Book Review: Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside by Isaac Wright Jr. -Memoir

Hello dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside by Isaac Wright Jr.

Title: Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Isaac Wright Jr.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: November 08, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 336 pages
Meet the Author: Isaac Wright Jr.
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

An empowering memoir of courage and hope in the face of injustice―and the basis for the ABC television show, For Life―Marked for Life is the true story of Isaac Wright Jr.’s battle to win his freedom after being wrongfully imprisoned for crimes he didn’t commit and a critical indictment of America’s judicial system.

“If I waited around for someone to save me, I’d be waiting my whole life. Unless I took the reins of this thing myself, I would die in prison. If that was my destiny, then I was going to die fighting. The desperation of that equation kept me up most nights. I would never find a gladiator. So I had to become him.”

In the summer of 1989, Isaac Wright Jr. was a 28-year-old independent music producer, who’d struck out on his own and became one of hip hop’s early success stories. With his dance crew Uptown Express, Wright won recognition on Star Search, toured with Run-DMC, and transitioned into management, co-founding his wife Sunshine’s music group, The Cover Girls. They’d settled in the New Jersey suburbs to raise their six-year-old daughter, never imagining that Wright would fall victim to gross police misconduct and a corrupt district attorney.

Accused of being a drug “kingpin” and incarcerated in Somerset County while the prosecutor and police built their case of lies against him, Wright realized he would get no help from any defense attorneys―white men uninterested in uncovering the truth or in proving the innocence of a black man. Pressured to take a plea deal offer of 20 years behind bars, Wright chose to take the law into his own hands by educating himself in the legal system so he could represent himself in court.

Studying statutes and cases in the jail’s law library, Wright became an adept legal mind. But despite acquiring knowledge that he put to use in defending his fellow inmates, he lost his trial and was sentenced to Trenton State Prison for life, plus 70 years in 1991. For the next five years, Wright would continue learning law, become a paralegal with the prison’s Inmate Legal Association, and appeal his case. Threatened by corrupt correction officers and convicts, his family falling apart, Wright fought for his life with every legal means at his disposal, eventually uncovering the smoking gun that unraveled the conspiracy perpetrated by law enforcement officials against him.

Marked for Life is not just the story of how Isaac Wright Jr. won his freedom. It is the story of how he found his true calling as a gladiator fighting on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized communities victimized by an unjust system of law.

My Thoughts

Powerful and impactful. A book I would definitely recommend to anybody. 

Often happens that, we get a better understanding of the topic of wrongful convictions when we hear it directly from the person wrongfully convicted. Thank you Isaac Wright Jr. for sharing your story with us. A very eye-opening example of not giving up, and also an infuriating eye-opener on our Justice System and how flowed it was in this case. 

I couldn't help but feel really bad for all that he went through and how he was treated but again also impressed with how he fought and won. I can only imagine all the trauma he suffered and continues suffering but hopefully, his story helps to make more progress in the justice system and for all the other people going through the same situation Isaac experienced. 

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the free Advanced Copy in Exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: The Prisoner: A Novel by B.A. Paris-Psychological Thriller

 Hello dear Readers,

My book review of The Prisoner: A Novel by B.A. Paris.

Title: The Prisoner: A Novel

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Author: B.A. Paris

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: November 01, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 304 pages
Meet the Author: B.A. Paris
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

With Behind Closed Doors, New York Times bestselling author B. A. Paris took the psychological thriller to shocking new heights. Now she’ll hold you captive with THE PRISONER―a stunning new thriller about one woman wed into a family with deadly intentions.

A USA Today Bestseller!

Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a life for herself, she is swept up into a glamorous lifestyle where she married the handsome billionaire Ned Hawthorne.

But then, Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Ned?

In the vein of Behind Closed Doors and The Therapist, multimillion-copy bestseller B. A. Paris is back with a gripping new suspense novel.

My Thoughts

I said this in my last review and will say it again. Every time there is a new B.A. Paris book out there, I get so excited. She has easily become one of my favorite authors. This time, her newest book, The Prisoner, is out. I received an advanced reader's copy. This did not influence my opinion of the book.

The Prisoner, although it may feel the characters are a little predictable in their actions but the story is well-written enough to keep you in suspense about what is happening. I would have liked more development in the backstory of Amelie's dad and also Amelie's savior, Caroline, however, there was enough to understand where actions and motives were coming from. Another great and entertaining work by the author. 

I can honestly say I would read anything B.A. Paris writers, and cannot wait for her next book.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the free Advanced Copy in Exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy