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The Jury #1
Judgment
This is AN ALL-NEW EDITION, completely revised and reformatted...
JUDGMENT is the classic action/adventure novel that was a runaway paperback sensation in the 1980s...and that skyrocketed the career of Lee Goldberg, New York Times best-selling author of THE HEIST, THE WALK, the MR. MONK novels, and THE DEAD MAN series...
This is the ultimate JUDGMENT...as it was originally meant to be.
Brett Macklin was a freewheeling son of sunny California, a collector of vintage cars and a connoisseur of beautiful women. But when his father is murdered by a street gang, Macklin becomes something else--a deadly weapon against crime, a relentless vigilante who won't stop until he's wiped out the killers who have turned Los Angeles into a war zone.
"As stunning as the report of a .357 Magnum, a dynamic premiere effort [...] The Best New Paperback Series of the year!" West Coast Review of Books
(Originally published as the first book in the ".357 Vigilante" series, under the pen name Ian Ludlow.)
Other books in the series:
ADJOURNED
PAYBACK
GUILTY
JUDGMENT is the classic action/adventure novel that was a runaway paperback sensation in the 1980s...and that skyrocketed the career of Lee Goldberg, New York Times best-selling author of THE HEIST, THE WALK, the MR. MONK novels, and THE DEAD MAN series...
This is the ultimate JUDGMENT...as it was originally meant to be.
Brett Macklin was a freewheeling son of sunny California, a collector of vintage cars and a connoisseur of beautiful women. But when his father is murdered by a street gang, Macklin becomes something else--a deadly weapon against crime, a relentless vigilante who won't stop until he's wiped out the killers who have turned Los Angeles into a war zone.
"As stunning as the report of a .357 Magnum, a dynamic premiere effort [...] The Best New Paperback Series of the year!" West Coast Review of Books
(Originally published as the first book in the ".357 Vigilante" series, under the pen name Ian Ludlow.)
Other books in the series:
ADJOURNED
PAYBACK
GUILTY
195 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 19, 2009
488 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
About the author
Lee Goldberg
159 books2,129 followersLee Goldberg is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over forty novels, including Malibu Burning, Calico, Lost Hills (the first novel in his acclaimed "Eve Ronin" series), 15 "Monk" mysteries, five "Fox & O'Hare" adventures (co-written with Janet Evanovich), and the new thriller Ashes Never Lie, the second in his "Sharpe & Walker" series.. He's written and/or produced many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, SeaQuest, and Monk and he co-created the Hallmark movie series Mystery 101.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 12, 2016
Who doesn't love a good, pulpy, "justice from the barrel of a gun" vigilante story? Written back in the '80s heyday of the men's action-adventure craze, this story has everything carnage connoisseurs covet: a revenge-centric plot, a rough-and-tumble protagonist, heads blown off by heavy-caliber bullets, and dollops of ludicrous sex.
But what makes this rise above many of its contemporaries is the quality of the prose. Let's face it, as much as we all devoured the Executioners and Penetrators and Destroyers and Butchers and the myriad other "-ers" that riddled truck stop book racks back in the day, the writing often left something to be desired. That's why the skill Lee Goldberg--a college student at the time no less--brought to the game feels like a breath of fresh air: it's got all the gory goods, but they're well-written goods, with some slick phrasing and a welcome streak of humor (the oral sex description made me chuckle out loud).
Granted, aside from the above-par writing, there is nothing original here, but if you're reading a book about a .357 vigilante (the novel's original title), do you really want much deviation from the expected norm? You've got the good guy blowing out the bad guys' brains while making quips and getting laid. And that sentence right there is all you need to know to judge whether or not you'll like this book. It might not be literary gold, but it's definitely a crown jewel of the action genre.
But what makes this rise above many of its contemporaries is the quality of the prose. Let's face it, as much as we all devoured the Executioners and Penetrators and Destroyers and Butchers and the myriad other "-ers" that riddled truck stop book racks back in the day, the writing often left something to be desired. That's why the skill Lee Goldberg--a college student at the time no less--brought to the game feels like a breath of fresh air: it's got all the gory goods, but they're well-written goods, with some slick phrasing and a welcome streak of humor (the oral sex description made me chuckle out loud).
Granted, aside from the above-par writing, there is nothing original here, but if you're reading a book about a .357 vigilante (the novel's original title), do you really want much deviation from the expected norm? You've got the good guy blowing out the bad guys' brains while making quips and getting laid. And that sentence right there is all you need to know to judge whether or not you'll like this book. It might not be literary gold, but it's definitely a crown jewel of the action genre.
February 27, 2024
Brett Macklin's cop father is murdered by a street gang and he decides to go Death Wish on their collective asses. Meh
May 31, 2013
Beat cop JD Macklin is old school, he walks a dangerous beat amidst warring gangs.
When he is killed his tough son decides to take the law into his own hands!
Revenge is a dish best served cold but Macklin junior plates it up piping hot, enough to burn those
Who get too close.
Revenge is nothing new in stories but these stories remind me of the old Mack Bolan vigilante novels.
Full of witty one liners and tough bulls#¥%!
Retro machismo of the kind I used to read years ago.
Loved it
When he is killed his tough son decides to take the law into his own hands!
Revenge is a dish best served cold but Macklin junior plates it up piping hot, enough to burn those
Who get too close.
Revenge is nothing new in stories but these stories remind me of the old Mack Bolan vigilante novels.
Full of witty one liners and tough bulls#¥%!
Retro machismo of the kind I used to read years ago.
Loved it
July 2, 2020
Short vigilante thriller written by Goldberg under the pen name Ian Ludlow while he was in college. The story shows its age. Ten cent payphone calls, and what we would call vintage cars.
This is the first of four that Goldberg wrote back then. I probably won't bother with the rest of them. While they are not that bad, I can read Goldberg's current material and enjoy it much more.
This is the first of four that Goldberg wrote back then. I probably won't bother with the rest of them. While they are not that bad, I can read Goldberg's current material and enjoy it much more.
December 17, 2020
I enjoy Goldberg's books (usually very much), but this one just couldn't engage me. I gave it more than 1/2 way but the improbability, impossibility of the scenarios just wore me down. I don't really want to summarise the book - I'd rather just read something better....
June 22, 2017
This series interests me greatly. To give my reaction to this first entry into the .357 Vigilante series, I should mention that I read the second book in the series, Make Them Pay, back in 2007. My review then (http://scottsbookshelf.blogspot.com/2...) remarked on how campy, over-the-top, and tongue-in-cheek the series appeared to be, which caused disagreement between the two co-authors of the series when it was released under the name Ian Ludlow. Lewis Perdue agreed with my assessment ("It was SUPPOSED to be over-the-top bad."), while Lee Goldberg defended the series as a "light satire" of men's action series.
Now to the present, where the original three volumes of .357 Vigilante have been reprinted as eBooks - along with the fourth unpublished entry in the short-lived series - as The Jury series by Lee Goldberg. While I have no information as to why Perdue's name is not connected, my assumption is that rights were reverted to or purchased by Goldberg (or he's a silent partner, who knows), who is now cranking out books left and right. Be sure to check out his Amazon page or website for the latest.
So, the reason for this backstory just to review .357 Vigilante, aka Judgement? Because there is a serious shift in tone from the first book to the second that I was not aware of when reviewing the second novel (yet another reason not to jump into a series mid-stream). .357 Vigilante/Judgement plays the genre straight in this origin story, which includes the introduction of Mr. Jury/.357 Vigilante hero Brett Macklin -
is that a crime-fighting name or what? - whose personal loss turns him into a one-man jury. (Doesn't it always?) Gone are the cheesy puns and inventive criminal take-downs; this is kill-or-be-killed action-adventure vigilante pulp adventure fiction through and through. Not that there aren't the typical Men's Adventure genre cliches involved that might be taken less than seriously. Besides the usual Tragic-Event-Creates-Vigilante trope, there's the Religious Leader/Criminal Mastermind plot hat wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't a)So predictable, b)So cliche, and c)Anti-climactic with the expected over-the-top showdown at the end. Add to this an epilogue with a Mayor/Vigilante meeting that is very reminiscent to the Police Chief/Vigilante plot setup of Death Wish 3, and you have a beginning of the .357 Vigilante/Judgement series that is NOT purposely campy and tongue-in-cheek like Make Them Pay/Adjourned, but only because it seems to lack the self-awareness to do so.
If .357 Vigilante/Judgement was meant to be "light satire" of Men's Adventure novels, it feels as if the satire aspect gave way to direct mimicry in the first book, then bottomed out into dead-pan parody in the second. Oddly enough, this doesn't make either of them less enjoyable, just enjoyable in different ways that both work well in such a pseudo-serious genre. If you can't enjoy the absurdity of it all, you don't deserve justice!
Now to the present, where the original three volumes of .357 Vigilante have been reprinted as eBooks - along with the fourth unpublished entry in the short-lived series - as The Jury series by Lee Goldberg. While I have no information as to why Perdue's name is not connected, my assumption is that rights were reverted to or purchased by Goldberg (or he's a silent partner, who knows), who is now cranking out books left and right. Be sure to check out his Amazon page or website for the latest.
So, the reason for this backstory just to review .357 Vigilante, aka Judgement? Because there is a serious shift in tone from the first book to the second that I was not aware of when reviewing the second novel (yet another reason not to jump into a series mid-stream). .357 Vigilante/Judgement plays the genre straight in this origin story, which includes the introduction of Mr. Jury/.357 Vigilante hero Brett Macklin -
is that a crime-fighting name or what? - whose personal loss turns him into a one-man jury. (Doesn't it always?) Gone are the cheesy puns and inventive criminal take-downs; this is kill-or-be-killed action-adventure vigilante pulp adventure fiction through and through. Not that there aren't the typical Men's Adventure genre cliches involved that might be taken less than seriously. Besides the usual Tragic-Event-Creates-Vigilante trope, there's the Religious Leader/Criminal Mastermind plot hat wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't a)So predictable, b)So cliche, and c)Anti-climactic with the expected over-the-top showdown at the end. Add to this an epilogue with a Mayor/Vigilante meeting that is very reminiscent to the Police Chief/Vigilante plot setup of Death Wish 3, and you have a beginning of the .357 Vigilante/Judgement series that is NOT purposely campy and tongue-in-cheek like Make Them Pay/Adjourned, but only because it seems to lack the self-awareness to do so.
If .357 Vigilante/Judgement was meant to be "light satire" of Men's Adventure novels, it feels as if the satire aspect gave way to direct mimicry in the first book, then bottomed out into dead-pan parody in the second. Oddly enough, this doesn't make either of them less enjoyable, just enjoyable in different ways that both work well in such a pseudo-serious genre. If you can't enjoy the absurdity of it all, you don't deserve justice!
April 16, 2018
"A Vigilante In The Dark Shadows"
This book was published in 1980 which helped rocket Lee Goldberg (under the pen name of Ian Ludlow) to fame. In California, Brett Macklin (also known as Mr. Jury) was a collector of classic cars and also appreciated beautiful women. He also becomes a vigilante destined to wipe out the killers who have turned Los Angeles into a war zone. This is a fast moving story with many surprises. It also has some extreme violence, but it's a great start for the series! This is one of the most action packed stories I've read this year.
This book was published in 1980 which helped rocket Lee Goldberg (under the pen name of Ian Ludlow) to fame. In California, Brett Macklin (also known as Mr. Jury) was a collector of classic cars and also appreciated beautiful women. He also becomes a vigilante destined to wipe out the killers who have turned Los Angeles into a war zone. This is a fast moving story with many surprises. It also has some extreme violence, but it's a great start for the series! This is one of the most action packed stories I've read this year.
November 20, 2023
Rough and Ready
As a holder of. An English degree, the writing is a bit rough. But there’s a story and a need for an editor. But even with my degree, l’ve never published a book. But l have written a 600 plus page paper on the flora and Fauna of the Vietnam war, so l know how difficult writing can be. Mr Goldberg has proven he is ready for a career in writing and beyond. It’s a good book, try a read and see for yourself.
As a holder of. An English degree, the writing is a bit rough. But there’s a story and a need for an editor. But even with my degree, l’ve never published a book. But l have written a 600 plus page paper on the flora and Fauna of the Vietnam war, so l know how difficult writing can be. Mr Goldberg has proven he is ready for a career in writing and beyond. It’s a good book, try a read and see for yourself.
July 5, 2018
Retribution and Revenge
I love a good retribution story, however, because this story is older I kept going where are the cellphones recording crime, why aren't they DNA testing blood, what's up with all of the Tab references. I can see this being a really good movie, but the story was hard for me to getting hooked on.
I love a good retribution story, however, because this story is older I kept going where are the cellphones recording crime, why aren't they DNA testing blood, what's up with all of the Tab references. I can see this being a really good movie, but the story was hard for me to getting hooked on.
January 9, 2022
I like how Lee Goldberg writes. His stories have perfect pacing that lets you take in a lot without feeling overwhelmed by too many details. His characters are unique and memorable. He puts them into situations they seemingly can't get out of- when they do its just within the boundaries of believability.
August 1, 2024
Enjoyable revenge thriller. The characters were very thinly drawn and all of them were either very good or very bad with no middle ground. It felt that the author couldn’t figure out how his protagonist was going to solve the mystery so he used a trope so ridiculous that I laughed when read it. Otherwise a fun story.
April 28, 2019
Vigilante story that reads like a superhero origin tale - the birth of Mr. Jury!!! There's even a possible sidekick!
In spite of all the killing and violence, Goldberg's style keeps it pretty light and entertaining.
Bring on Volume 2!
In spite of all the killing and violence, Goldberg's style keeps it pretty light and entertaining.
Bring on Volume 2!
March 13, 2019
Judgement
This is the first book of this author I have read. It is action packed and very easy to read. I don't believe citizens should take the law into their own hands. Mack ruined his own life and wiped out all his father had worked hard to do as well.
This is the first book of this author I have read. It is action packed and very easy to read. I don't believe citizens should take the law into their own hands. Mack ruined his own life and wiped out all his father had worked hard to do as well.
January 3, 2026
About the worst book I’ve read in a while. HATE virtual voice. This book just violent scene after violent scene.
Maybe I missed something because I have enjoyed Lee Goldberg books including Eve Ronin series and Sharpe & Walker series.
Maybe I missed something because I have enjoyed Lee Goldberg books including Eve Ronin series and Sharpe & Walker series.
August 7, 2017
A short cop novel from the author of the "Monk" books. This is one of a series of 4. Rather brutal, but a quirky plot. I'll try the next one.
January 6, 2022
Fun story...loved it.
January 19, 2023
"Mr. Jury" is like Mack Bolan or the Punisher but with even less personality.
June 8, 2023
Written when the author was a student, but not a bad thriller
March 10, 2025
A great read
Goldberg writes a terrific story. If only more cities could have a vigilante hero!
Looking forward to Book 2 in the series.
Goldberg writes a terrific story. If only more cities could have a vigilante hero!
Looking forward to Book 2 in the series.
May 26, 2025
great short read
Story is full of action. It definitely captured my interest to read the next book in the series. Lee’s talent is seen early on.
Story is full of action. It definitely captured my interest to read the next book in the series. Lee’s talent is seen early on.
March 27, 2018
Ilk read more by this author!
The story moves along quickly, has elements of surprise, held my interest. The next installment will be just as good, I'm sure.
The story moves along quickly, has elements of surprise, held my interest. The next installment will be just as good, I'm sure.
September 17, 2014
Brett's father, a police officer, was killed on the job. He didn't take a bullet, he was killed by a group of gang members. When those punks get off because of a misrepresentation by a slick lawyer, something inside Brett snaps. His belief in the justice system is totally destroyed. His best friend, Ron Shaw, is also a police officer. Ron sees a light go out of Brett as he realizes that the people responsible for his fathers death are going to get away with it.
This was a good story. I think it was a bit more violent that I expected. There are three more in the series, not sure where they are going to go from here. I will read at least one more if not the entire rest of the series.
This was a good story. I think it was a bit more violent that I expected. There are three more in the series, not sure where they are going to go from here. I will read at least one more if not the entire rest of the series.
January 1, 2012
Whoa, baby! The prologue alone makes this book worth buying!
I am a self-admitted sucker for vigilant justice, so meeting Brett Macklin makes my day. Big warning: MAJOR violence here, but an action read for those of us who enjoy rooting for the guy in the white hat...even if he has to break several hundred laws to get even.
I am a self-admitted sucker for vigilant justice, so meeting Brett Macklin makes my day. Big warning: MAJOR violence here, but an action read for those of us who enjoy rooting for the guy in the white hat...even if he has to break several hundred laws to get even.
July 12, 2012
Just another shoot em up / beat em up type story. Can see this being made into a movie, a lot of guys would go see it. Not my type of book. The main character was indestructible, I don't think to many people could've withstood what he did and still be able to think clearly and walk upright like he did.
March 5, 2015
I loved this book. I'm really more into romance and comedy. This is neither. This book is full of suspense. I was hooked at the prologue. It was a little morbid. It was filled with lots of twist that I didn't expect. I do recommend this book, and it's an easy read. On to the second book in this series. Enjoy!
February 21, 2012
Fun book. Enjoyable. But damn, that dude should have been laid up for a week after the first fight, let alone the sixth he got into inside of, what 4 or 5 days? He's indestructible, baby. That said, it was still fun and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.
September 22, 2014
Gripping tale with lots of action.
This book was hard to put down. I loved the main character who was like Charles Bronson's vigilante character. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series. Lee Goldberg has an amazing ability to develop characters and plots.
This book was hard to put down. I loved the main character who was like Charles Bronson's vigilante character. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series. Lee Goldberg has an amazing ability to develop characters and plots.
November 13, 2014
I've gotten used to the humor and unpredictability of Lee Goldberg's books. This one didn't have any of that, and wasn't special to boot. Did't turn me off trying some of his other books, though.
November 16, 2014
Dated and superficial. A comic book without the pictures.
June 23, 2016
Fun read. Murder mystery with some great characters. Not a book that will go down as one to remember forever, but an entertaining beach read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews