Judge Stone opening lines: Bria Gaines stood at the back door of the small brick office building she rented in Union Springs, Alabama, population 3,314.
My blurb:
Mary Stone is more than just a Judge. She is a farmer, a sister, and a Black Woman living in the Black Belt of America. In her courtroom she can preside as she sees fit. But that does not always sit well with the State Prosecutor, or his bosses. And now, the White minority is going to prove their point and act as if it were the 1920s and not the 2020s. With Roe v Wade overturned, and abortion illegal, can she see justice served for the Doctor, and the 13 year-old child she treated?
Judge Stone
All rise…for Judge Stone.
The most respected citizen in Union Springs, Alabama (population 3,314), is Judge Mary Stone. She holds two responsibilities sacred: running her family farm and presiding over her courtroom. Everything changes when she draws the most controversial case in the history of the South.
Criminally, it’s open-and-shut.
Ethically, there is no middle ground.
Essentially, it’s a choice between life and death.
No judge can satisfy everyone. It would be dangerous to try. But Judge Stone is willing to fight to bring justice to the people and place she loves.
My verdict:
I sit very clearly on the pro-choice side of the fence, and feel that the overturning of Roe v Wade has done women a huge disservice. Their autonomy has been taken away from them, and many pregnancies are now forced to continue where previously, choices would have been on offer. I am not going to try and convert anyone to my position, but I want you to know my stance when I return my verdict on this book. I thought it was excellent! Viola Davis highlights the reality of how rape victims are now treated, the consequences for Doctors offering treatments now deemed illegal, and the issues now facing mandated reporters. This is a book I would recommend anyone reads, no matter where you sit on this issue.
About the Authors:
Publishing information:
Penguin Random House South Africa sent me this novel to review.
I am in Johannesburg for work and might not have time to read blogs, and respond to comments while I am away.
See the links below for blog posts I published on April 26:
- 2025: Iceland Adventures: Best Tour Packages for Your Dream Trip
- 2021: Condensed Milk Biscuits
- 2020: The River Murders
- 2019: Tea Cakes
- 2017: The Cookie Jar
At an angle from your critique of a book I have not read – I am 100% pro-choice and was born in a country where, at the moment, about 58% of women decide that the time is not right . . . interestingly and off course, in Estonia if you have health or financial difficulties or the pregnancy did not stem from consensual sex, the procedure, always done properly in a hospital, is free – if you want to go overseas or have work difficulties or just ‘don’t wanna’ – you pay about 290 Euros for before-during-and-after. Logical?!
I feel it is better to offer this in a safe environment, that going back to the dark ages and having it done in dodgy places!
Tired of James Patterson, but I would certainly watch the movie or tv series because of Viola Davis.
This is the first time I have come across her, and I really found this book thought provoking 🙂
I’ll look for this book. I think I’ll appreciate it. This is a controversial issue that everyone has a view on especially that section of the population that can never experience pregnancy.
You have hit the nail on the head!!