{"id":6921,"date":"2026-07-30T10:16:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T10:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6921"},"modified":"2026-07-30T10:16:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T10:16:18","slug":"more-likely-than-not-by-j-p-brutus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6921","title":{"rendered":"More Likely Than Not by J.P. Brutus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Content Warnings: child loss and abuse<\/em><\/p>\n

A swirling and fast-paced medico-legal mystery where judgment and justice collide<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dr. Amelie Nadeau is a pathology fellow assigned to carry out an AI-assisted review of medical cases. She\u2019s supposed to explore whether the tool can accurately spot anomalies and figure out which will require additional evaluation. In a competitive office where projects like this are a springboard to career success, Amelie is surprised to find several cases handled by her mentor getting flagged, leaving her with a dilemma. Taking a closer look at one boy\u2019s case threatens to cost her everything. In More Likely Than Note<\/em>, Amelie is driven to explore the limits of her profession; it\u2019s her job to speak for those who can no longer speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

The opening scenes of this novel are high-stakes and deeply emotional. We open with Sylvie, a caring mother feeling overwhelmed after a fight with her boyfriend Mario, as she returns to her Montreal apartment. But when she walks in, she finds Mario trying to resuscitate their infant son. We wonder with aching hearts: Did Mario shake the baby with fatal consequences, or could there be another explanation for the child\u2019s sudden death? Then we move on to a police investigation where everything hinges on the medical examiner\u2019s report that Amelie will be working on. J.P. Brutus\u2019s prose is taut and immediate. You won\u2019t have to wait long to get sucked into this one.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

This a multi-layered, multi-POV story with sub-plots and wells of character depth. Brutus is adept at balancing the technical, medical, and legal parts alongside the novel\u2019s characters; Mario\u2019s humanity and Amelie\u2019s courage shine. The tender moments of humanity\u2014especially those experienced by Mario as he receives guidance from a fellow inmate and Amelie receiving support from her boyfriend\u2014are powerful counterweights to the sprawling medical and legal systems described.<\/p>\n

Child loss through the surviving siblings\u2019 lives and the long echo of child abuse are handled with great care. The roadblocks and obstacles put up by secondary characters are realistic and thought-provoking, yet in nearly every case, Brutus curiously pulls their punches, leaving an anticipation that can sometimes peter out. Still, More Likely Than Not<\/em> is a gripping look at the fine lines between confidence and hubris, loyalty and denial, and care and control. It keeps readers guessing with tension rising in each chapter.<\/p>\n

This would make a wonderful mystery book club selection with plenty of ideas to fuel thoughtful conversations about right and wrong and the sacrifices that pursuing the truth may require. It\u2019s smooth reading and has enough dramatic pacing to keep the pages turning quickly, and Brutus\u2019s down-to-earth writing style is generous in making advanced concepts accessible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Through it all, it\u2019s the people behind the facts of the case that matter most. Beyond the headlines, cases like this reflect the tragedy and suffering of real peop<\/p>\n

The post More Likely Than Not by J.P. Brutus<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Content Warnings: child loss and abuse A swirling and fast-paced medico-legal mystery where judgment and justice collide Dr. Amelie Nadeau is a pathology fellow assigned to carry out an AI-assisted review of medical cases. She\u2019s supposed to explore whether the tool can accurately spot anomalies and figure out which will require additional evaluation. In a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6921"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6921\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}