King, Camryn
WORK TITLE: Stiletto Justice
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://camrynking.com/
CITY: Las Vegas
STATE: NV
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
| LC control no.: | n 2018018961 |
|---|---|
| LCCN Permalink: | https://lccn.loc.gov/n2018018961 |
| HEADING: | King, Camryn |
| 000 | 00447nz a2200121n 450 |
| 001 | 10715532 |
| 005 | 20180405165156.0 |
| 008 | 180405n| azannaabn |n aaa |
| 010 | __ |a n 2018018961 |
| 040 | __ |a DLC |b eng |e rda |c DLC |
| 053 | _0 |a PS3611.I5725 |
| 100 | 1_ |a King, Camryn |
| 670 | __ |a Stiletto justice, 2018: |b t.p. (Camryn King) page 3 of cover (Camryn King was the senior writer and managing editor for a lifestyle magazine. Stiletto justice is her first release) |
PERSONAL
Female.
ADDRESS
- Home - Las Vegas, NV.
CAREER
Author. Worked previously as a magazine managing editor and senior writer.
AVOCATIONS:Traveling.
WRITINGS
- Stiletto Justice (novel), Dafina (New York, NY), 2018
SIDELIGHTS
Prior to launching her writing career, Camryn King worked in magazine publication, serving as a managing editor and senior writer.
Stiletto Justice marks her fiction debut. The book focuses on a trio of women—Harley Buchanan, Jayda Sanchez, and Kim Logan—working in the law field in hopes of making a difference. They have joined an organization known as WHIP (an acronym for “Women Helping Innocent Prisoners), each for their own personal reasons. Yet they all have one common thread among them: men they know and love have been sent off to prison for crimes they, in actuality, took no part in.
In Harley’s case, the man in question was her boyfriend. Prior to joining WHIP, Harley worked as a dancer to support herself; however, her world was severely rocked when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Unwilling to lose her mother, Harley asked her boyfriend for assistance in paying for the treatment her mother needed to fight her illness and reach remission. But Harley’s boyfriend resorted to drastic efforts to get the money they needed, stealing it from his workplace. While her boyfriend’s boss was understanding and agreed to a lighter punishment, considering his reasons, the court system was not so forgiving. Harley’s boyfriend ended up being tried and sent to prison.
Jayda was in the midst of making her family fully complete through her engagement to the father of her child. However, her plans and her joyous life came to a screeching halt when her boyfriend, who had been trying to purchase a new car, became suspected of doing much worse. He is now imprisoned for supposed gang activities.
Kim used to lead an idyllic life with her family. She was the mother of a son who, originally, had nothing but a bright future ahead of him. However, Kim’s son has now been brought up on drug charges, like Harley and Jayda’s boyfriends, sent to prison. All this occurred even though there were no clues toward her son’s guilt or involvement. She now is in the midst of trying to help her son and maintain some semblance of a normal life all at the same time. Harley, Jayda, and Kim alike have all joined WHIP in hopes of securing freedom for their loved ones.
Luckily, the three women have a bit of ammunition to work with. More specifically, they know exactly who is to blame for the injustice wrought against their loved ones. The culprit is a man by the name of Hammond Grey, who serves as their state’s district attorney. For years, he has made it his mission to crack down on crime rates within the state, no matter the cost. This mission now serves as the platform for his efforts to land a spot in the United States Senate. However, this isn’t the only misdeed Grey is responsible for; Harley, Jayda, and Kim all suspect that he is involved with the prison system in other ways—namely, as a profiteer. The women just need to figure out how to prove their suspicions. They have managed to figure out how to do that, but they will need a bit of help to pull it off. “Those who read purely for escape might not want to delve into a book which puts some ugly realities front and center,” wrote Maggie Boyd on the All About Justice website. She added: “For those who enjoy fiction that tackles difficult subjects however, you aren’t likely to find a more relevant book than this one.” Booklist reviewer Annie Bostrom remarked: “Readers might find it’s just the right time to read about women fighting injustice–and one despicable man–together.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15, 2018, Annie Bostrom, review of Stiletto Justice, p. 28.
ONLINE
All About Romance, https://allaboutromance.com/ (March 15, 2018), Maggie Boyd, review of Stiletto Justice.
Camryn King website, http://camrynking.com (July 30, 2018), author profile.
- Camryn King - http://camrynking.com/services
Before delving into the world of suspense, intrigue and inconvenient attraction, Camryn was the senior writer and managing editor for a lifestyle magazine. An avid traveller, she's lived in or travelled to more than a dozen countries, and visited almost all fifty states. acquiring endless fodder for upcoming novels. Stiletto Justice is her debut release.
Stiletto Justice
Annie Bostrom
Booklist.
114.12 (Feb. 15, 2018): p28. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Stiletto Justice.
By Camryn King.
Mar. 2018.332p. Dafina, paper, $12.95 (9781496702166).
Kim, Jayda, and Harley became close while working together for Women Helping Innocent Prisoners (WHIP), the organization Kim started after her son, a promising young athlete, was put away for a crime he didn't commit. Jayda and Harley have boyfriends and family in the same prison; all these innocent men were victims of overzealous district attorney Hammond Grey Now Grey's running for U.S. senator in Kansas, with a symbol for a platform: a giant broom, because he's going to clean up crime in his state and then the country, when he makes his way to the White House. When the women have reason to suspect Grey is also profiting handsomely from the private prison where he sends undeserving men, they hatch a plan to expose him and free their innocent men. Although details slow the pace of King's debut, it offers clear-cut heroes and villains in a thought-provoking takedown of the $70 billion commercial-prison industry. Readers might find it's just the right time to read about women fighting injustice--and one despicable man--together.--Annie Bostrom
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Bostrom, Annie. "Stiletto Justice." Booklist, 15 Feb. 2018, p. 28. Book Review Index Plus,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A531171535/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=bd555716. Accessed 16 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A531171535
2 of 2 7/16/18, 12:34 AM
- All About Romance
https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/stiletto-justice-by-camryn-king/
Word count: 806Stiletto Justice
Camryn King
Buy This Book
Last month I finished A Colony in a Nation by Chris Hayes and upon closing it purchased The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. What these two books have in common is their discussion of America’s status as an incarceration nation. If you are young, black or brown and poor, our current criminal justice system is likely stacked against you. Camryn King takes a fictional look at this very real problem in her novel Stiletto Justice.
Life was perfect. Kim Logan had a good job, a loving husband and a talented, winsome son headed toward football glory. One night changed all that. Her baby boy, Kendall, is now serving ten years on drug possession charges in spite of there being no solid evidence or witnesses against him. A zealous district attorney had convinced the court her law-abiding child presented a menace to society. His latest appeal has been denied, and Kim has no idea where to go from here.
Jayda Sanchez had been looking at a wonderful future that disappeared with the boom of a judge’s gavel. Her fiancé had a good job, she had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl and her family was in the midst of planning Jayda a big wedding. Then Nicky, her boyfriend, was locked up for gang banging when in fact all he had been doing was buying a car.
Erotic dancer Harley Buchanan hasn’t had it easy but she’s always been a fighter. Her mom’s cancer has been her greatest challenge but with access to some quality medicine and the support of her boyfriend Jesse, Harley was convinced they had a strong chance of beating it. Then Jesse robbed the bank he worked for in an effort to pay for an experimental treatment for her mom. When the owner learned why Jesse had committed the crime, he was willing to let Jesse pay the money back and lose his job; he didn’t want him prosecuted for his theft. However, a politically ambitious district attorney, determined to build a reputation as being tough on crime, refused to let it go. Jesse is now a guest of the Kansas Correctional System.
A successful middle class mom. A working class girl. A stripper. They would never have met if not for WHIP (Women Helping Innocent Prisoners). But one thing is sure – the esteemed Senator from Kansas, former District Attorney Hammond Grey, will regret ever having been the instrument of their introduction.
There were a lot of things I appreciated about this novel. One of the biggest was the character of Kim, with whom I strongly identified. A middle class mom, trying to juggle husband, work and son, she becomes a fierce social justice warrior after her boy’s incarceration. I loved the way the author shows her trying to balance the life she should be leading – dinner with friends, focus on career, enjoying the benefits of empty nesting – with the reality of having a child in prison. She also uses this character to bring some balance to the tale; when Kim and her husband meet with a neighbor who is a staunch Trump supporter and an advocate of ‘law and order’, she realizes that friendships can exist without everyone seeing eye to eye on all the issues.
I also loved the way the author spotlights prisons for profit, a controversial problem that receives far too little attention from the media. Part of our burgeoning criminal system is being fueled by the fact that there are companies making money from our full penitentiaries. If Ms. King can shine even a little light on that dark secret, it will be a job well done.
I also appreciated the character of Bobby, who represents the positive side of our police force. While the book does deal with crooked cops and purchased politicians, it shows that not everyone in those professions are on the wrong side of the law.
The text is not perfect, however. The prose can be choppy and amateurish at times and the use of deus-ex-machina is prevalent throughout the story and the plot, especially towards the end, is patently unbelievable. I enjoyed the book, though, and found it interesting and intriguing, enjoyable and informative – all in one neat package.
Stiletto Justice won’t be for every reader. Those who read purely for escape might not want to delve into a book which puts some ugly realities front and center. For those who enjoy fiction that tackles difficult subjects however, you aren’t likely to find a more relevant book than this one.
Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo