Without One Plea by Ben Mitchell

Without One Plea by Ben Mitchell

From Goodreads:

When Chet Monroe is offered a job as a law professor at a university near his hometown of Mission Springs, Mississippi, he jumps at the chance to get away from the bustle of New York City and start a new life. The small town is happy to welcome home a successful native son.Chet doesn't come home alone, however. He brings with him his longtime lover, Drew Weatherly, who takes a job at the local bank. The men know that the town may not be accustomed to an openly gay couple, but their plan is to slowly gain acceptance, easing the neighborhood into an understanding of their relationship. Everything seems to be going well until the local Baptist minister, Brother Gene, begins to suspect that the two men are more than just friends, and he's squarely against allowing them to work their way into the community on their own terms.As tensions begin to rise, Chet is accused of the unthinkable: raping a local boy he befriended. Now, winning over the community is no longer a choice but a necessity if he's to keep his freedom in Without One Plea.

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Without One Plea is a view into a conservative southern town. The book was entertaining, and yet, very relevant. Chet and his partner Drew move back to Chet's hometown, and things are quite as comfortable as they were living in a metropolitan area. Chet still hasn't come out to his family, or friends, and with the town under the spell of the baptist church minister, who yells about damnation and sinning in his sermons, the 13 year relationship between Chet and Drew starts to unravel. When Chet is accused of raping a boy, Without One Plea takes a turn into a legal thriller.

The characters in Without One Plea are what makes this book great in my opinion. Chet is the small town golden boy who isn't all like he seems from the outside. I could see that he didnt want to lose his golden boy image, and that made him hesitant to come out to family, and friends. Drew on the other hand gave me the impression that he just wanted to live life happily with Chet, and didn't want to take on the small southern conservative town, add in the minister who didn't want to lose control over his parishioners, and the town. What a evil man, and to be preaching about God to people...it really boiled my blood. The legal thriller aspect of this book was well written, and a page turner, obviously I don't want to give anything away so I'll leave it at that.

I thought Without One Plea was great book, and I would recommend this to anyone who likes reading legal thrillers.

Rating: 4/5

Sent to me by author for review.