The Retributionist
Description
As CFO of a rapidly growing public company, Jack Kade's career has reached a pinnacle of success. His family is blessed with immeasurable wealth, and his business dealings as a powerful acquisitions facilitator are revolutionizing Corporate America.
But all of that comes tumbling down when an overly ambitious auditor, who is green-behind-the-ears, believes he's found the proverbial brass ring during a routine audit. A seemingly insignificant omission in the reporting process now has a profoundly negative impact on Kade's life.
Why is he taking the rap for something perfectly legal under SEC rules? Could his colleagues be concealing something more significant? Did Jack fail to recognize the ruthless ambition and deceit that pervaded his circle?
He quickly learns that the justice system can often be a tool for the personal agendas of biased judges and coercive prosecutors. Fourteen years of imprisonment teach Kade that genuine power transcends money and titles. Instead, it originates from information and leverage-tools his adversaries have exploited to ruin him. It's time to turn the tables, restore the balance, and reclaim a semblance of justice.
More details
Person
Jon Nelson is a writer whose debut novel, The Retributionist, blurs the line between truth and fiction in what he calls "faction," a powerful blend of fact and imagination that leaves readers questioning what's real and what's not. While the story of Jack Kade, a CFO sentenced to 25 years for white-collar crimes, is informed by themes and experiences familiar to Jon, it remains a work of fiction at its core. The Retributionist presents a raw and thought-provoking examination of the justice system, human judgment, and the resilience of the human spirit.
The novel, along with its two sequels, was written entirely by hand during Jon's time in federal prison. While working as a janitor in the chapel, he transformed a mop closet into a makeshift writing space, spending his days studying scripture, journaling, and writing page after page with pen and paper. Over time, he mailed the manuscript home to be typed and preserved by the woman who would later become his wife.
The CARES Act enabled Jon's early release from prison by seven years during the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 21, 2020, after a nine-week lockdown, he walked out of prison and stopped by that same mop closet one last time to retrieve his journal. It wasn't until he was home and rereading the final entry, written on March 17, 2020, that he realized it closed with a plea that now reads like a prophecy:
Father, protect and deliver.
M2 and I look to you, we both look within, we seek your presence and your Kingdom.
No more bondage! No more separation, debt or exilement.
Open the prison gates. You can do it in a holy instant.
I love you, Jesus.
Jon now lives with his wife and enjoys time with their six children and four grandchildren, with number five on the way. He continues to write and reflect on the fine line between justice and judgment, truth and fiction, pain and redemption.