGalley
Debbie D, Reviewer
The book is full of action. Lots and lots of moving parts, and different time lines. It does get to be confusing, especially at first. There are a lot of characters. But it all does come together nicely into a great start to a new series.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Cass D, Reviewer
Recoil of Justice is an intriguing book, there was a lot going on. The book was not boring and kept me engaged. This book has a lot of time hopping. Some chapters were set decades before the current time frame, some just a few years or days. I personally felt like there was too much back and forth. Also, the cast of characters felt like a lot to me.
Although, I didn’t love all the time hopping I did enjoy the book and the time jumping did set up backstories. I give this book 3.5 stars. I feel like this could be the start of a new series that I would like to read. Thank you very much to NetGalley, the publisher, and Brad Elder for allowing me an advanced copy of this book to review.