I first saw this book on Reedsy, but it was taken by another reviewer before I got the chance. I noticed it was on promotion shortly thereafter, and decided to get it.

The Premise

After his daughter’s murder and his wife’s suicide, former detective Frank Grimm now spends his days snooping through his neighbours’ houses looking for clues to find his daughter’s killer. He secretly enjoys seeing the hidden parts of their lives — until one day, a new neighbour leaves him a note: “Help. My father is raping me. Please kill him.”

While Frank struggles with the decision of how best to act to protect the girl, meanwhile his former colleague Detective Mallory Black is hell-bent on proving that Frank himself was the one who abused and killed his daughter. Told from both points of view, their individual obsessions with bringing the truth to light drastically affect both their lives.

The Pros

I liked the premise of the story a lot, and found myself wondering right up to the end if Frank was hiding a darkness within himself that he did not recognise. It was intriguing to see the good and the bad of each main character — they were both far from perfect, and I appreciated this gritty reality of flawed protagonists.

I also thought the subject matter of abuse was well handled with many small touches to make it believable, and there were moments that were gripping — particularly when Mallory finally realises that she may have been wrong, and we see the truth unfold in her eyes. Despite Frank’s flaws, we are able to connect with his mindset of vigilante justice, and there were even some streaks of humour that make the reading an enjoyable journey despite the heavy subject matter.

The Cons

I love getting lost in a good thriller, but it’s a genre where I’m not fond of even the slightest awry piece of dialogue or superfluous adjective. Here, I found that it got off to a slow start, and some of the dialogue was unnecessarily long — particularly with his cousin Stan, and some sentences were confusing, which affected my overall reading experience.

In terms of the plot, I kept waiting for a “twist” but nothing shocking played out — Frank acted predictably, and the story ended exactly as I thought it would. Also, Mallory’s complete disregard for her family make her an unlikeable and unlikely protagonist, and while that in itself wasn’t a drawback for me, I was alarmed at her swift change of heart in the end to commit to her family — it felt implausible at best.

Conclusion

I noticed that the author was actually a writer duo, which could account for the feeling of “disjointedness” that I had while reading. Nevertheless it did hold my interest as a thriller, and I would be interested in reading more from either author or another joint effort. Despite my own feelings about the book, I still gave it a good rating because I would recommend it to others. There’s a lot to like here, and the moral dilemma the main character faces is all too real. I found similarities with the TV series “Dexter” in his vigilante justice approach, because it’s clear that he’s enjoying himself despite his belief that he is helping others. If you’re into antiheroes like Dexter, this would be right up your alley.

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