In this smart, relevant, unputdownable psychological thriller, a woman cop is on the hunt for a killer while battling violent secrets of her own.“My name is Nina Karim. I am a single thirty-one-year-old woman who likes cats, Ryan Reynolds movies, beautiful sunsets, walking on a wintry beach holding hands with a tall, caring, lightly bearded third-wave feminist. Yeah, right.”Nina is a tough Queens … feminist. Yeah, right.”
Nina is a tough Queens detective with a series of cold case homicides on her desk – men whose widows had the same alibi: they were living in Artemis, a battered women’s shelter, when their husbands were killed.
Nina goes undercover into Artemis. Though she is playing the victim, she’s anything but. Nina knows about violence and the bullies who rely on it because she’s experienced it in her own life.
In this heart-pounding thriller Nina confronts the violence of her own past in Artemis where she finds solidarity with a community of women who deal with abusive and lethal men in their own way.
For the women living in Artemis there is no absolute moral compass, there is the law and there is survival. And, for Nina, who became a cop so she could find the man who murdered her father, there is only revenge.
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Nina Karim is a homicide detective for Long Island City police force. At thirty-one she doesn’t regret her decision to become a cop. At one time, she may have had other dreams, but that all changed after her father was killed by a sniper at his kitchen window. Not only did her father die that day, but her younger brother and mother eventually became victims of that horrific act, too .
Because her father worked at an abortion clinic at the time of his death, Nina know that her father’s killer must have been part of an extremist anti-abortion group who were responsible for bombings and other deaths. Nina has never lost her rage and her life’s goal is to get revenge and kill the coward who killed her father.
Author Michael Elias has written a psychological thriller that is several notches above that ever growing genre. There is plenty of action and suspense, but more importantly is the well drawn character of Nina. Not all male authors can capture the true spirit of female protagonists, but this author has done an amazing job. It is gratifying to see more tough women characters in thrillers and mysteries that were once mainly dominated by men.
There are plenty of twists and turns in this wonderful novel. The ending was truly a “gotcha” one for me. I love that feeling.
Michael Elias was a new to me author, but in reading his bio I realized I was familiar with much of his past work in movies and TV, most notably the movie “The Jerk” with Steve Martin.
For a story that is both engaging and thought provoking, you will want to pick up a copy of You Can Go Home Again. Thanks to Harper Collins and the author for giving me a chance to read and review this riveting book.
Wow what a great book, it held me in suspense until the end. I really enjoyed this book. The writing is superb, the characters are so believable.
While reviewing cold case files, Homicide Detective Nina Karim discovers an intriguing parallel to a current case she’s trying to solve. Intent on solving her current case, as well as those collecting dust as cold cases, Nina dives deep in an effort to get them cleared so she can get back to her real focus – finding the identity of the man who killed her father when she was a kid.
Nina Karim is a complicated and interesting character. I had moments of loving her and others where I wanted to give her a good shake and ask her what the heck she was thinking. In a weird sort of way, her often conflicting thoughts and behaviors work well and show the complexities of an adult still traumatized from acts in their childhood. Her loan shark boyfriend, Bobby B, seemed to have a better handle on things than she did and I liked him a lot.
The story itself is told in an almost stream of consciousness type format, from Nina narrating her current actions to flashbacks to the past. At times, this gives the story a bit of a disjointed feeling, however, about halfway through, it all starts to come together and you’re not as afloat as you were before. You Can Go Home Now is an intense and gritty novel that deals with some of the harshest realities that women and children face today: domestic violence. A warning to anyone who might be sensitive to this topic, there are some vivid descriptions of abuse from the women in the Artemis shelter, however, they are generally brief, although still disturbing. Despite that, the characters and their sometimes questionable actions pulled me in and held me captive right up until the end. Although You Can Go Home Now was a difficult and harrowing read at times, it was well worth it for me.
YOU CAN GO HOME NOW by Michael Elias is an exciting new thriller with a female detective on the case of a killer of abusive spouses while simultaneously on her lifelong quest for her personal revenge against the killer of her father.
Homicide Detective Nina Karim is called out to the scene of a murder and finds the body of a man she was searching for who was reported missing by his parents. The parents accuse the wife of the murder. When Nina catches up with the wife, she claims innocence, but refuses to say where she was during the time of the murder.
While investigating the case, Nina discovers other cold cases of murdered spouses all tied to Artemis Shelter for Women. Nina goes undercover in Artemis and finds herself empathizing with the occupants and their stories, because she has a story of her own which fuels her need for revenge, not conventional justice.
This book starts with two chapters that while you do not know it at the time, set up the dual plotlines intertwined through this thriller. For me, Nina was an antihero. She became a cop and lived for revenge knowing she would cross the line when she finds her target. The resolution to her personal revenge plotline was not realistic or believable. Her romance is with a loan shark, Bobby B who dropped out of the police academy which they both attended at the same time. He was useful for pivotal plot points and sex scenes, but I never felt he was fully fleshed out.
Nina’s time in Artemis was the plotline that captured my complete attention. The stories of the women and children pull you in as they did Nina herself. Nina’s empathy for the women leaves her with an ethical dilemma; reveal Artemis’ true mission or not.
I found this to be a gritty, fast paced, revenge thriller story that is more escapism that realism, but it did entertain me.
WOW!!What a perfect book to escape into! Michael Elias, Author of “You Can Go Home Now” has written an intense, captivating, intriguing, and suspenseful thriller. The genres for this book are Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, and Fiction. The timeline for this story is set in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters and events. The author describes his dramatic characters as complex, and complicated. There are betrayals, danger, threats, and death.
Nina Karim, the protagonist in this story is a Queens detective, dealing with several cold murder cases. Nina does have her own agenda. For the moment she is looking into the homicides of several men. Their widows share one thing, they each were at a special home for battered women called Artemis. All of the women have their own alibis. There are twists and turns.
Nina decides that she has to go undercover to get a feel for what is going on. What will Nina discover? Will she come out of this alive? This is a chilling thriller, that is extremely edgy and intense. I highly recommend this novel as an excellent means of escape for the reader.
You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias is a fast-paced mystery filled with deceit, revenge, and thrills.
Will Nina avenge her family? And if she does, will she lose herself?
Nina Karim
Nina is our main character and point of view. She is out for revenge. Nina has become a police detective to find the man that killed her father. This rage that is inside of her will only be settled when that person has been eliminated. But will it? Are this anger and that incident what defines her as a person?
I loved Nina’s compassion and outrage at what she does in her chosen profession. However, even though she wears a badge, she does what she wants. Nina has friends in some extraordinary places, but they all suit her personality. Perhaps the whole vigilante scenario fits her.
The Mysteries
Yes, there is more than one mystery. The first and closest to Nina’s heart is the person who murdered her father when she was a teenager. She has been looking for this person for years. The problem is even as a police detective; she doesn’t have access to all of the information needed to crack the case.
The second case is the murder of a man that threatened to kill his wife. The wife has a solid, albeit as she was in a shelter for abused women at the time of the death. Nina, while investigating this case, finds two others where a similar scenario happened with the same shelter. Coincidence, Nina thinks not. So, she goes undercover to figure it out.
Then we have Mr. McDermott, who shows up and confesses to crimes that he didn’t commit. He is quite different. Yet, Nina is nice and, for some reason, listens to what he has to say.
I also like the tie in for the title, You Can Go Home Now. I won’t tell you what it is, but believe me, you won’t miss it.
Five Stars
I love this book. I will admit at first look at the title and cover I wasn’t sure, but once I got into Nina’s psyche, I was hooked. Mr. Elias does a fantastic job walking us through how Nina’s father’s murder affected her family and her individually. It makes you wonder about all the transparency around public employees and how other people commit murder and justify it as righteous because the person they murdered doesn’t live the life the murderer thinks they should.
Anyway, You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias is definitely five stars. I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes thrillers. Perhaps it will even open your eyes to other things.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias.
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove.
Until the next time,
~Jen
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