A Change of Hate

by Joe Broadmeadow

Criminal defense lawyer Harrison 'Hawk' Bennett is as fearless in the courtroom as he once was a Special Forces Green Beret in Vietnam. When a Buddhist Monk, a former Vietcong Colonel, appears in Hawk's office seeking help, it changes everything Hawk believed about the war.Nguyen Duc Thuan is not just an old soldier turned to a new calling. He was an adversary Hawk spent months tracking in Vietnam. Tracking and, he thought until a moment ago, killing.Hawk now faces a choice, defend the monk against a government intent on protecting its heroes and secrets or give in to the old hatred seared into his memories of Vietnam.With the FBI accusing the monk of killing an American intelligence officer, Hawk's former commanding officer in Vietnam, Hawk struggles with his dedication to the law and his long-dead comrades from the war. As the depth of the conspiracy arrayed against the monk becomes clear, he will need all his legal skills and experience to expose the government perversion of justice.Hawk knows he must challenge the government.He will find more than the truth behind the case against the monk. He will learn what happened in Vietnam. It will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Genres: Ebooks

447 pages, Paperback

Published November 29, 2017

About the author

Joe Broadmeadow retired with the rank of Captain from the East Providence, Rhode Island Police Department after twenty years. Assigned to various divisions within the department including Commander of Investigative Services, he also worked in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and on special assignment to the FBI Drug Task Force.

Joe is the author of seven books; three novels based on his experiences as a police officer, Collision Course, Silenced Justice, and A Change of Hate, a Y/A novel, Saving the Last Dragon, and three non-fiction books; Choices: You Make 'em You Own 'em written with Jerry Tillinghast, UnMade: Honor Loyalty Redemption written with Bobby Walason, and It's Just the Way It Was: Inside the War on the New England Mob and other stories written with Brendan Doherty former superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.

Joe also writes for two blogs, The Writing of Joe Broadmeadow (http://www.joebroadmeadowblog.com) and The Heretic and the Holy Man (www.thehereticandtheholyman.wordpress...) and as a guest columnist for the Providence Journal and GoLocalProv.com.

When Joe is not writing, he is hiking or fishing (and thinking about writing). Joe completed a 2,185-mile thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in September 2014. After completing the trail, Joe published a short story, Spirit of the Trail, available on Amazon.com in Kindle format.

Joe lives in Rhode Island with his wife Susan.

Reviews

[Owen Parr]

Broadmeadow delivers a thought provoking and well written novel. The Viet Nam War was a conflicting period for some of us. His plot is excellent, well constructed and a great read. The courtroom drama shows his personal knowledge and the many twists and turns keeps you on your toes. I highly recommend this book for pure reading enjoyment. Looking forward to the next Hank Bennet novel.

[Bimal Patel]

Once in a while I read fiction to let my workout my creative side and this book did the job quite well. Don't want to give away the plot but it is an intriguing tale that centers on Samson Armstrong's murder, Director of Homeland Security. Defending the suspect is a flamboyant lawyer Mr. Bennett and his team with colorful characters as Chris, former police officer turned private investigator and Maggie, his co-counsel. Representing the government is AUSA Ms. Esposito whose character in the book has no variation, just someone representing the government. We have Vietnamese mafia to add a little spice to the story and whole lot of characters trying to protect wrongdoings from the government officials. The court drama which is half the book is pretty good as well. Keeps the book glued to your hands. Overall, I think this is an interesting and quick fictional read.

[Anya Jones]

I picked up A Change of Hate expecting a courtroom drama, but what I found was a deeply human story about war, memory, and redemption. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the relationship that gradually develops between Hawk and Nguyen Duc Thuan. Their shared history gives every conversation an emotional weight that feels authentic and earned.

The chapters where the conspiracy surrounding the murdered intelligence officer begins to unfold were especially compelling. Each revelation added another layer to the mystery while forcing Hawk to confront difficult truths about himself and the people he once trusted. I appreciated that the author never treated the Vietnam War as simple black and white history. Instead, the story explored how people on both sides were shaped by the conflict. The ending left me reflecting on how easily truth can be buried and how difficult it can be to face it when it finally surfaces. This was a thoughtful and memorable read.

[sharon mason]

It's a long time coming, but sometimes hard-core beliefs can change.

Hawk Bennett is a terrific character and Joe Broadmeadow a terrific writer. Steeped in wonderful banter and dedication to Hawk's knowledge of law and how lawyers win cases A Change of Hate is an excellent book. The war in Vietnam may not have ended there. Decades later Hawk takes on a murder trial with his worst enemy from that war, a man he thought he had successfully hunted down and killed. A Viet Cong colonel who now in his eighties is a Buddhist monk who has come to America to protest the thefts of priceless antiquities from his country. The intrigue continues to build with rapid pacing involving lying FBI & CIA agents, prosecutors and witnesses. But it's hard to out-manuever Hawk and his team. A really good read, five stars.

[Jeff]

I won this a few years ago in a Goodreads giveaway. This is the first book I've read by the author.

Let me start by saying that my rating of a 4 reflects that I felt this book needed someone to come in and smooth the edges. The story and flow were great, but some of the conversations were awkwardly worded and there were a number of editing mistakes. The pace was amazing and I found it hard to put this book down. The characters were great and with a little work would be even better. I hope there are more Hawk Bennett books (I haven't checked yet).

[Chelsea]

I won this from a Goodreads giveaway and I hate that it was a DNF for me. I couldn’t keep up with the court/military stuff and I found myself rereading paragraphs and still not grasping what was happening. I didn’t really care for the main character either - I guess the goal was a cocky SOB with a soft center that showed through every now and then but he just annoyed me. Perhaps it would have changed down the line, I don’t know.

[Quanita]

Past Sins

The murder of a Vietnam war hero sets off tragic events in the present. Lawyer Hawk Bennett, a former green beret in Vietnam, is hired to defend a Buddhist monk for the murder. The monk is a former Viet cong colonel. More people die as the hero's true past come to light. The dialogue is snappy and believable. I won this from Goodreads.

[CHARLES]

Wonderful...had great difficulty putting the book down!! A great story...!! Well done Again Joe Broadmeadow!! Will look fwd to your next ad

adventure in writing!!! I've finally returned to enjoying reading again and Anticipating many more years of your novels as well as discovering other gifted authors out there also..


Congratulations on your success!!
Susie T.
Vt.

[Kirk Weikart]

A first-rate legal thriller. A murder exposes past military and government corruption issues. The characters are entertaining, if a little rough around the edges. The only negative comment I have is the unnecessary sex scenes that lent absolutely nothing to the plot.

[Paul Smith]

This was an interesting story about a murder and events that went back to the Vietnam war era. Lots of court room trial events.

[Juju]

A confusing beginning and characters I couldn’t get to like.

[Laura Poppenwimer]

Ex Green Beret turned lawyer takes on a challenging case defending a Buddist monk who he thought he targeted and killed in Vietnam during the war. This tale takes a lot of turns and twists. It is sympathetic to all soldiers of war and the people affected by them. The pace of the story is quite quick, but some of the character seem to be larger than life and to perfect. That aside, a great reading book.

[Darcee Kraus]

I won this novel in the firstreads giveaway! I was intrigued by the title and Mr Joe Broadmeadow did not disappoint!

[KarnagesMistress]

I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. It is a Kindle book.

[Clipinchick]

I received this book for free from the author/publisher in response for an honest review of the book. I have not had the opportunity to read this book at this time. I will add my review of this book once I have read the book. Thank k you for allowing me the optometrist review your work. I look forward to reading this book.