BOOK REVIEW: 🔎POETIC JUSTICE 🗝️| Four Questions with authors Dan Antion & Willow Willers

Hello readers, 

        Today I am sharing about the book Poetic Justice by Dan Antion and Willow Willers. I left a review on Amazon and below are a few snippets from that formal review:

• Dan Antion and Willow Willers teamed up to give readers an interesting story that touches your heart at the end – with the closing pages and then again with the dedication to the heroes who lost their lives in the Vietnam War, and to honor those came home displaced, disrespected, and not helped properly. 

• The social context and psychological details in the story made sense; for example, not making an appointment and deciding to drop in (surprise the person) was smart. There were many details that showed us how detective work is done and this aligned with other realistic elements and POV.

• This book was gripping and easy to follow along with as the characters problem solved the mystery with poetic clues and deceptive characters. The play on words and literal use of “poetry” and “justice” was a clever narrative device.

• Poetic Justice Links:
  • Kindle – https://relinks.me/B0FBLH5YKB
  • Paperback – https://relinks.me/B0FBRCQSHQ
  • Audiobook – https://relinks.me/B0DP5FR58S

FOUR QUESTIONS WITH THE AUTHORS

Question #1: What is your favorite part of the book and why?

Dan Antion: I like the beginning. I like the way Brody Thompson gets involved in the story and interaction between him and Trevor. I like how they both change their outlook about the death of Trevor’s father. Willow is also drawn to Brody’s character and relationships with Trevor and his mom and the other characters as he goes along.

Question #2: What’s one thing you hope readers take away from this book?

Dan Antion: You cannot trust those in power; they are only interested in their bank balance. War isn’t always fought for the reasons we are told. Someone always profits while young soldiers are asked to risk everything.

Question #3: What was the biggest challenge with writing this book with Willow?

Dan Antion: The challenges I imagined never materialized. I was worried that Willow wouldn’t be interested, but she was. She was worried about believing she could do it, but I knew she could. Once we realized our fears were more imagined than real, it was plain sailing. Before we started we both wondered if we would agree on where the story should go but we clicked and the story evolved with no real disagreements.

Question #4: When was the book published?

Dan Antion: We finished the book in May 2025, but due to our travel schedules, it was officially released on June 11^th, 2025 – with a launch post at John Howell’s place.

Poetic Justice Blurb from the Authors

Trevor Barcroft enlists the help of crime and mystery writer Brody Thompson to help solve his father’s murder — a murder the police and the FBI are ignoring.  Rascal Todd wants to help, but her editor keeps her away from the story. Why?  What was Wilson Barcroft doing at Gateway Park the night he was killed?  Who is the mysterious Poet? What do the odd bits of poetry he has spread around mean? Is the Poet still alive? Will Brody and Trevor survive? 

Join Rascal and her friends and coworkers as they try to help from the sidelines without becoming targets in an ever-growing list of deadly crimes. Real life turns out to be far more dangerous than any fiction Brody could create, as the history of a war long over comes back to haunt the city of Pittsburgh.

PRIORHOUSE EXTRAS

Pittsburgh Setting

A strength of the Poetic Justice book was the setting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here is an example: “Then our next stop is the University of Pittsburgh.” “Is it nearby?” Trevor laughed. “You won’t even need your GPS for this one.” Trevor led them along the streets leading to Forbes Avenue and into the Oakland area of Pittsburgh.” It will be fun to visit the city again and we will try to visit some of the areas mentioned in Poetic Justice. Also, Dan Antion’s recent Thursday Doors post has some excellent photos from a recent (2025) visit to Pittsburgh, PA. 

Story Flow

I really liked how the story flowed and that the authors gave us a good amount of material. I have read some books that were very short, which worked well for those stories, but in Poetic Justice, it was a good length book! All while the authors kept details succinct so the reader could easily follow the narrative without stumbling, feeling an engaging progression from chapter to chapter. 

The Vietnam Veteran Connection

As noted in my Amazon review, the poems and Veteran connection was another strength of this book. The poetic clues added interest to the story as it led us up to the Veteran connection. Then, the closing chapter tugged at your heart and so did the dedication – which was in honor of the Vietnam War heroes: those deployed to Vietnam and those who served in other roles. This book has this special historical angle – that gave us messages about an important part of American history.

A few decades ago, as a young adult, I worked at a restaurant and one of our managers had a meltdown in the back office. We were told that he had a flashback from the Vietnam War. That was the first time I learned about the problems that could follow Vets/soldiers. Later, in some of my early college studies, I learned that it was in 1980 when PTSD was officially defined and recognized as a mental health problem (five years after the end of the Vietnam War). And so, a nice part of Poetic Justice is how the story lets us explore more of the consequences of this controversial war. For more information on research related to the health of Vietnam Veterans, go here: www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/research-studies.asp.

I highly recommend Poetic Justice.

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