Finding Innocence

Michigan in Books Review

(June 2026)

Critique: Original, deftly crafted, and a simply riveting read from start to finish, "Finding Innocence" by John Wemlinger is an emotionally gripping story of the brutal rape of a female soldier and set against a contemporary military backdrop. As an author, John Wemlinger's character and narrative driven storytelling style bring his characters to life and his plot twists all too real given the exposure of reported sexual assaults taking place over the past decade in the United States armed forces of today. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.95), this paperback edition of "Finding Innocence" from Mission Point Press is unreservedly recommended pick for community library Military Crime themed suspense/thriller fiction collections.

Editorial Note: John Wemlinger is a retired US Army colonel with 27 years of military service. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War where he was a helicopter maintenance officer and pilot. In retirement he has become an award-winning author. Finding Innocence is his seventh novel. He writes with a purpose, first intending to be a mirror into which military and veterans may see the reflection of their honorable service and, second, to be a window for anyone who may not know about or understand the importance of America's military or the challenges associated with military service.

BookLife Review

By Publishers Weekly

Wemlinger (The Road to Empire) delivers a brisk military thriller following Army Sergeant Rebecca Farnsworth after a brutal sexual assault during a routine security inspection leaves her transformed from victim into accused. Injected with fentanyl by her attacker and left for dead, neither Rebecca’s medical nor military teams believe she was raped, resulting in court-martial proceedings and the emotional devastation of surviving inside a military system more concerned with preserving hierarchy than pursuing justice. The novel expands beyond that courtroom drama into a broader examination of institutional failure and systemic reform, tracing Rebecca’s journey from survivor to advocate, as she helps reshape military justice procedures on sexual assault.

Wemlinger’s military background lends authenticity to the legal procedures, chain-of-command dynamics, and bureaucratic tensions that drive much of the narrative. The novel moves rapidly between investigations, courtroom confrontations, political reform, and personal milestones, but its treatment of trauma often lacks the emotional depth readers may expect. Rebecca is raped, becomes pregnant, and undergoes systemic betrayal alongside years of fallout, yet the narrative rarely lingers within those experiences, choosing rapid pacing and a pileup of life-altering events over a deeper exploration into the psychological complexity of Rebecca’s experiences. That choice keeps the novel suspenseful, if emotionally abrupt.

Still, Wemlinger’s sincerity and moral conviction remain evident. The concluding sections, in which Rebecca returns to school to pursue a law degree, see her seeking military justice reform and gaining national recognition for her work. Her attacker—who brutalizes and even murders other women—is eventually identified and brought to justice, though not exactly as Rebecca hopes for. That ending provides a measure of emotional closure, transforming the story into a tribute to survivors and the many women who have fought to make military institutions more accountable. Though the emotional journey may feel compressed, readers are ultimately left rooting for Rebecca and the larger pursuit of justice her story represents.

Takeaway: Brisk thriller pushes sexual assault justice reform within the military.

Great for fans of: KJ Sutherland’s Uniform Scandal, Barbara Longley’s A Change of Heart.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A-
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-