Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Perversion of Justice

The Jeffrey Epstein Story

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

The New York Times Bestseller

“A gripping journalistic procedural… Spotlight meets Erin Brockovich.” —Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times

“Julie K. Brown's important book offers not just a definitive account of the Epstein case, but a compelling window into her own experiences as a dogged reporter at a regional newspaper, facing off against powerful interests set against her reporting.” —Ronan Farrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Catch and Kill

Dauntless journalist Julie K. Brown recounts her uncompromising and risky investigation of Jeffrey Epstein's underage sex trafficking operation, and the explosive reporting for the Miami Herald that finally brought him to justice while exposing the powerful people and broken system that protected him.

For many years, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's penchant for teenage girls was an open secret in the high society of Palm Beach, Florida and Upper East Side, Manhattan. Charged in 2008 with soliciting prostitution from minors, Epstein was treated with unheard of leniency, dictating the terms of his non-prosecution. The media virtually ignored the failures of the criminal justice system, and Epstein's friends and business partners brushed the allegations aside. But when in 2017 the U.S Attorney who approved Epstein's plea deal, Alexander Acosta, was chosen by President Trump as Labor Secretary, reporter Julie K. Brown was compelled to ask questions.

Despite her editor's skepticism that she could add a new dimension to a known story, Brown determined that her goal would be to track down the victims themselves. Poring over thousands of redacted court documents, traveling across the country and chasing down information in difficulty and sometimes dangerous circumstances, Brown tracked down dozens of Epstein's victims, now young women struggling to reclaim their lives after the trauma and shame they had endured.

Brown's resulting three-part series in the Miami Herald was one of the most explosive news stories of the decade, revealing how Epstein ran a global sex trafficking pyramid scheme with impunity for years, targeting vulnerable teens, often from fractured homes and then turning them into recruiters. The outrage led to Epstein's arrest, the disappearance and eventual arrest of his closest accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and the resignation of Acosta. The financier's mysterious suicide in a New York City jail cell prompted wild speculation about the secrets he took to the grave-and whether his death was intentional or the result of foul play.

Tracking Epstein’s evolution from a college dropout to one of the most successful financiers in the country—whose associates included Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, and Bill Clinton—Perversion of Justice builds on Brown's original award-winning series, showing the power of truth, the value of local reportage and the tenacity of one woman in the face of the deep-seated corruption of powerful men. 

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from July 23, 2021

      Jeffrey Epstein's decades-long criminal sex trafficking enterprise is laid bare by Brown, the Miami Herald reporter who shined the brightest spotlight on the case in 2018. The book is based on her original reporting of interviews, court documents, and government records that name everyone from Donald Trump and Prince Andrew to Stephen Hawking as beneficiaries of Epstein's sexual or financial favors. Brown interweaves the Epstein story with that of her experience investigating it, including receiving threats from private investigators presumably hired by Epstein. Though the chapters on the survivors' stories are explicit, they are also the most affecting part of the book, and Brown gives the survivors the respect they deserve and have often been denied. She offers detailed accounts of claims against Trump and Prince Andrew that she says lend credibility to previous allegations. The biggest takeaway will be Epstein's sweeping reach; Brown writes that initially he got away from the accusations thanks to powerful people who saw Epstein as "an emperor worthy of entertaining because there was cash in those new clothes." VERDICT While the book would benefit from more specific notes about interviews with the people involved, Brown tells a gripping, horrifying tale, and few are spared her critique. A must for public library collections, and especially noteworthy for readers of Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy To Protect Predators.--Jessica Hilburn, Benson Memorial Lib., Titusville, PA

      Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      July 20, 2021
      In 2006, Florida prosecutors were assigned the case of multimillionaire Jeffery Epstein. For years, he'd been luring underage girls--mostly poor, troubled, inexperienced, or all three--to one of his lavish homes, where they were induced to sexually pleasure him. The police investigation seemed airtight, but then Epstein used his wealth and power to influence the prosecution. He was eventually given a plea deal so favorable that he spent most of his days out of jail at an office, where he continued to be visited by young girls. A decade later, Miami Herald reporter Brown decided to take another look at the case, in part because of the involvement of Trump's Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta, who had been in charge of the prosecution. What she found forms the basis of this book, which began as a series of explosive, award-winning articles.Though the emphasis is on Epstein's crimes, the fallout for his victims, and the disgrace of a two-tier justice system, Brown interweaves it with her own experience as an underpaid, overworked reporter in the sadly dying profession of local journalism. These two stories are sometimes juxtaposed clumsily, forcing readers caught up in Epstein's saga of perversion, excess, and privilege to suddenly segue to learning about Brown's difficulty saving for her kids' college tuition.Throughout, however, the account of Brown's dogged reporting, her willingness to spend hours digging, traveling, and interviewing, even in the face of threats and stonewalls, is inspiring, and ultimately her work led to Epstein's arrest. Brown lays out a lot about the way the world works, and much of it isn't good. But, sometimes, when enough people stand up, justice prevails.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading