(aka Make Them Pay):

This is the first book in the series I've read, and I am now eagerly searching out the others, as this book definitely falls in the category of So Bad It's Good.

This short-lived series was apparently ghost written by Lee Goldberg and Lewis Perdue under the series pen name of Ian Ludlow. After lengthy consideration, I have come to the conclusion that this series was written completely tongue-in-cheek, and was meant to be a mockery of Vigilante Men's Action Series such as The Executioner and The Destroyer, with an obvious nod to the Death Wish/Dirty Harry influences as well. I base this theory on the fact that a) Both authors still make a living writing and would therefore hopefully have a better grasp of good and bad concepts, and b) There is no way that it should have taken two people to write this slim series of nonsensical scenes.

There is simply too much corniness to fully cover. Brett Macklin, our heroic vigilante, is a professional pilot with his own air charter company. His father was apparently killed in the first novel by some street hooligans, and since he wiped them out he's been itching to get back into the vengeance business. He's given the opportunity right away when he investigates a supposed child pornographer for the Chief of Police that condones vigilante justice, and in the process botches a tail bad enough to be identified. The next morning his beautiful nurse girlfriend, after a night of smothering each other's naked bodies with ice cream and screwing on the kitchen counter, is blown up in a car bomb meant for him.

Even with a newly dead loved one to seek vengeance over, Brett is still weary of becoming Judge, Jury, and Executioner. Two out of three isn't bad though, and he settles for having an outside party oversee his Vigilante Prosecution, the position of .357 Judge filled by a bitter ex-judge who now acts as the TV Host/Arbiter on a bizarre show that is a cross between People's Court and Let's Make a Deal. Having trivialized the concept of due process beyond comprehension, our favorite vigilante is now free to seek justice/vengeance without guilt or plot complication.

Even so, Macklin still manages to find time between getting his girlfriend killed and killing the bad guys to endanger the lives of other friends and loved ones, bed a hot Latino reporter who is convinced that he is Mr. Jury (the press is apparently better at naming action novel series than the publishers themselves), and dispatch the numerous perpetrators of other crimes that happen to occur in his path.

The punchlines delivered by Mr. Jury whenever he exacts justice on a criminal are so over-the-top ludicrous, they are my ultimate proof that the entire series is a joke. Example: he notices an armed robbery taking progress in a convenience store, quickly grabs a steel level from the construction site next door, and just before caving in the criminal's skull delivers the line "You're unbalanced, buddy." I'm sorry, there is no way you can write that line without total contempt for the intended audience. And they get worse, trust me.

There is a moment near the end of the novel, as the evil child pornography producers are dragging our trussed up hero onto a mock dungeon set, when Brett Macklin looks around at the fake stone walls and mediocre reproduction of a torture rack and mutters "You have got to be kidding me." Brett, it's like you read my mind.

***Additional Note: Years after reading this book I finally got around to reading the first entry in the series, and I have to say that there is a huge shift in tone between the two novels. The first .357 Vigilante attempts to travel much closer to Garfield's Death Wish, contains none of the cheesy puns and tounge-in-cheek humor. So I just wanted to underline that my opinions still stand regarding Make Them Pay, but is not a 100% accurate representation of the series as a whole. ( )

This fulfilled my expectations and I was not disappointed.I enjoyed it because it was a bit different from the usual crime or mystery novels I have read as few as that is.It was better in many ways than similar books that I have read.The author appeared as the narrator and it was appropriate.At first I was not pulled and then as I continued reading I was.The characters were realistic and I liked them for what they were.The characters actions were plausible because I have a feeling that in some places there are people like this. I agree with many of the moral decisions because many times our justice system doesn't work. It fits the genre to an extent. It follows many characters. ( )

This is the first book in the series I've read, and I am now eagerly searching out the others, as this book definitely falls in the category of So Bad It's Good.

This short-lived series was apparently ghost written by Lee Goldberg and Lewis Perdue under the series pen name of Ian Ludlow. After lengthy consideration, I have come to the conclusion that this series was written completely tongue-in-cheek, and was meant to be a mockery of Vigilante Men's Action Series such as The Executioner and The Destroyer, with an obvious nod to the Death Wish/Dirty Harry influences as well. I base this theory on the fact that a) Both authors still make a living writing and would therefore hopefully have a better grasp of good and bad concepts, and b) There is no way that it should have taken two people to write this slim series of nonsensical scenes.

There is simply too much corniness to fully cover. Brett Macklin, our heroic vigilante, is a professional pilot with his own air charter company. His father was apparently killed in the first novel by some street hooligans, and since he wiped them out he's been itching to get back into the vengeance business. He's given the opportunity right away when he investigates a supposed child pornographer for the Chief of Police that condones vigilante justice, and in the process botches a tail bad enough to be identified. The next morning his beautiful nurse girlfriend, after a night of smothering each other's naked bodies with ice cream and screwing on the kitchen counter, is blown up in a car bomb meant for him.

Even with a newly dead loved one to seek vengeance over, Brett is still weary of becoming Judge, Jury, and Executioner. Two out of three isn't bad though, and he settles for having an outside party oversee his Vigilante Prosecution, the position of .357 Judge filled by a bitter ex-judge who now acts as the TV Host/Arbiter on a bizarre show that is a cross between People's Court and Let's Make a Deal. Having trivialized the concept of due process beyond comprehension, our favorite vigilante is now free to seek justice/vengeance without guilt or plot complication.

Even so, Macklin still manages to find time between getting his girlfriend killed and killing the bad guys to endanger the lives of other friends and loved ones, bed a hot Latino reporter who is convinced that he is Mr. Jury (the press is apparently better at naming action novel series than the publishers themselves), and dispatch the numerous perpetrators of other crimes that happen to occur in his path.

The punchlines delivered by Mr. Jury whenever he exacts justice on a criminal are so over-the-top ludicrous, they are my ultimate proof that the entire series is a joke. Example: he notices an armed robbery taking progress in a convenience store, quickly grabs a steel level from the construction site next door, and just before caving in the criminal's skull delivers the line "You're unbalanced, buddy." I'm sorry, there is no way you can write that line without total contempt for the intended audience. And they get worse, trust me.

There is a moment near the end of the novel, as the evil child pornography producers are dragging our trussed up hero onto a mock dungeon set, when Brett Macklin looks around at the fake stone walls and mediocre reproduction of a torture rack and mutters "You have got to be kidding me." Brett, it's like you read my mind.

***Additional Note: Years after reading this book I finally got around to reading the first entry in the series, and I have to say that there is a huge shift in tone between the two novels. The first .357 Vigilante attempts to travel much closer to Garfield's Death Wish, contains none of the cheesy puns and tounge-in-cheek humor. So I just wanted to underline that my opinions still stand regarding Make Them Pay, but is not a 100% accurate representation of the series as a whole. ( )

The second novel in Goldberg's .357 Vigilante Series, Adjourned is not as good as the the novel that precedes it (Judgment). It suffers from an almost painful "coincidence" and difficult dialog, though it does a nice job of moving along the original vigilante premise.

I don't know if I'll make it through the remaining two novels in the set, though I will say these books are intended to be escapist reads, and in that sense, they largely succeed.

Count me as a fan of Goldberg's recent work (in the hilariously cynical "My Gun Has Bullets," Goldberg takes aim at Hollywood and scores a direct hit), but these -- his first novels -- fall short. ( )

### Review

*"Goldberg never gets too graphic in this novel, but the violence never lets up and will delight readers of this genre,*" **Bruce Grossman, Bookgasm**

"*Generous helpings of sex and violent action [...] if you're a fan of Robert B. Parker, Dirty Harry, early Lawrence Block, or the Die Hard movies, you'll have a very good time*," --**J.A. Konrath, bestselling author of THE LIST and ORIGIN **

"*Lee Goldberg's *The Jury Series* serves vengeance hot with loads of action and plenty of suspense to keep you turning the e-pages. Vigilante justice was never so much fun*," --**Joel Goldman, bestselling author of "Motion to Kill" **

"*This gritty, action-packed escapist yarn explodes straight out of the freewheeling 1980's...sharp writing, wicked wit, wall-to-wall action, and over-the-top sex*." --**Paul Levine, bestselling author of "Soloman & Lord" **

*"Fast-moving, filled with sex, violence, and snappy patter, these are just the thing for people who like expert storytelling and action-packed escapist novels. Check 'em out*," --**Bill Crider, author of "Outrage at Blanco" **