What is justice?

Howdy from Texas,

Just an hour and a half south of my hometown, a vigilante group consisting of fathers has recently formed. Like characters in several of my series, they pose on the internet as something they are not.

In this case, teenage girls.

Catfishing, they lure child predators to a meeting and expose them on camera. Dateline NBC style.

They then post the video along with explicit texts and photographic/video evidence obtained prior to the encounter to social media with the intent that it will go viral.

I’m a mother. I can understand the intention behind what they are doing, even if the method is a little shaky.

Vigilante justice is a topic that has long interested me.

Suffice it to say, this story hit very close to home.

A good friend of mine is a prosecutor. We have lengthy discussions about their processes. I speak with LEO’s often in regard to my work.

Sometimes they mention news stories such as this one and this one and the ways these situations could go very wrong.

And also, what might happen if victims and/or their families were allowed to dish out justice as they see fit—without repercussion.

Questions such as these helped inspire the Water series. It starts out with two characters coming together under false pretenses to create a match made in heaven (?) He’s a contract killer. She does it for fun.

Think Mr. and Mrs. Smith with a side of Dexter.

Vigilante justice is a major theme— as is catfishing—and the real-life characters in our lives who pose as something they aren’t.

If you haven’t yet read the Water series, here is the proper reading order:

• Water Under the Bridge
• Dead in the Water
• Come Hell or High Water

If you’re looking for some weekend reading, hit the button below for a gripping series with lots of moral gray area.

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