- Title: 9th Judgement
- Author: James Patterson
- Text type: Novel
“9th Judgment” is a novel about a detective named Lindsey Boxer trying to solve two crimes. There are murders happening around san Fransisco of mothers and babies, and there is a burglar. Through reading the book “9th Judgement” sad emotions were surfaced within me. I felt connected to Lindsay Boxer because she was really wanting to catch the killer. I felt this way because I could understand her passion for solving the crimes, and not wanting any more babies and mothers getting murdered. Throughout the novel, I could also empathize with Sarah and Heidi because they were in abusive relationships that they were trapped in, and were unsafe in. In the novel, Detective Lindsay Boxer is solving two crimes. Mothers and young children are being gunned down by a serial killer and being murdered, and a cat burglar is stealing jewelry from wealthy homes. Justice is shown in many different ways throughout the novel due to the topis within this novel being closely related to justice, like murder and theft. I can’t relate to the feelings that many of the characters felt throughout the novel, as I have never been in a situation similar. But I am able to empathize with many of the characters’ emotions, as I am aware of the types of emotions that they would be feeling. This is through experiencing these emotions in other situations. The point in the novel where justice was revealed the most to me was near the end. When the serial killer Pete Gordon was shot and killed. Pete was shot and killed by a woman who had a baby and was carrying a gun, this is ironic as Pete was targeting this woman and her baby as his next target to murder. “He pulled his gun, but it snagged on his shirt. The muzzle was coming up when he heard the shot and felt the punch to his right shoulder.” This is when Pete Gordan was shot and killed by Wilma, the lady who he was about to kill. This is showing justice as he had taken so many lives of innocent women and babies. It was now only fair that his life was taken away from him, in order for him to regain moral righteousness. Pete being murdered is not only getting justice for the women and babies he shot and killed, but also for his wife Heidi and their two kids that Pete is abusive towards. This is justice for them as now Heidi and Sarah are able to go off and start a life together, without the fear of being killed or abused. Pete committed so many murders of innocent mothers and babies. So this means that is is only fair for his life to be taken away from him, as every action has an equal consequence. This is due to the concept of justice being surrounded by the idea of fairness, and equality. Throughout the novel, Pete is putting the lives of others into his own hands, making it only right that his life was put into the hands of others. Another way justice was shown after the death of Peter Gordon, is through the women of San Francisco feeling empowered to know they can be armed, to keep themselves safe and protect themselves against danger. This is justice for them as the many women in San Francisco who have small children, and babies no longer have to live with the fear of Pete Gordan killing them. In amongst all of the murders, there are also robberies going on. The robber turns out to be Heidi’s girlfriend and lover, Sarah. Sarah feels justified for stealing the jewelry as it is all insured so the rich women will all get money for it. But when Pete Gordon is killed, she and Heidi no longer need the money to start a life together. This means Sarah, is able to clear her moral compass, as she returns all of the jewelry back to Detective Lindsay Boxer anonymously. This is showing the idea of justice as Sarah is putting her wrongs right. By Sarah putting her wrongs right she is not only getting justice for the women whos jewelry she stole, but she is getting justice for herself. She is able to realign her morals and her ethics, by understanding what she did was wrong. “And for the first time since she’d started stealing from the rich, Sarah knew that the woman who had owned these jewels was going to be grief-stricken when she discovered the loss.” Sarah knew what she was doing was wrong from the very beginning. Therefore it is showing justice to the women she stole from. She is holding herself accountable for the actions she was taking and was going to have to live with the guilt for the rest of her life. Guilt is a punishment within itself. But it was when she returned the jewelry she was getting justice for the women whos jewels she had stolen. Although I don’t agree with what Sarah was doing throughout the novel, I can understand the reasoning behind what she did, as she needed the money to move away with Heidi. This novel has helped me understand the theme of justice in a more in-depth way, as I now understand people who are immediately affected in a situation, aren’t the only ones who can get justice from it. This idea was reinforced to me because not all of the women of San Francisco were immediately impacted by Pete Gordon, but when he was shot they all became empowered and felt like they got justice as they no longer had to walk around in fear. This novel can be connected to the wider world nicely due to the idea of being armed can be a good thing. Although a lot of the gun violence going on America at the moment, it also needs to be realised that for some carrying guns may end up saving their lives.