Sometimes, no matter how certain we are in making decisions, things turn out to be different from what we thought they were. Sometimes, the facts turn out to be totally different from what we were convinced they were when we acted.

“Dateline: May 2016.”

By Retired Judge Joe G. Riley | Dog Ear Publishing LLC | $24.95 | 208 pages | 2017

So begins the first chapter of Joe G. Riley’s first novel, Reelfoot Killins’.

Every chapter of this legal fictional thriller begins with a “dateline,” providing the date and place of what occurs — all involving the horrific murders of a prominent real estate agent and a notorious local drug dealer in rural Lake County, Tennessee.

Riley, a Tennessee trial and appellate judge for 26 years, knows how to write. With the precision of a court reporter and the verbal dexterity of a news reporter, Riley captures the suspense of the mystery murders with his close-up view of the internal workings of the Tennessee criminal justice system — all as seen through the eyes of law enforcement (TBI and local sheriff department), prosecutor (the district attorney general), defense lawyers (public defender and retained counsel) and the trial judge.

For those who spend their professional lives as trial lawyers and adversaries “in the pit” of the criminal courtroom, Riley’s story will likely prompt some self-examination as to the roles that they and trial judges play in the “justice system.” For law enforcement investigators it may prompt looking a little deeper to be sure of the evidence. For those who always loudly demand the harshest of punishments for those convicted of heinous offenses, the book is a welcome parable. For those who just like good books, it’s a fun read.

To supporters and opponents of the death penalty alike, both the questions raised and those not asked, arising from the investigation, the charges levied, the trial and appeals of those convicted of the “Reelfoot killins’” are way too close to real life to be ignored. The presumptions, assumptions and certainty upon which our system of justice relies are sometimes simply wrong.

Set in one of the smallest counties in Tennessee, near Reelfoot Lake, with the fog of early morning and evening hanging over its cypress trees and cypress knees, an almost surreal and appropriately eerie backdrop is created for the story. Riley’s book is a good read and one that should evoke a response — one that causes us to rethink what we too often believe to be so certain and true.

Interesting, perplexing and troubling, the book will keep you engrossed.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, J. HOUSTON GORDON practices law in  Covington, Tennessee, with the Gordon Shaw Law Group PLLC.  Read more about him in the July 2017 Tennessee Bar Journal at www.tba.org/journal/the-importance-of-being-mentored