Mad Dog Justice / Mark Rubinstein - Book Review

Just as thrilling as its predecessor, Mad Dog House,at the hands of noted physician and psychiatrist Mark Rubinstein, comes Mad Dog Justice (Thunder Lake Press; ISBN: 978-0-9856268-0-8), a tale of running from the recrimination that follows on the heels of the murder of a loan shark, whose untimely end one might have thought was inevitable. However, when it is the so-called “good guys” that perpetrate what could be called “street justice” is the crime involved any less heinous and devastating for those who are left behind? Not, it seems, when it involves the uprooting of entire families and the disruption of the workplace. When does order become reduced to mayhem, and when does law, or, at least, taking the law into one’s own hands, become disorder and chaos?

As one might expect from such a professional practitioner of the arts, the questions surrounding ethics that lie at the heart of Mad Dog Justice make it far more intriguing than a mere thriller or everyday detective story. Though the pulse does quicken and the blood and sweat do pour forth, this novel is much more than a quick read. The tension of the plot does sweep one onwards and away from the mundanity of everyday existence, but there is a depth to this work on which one can dwell for some time.

Who to trust, and who to distrust, and whether trust is possible at all in a world that is torn apart by violence is a core issue of Mad Dog Justice. In one of the few places in the book where the philosophical depth underlying the psyche of the leading protagonist is shown, the uncertainty of the daily stresses that flummox us all is revealed: “…when it comes to people and money and greed, you never know. When money is at stake, plenty of people lose their sanity. They no longer act rationally. You just can’t know what drives people to do what they do in this world.” And who better than a psychiatrist and medical professional to tell us that?

This work should appeal to all those who enjoy a great escapist read, with the haunting anxiety that besets the lead characters being disturbing enough to make one’s flesh crawl. You’ll no doubt heave a sigh of relief at the end of the book, but then be itching for more of the same. Mad Dog Justice is an intoxicating read that will have you hankering for more…guaranteed!