There are four kinds of Homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy.” —Ambrose Bierce This is a story about duty, revenge, murder, and horror. The system failed Tyler McDermitt. He and his brother have vowed to protect unfortunate youth from a similar fate – or at least make those responsible, pay. The McDermitt brothers, victims of child abuse and molestation, escaped their … hell and have decided to clean up after the failings of a flawed justice system. The rough streets of Dorchester, south Boston, have hardened two aspiring vigilantes and prepared them for a mission. One brother has a good heart, a conscience, and a burning compassion. His twisted sense of morality has burdened him with a deep sense of responsibility. The other brother is as hard as nails and as cold as ice. He is hell-bent on revenge and aims to ensure the other stays the course. A motivated young detective is on their scent; she and her veteran partner look to foil McDermitt brothers’ plan. Something from the boys’ past – something dark – is also closing in.
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**Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**
This is a well-written story told mostly from Tyler’s POV and it’s not an easy read, but not necessarily in a bad way. When Tyler’s parents died and he was put into the foster care system, he suffered through a life of hell. The story told through his POV is all over the place and it didn’t take me long to figure out everything was not as it appeared. The story was broken up by additional POVs of other characters in the story. As the description will tell you, Tyler and his brother are vigilantes, killing those who abuse children and get away with it. If the justice system won’t hold these people accountable, Tyler and his brother will.
We get to know Tyler’s character slowly through the story, his history, his dreams, his feelings. Maybe the most innocent thing in this whole story is Tyler’s dream of working at a pizzeria and being a dough man. An easy dream, you’d think, and yet things don’t always turn out the way we expect. Don’t expect a light, fluffy read with any difficulties glossed over. It’s hard and it’s sad. And, though you know the main character is a serial killer, he isn’t one who kills the weak or soft. Tyler has mental health issues and they are very much on display since we’re taken along in his POV.
At the end of this book, the author provides a character guide. I felt like this could have been the notes used to create the novel. He gave name and details of each character in the story. Considering the surprising ending of this book, I thought it was a great way to refresh each character we met.
You could never predict how this story will unfold or all the twists and turns it will take. I never saw that ending coming, and was still surprised by it days later. It’s an interesting take on what could happen in a police investigation. I did want more from the ending. I was like, wait, we’re ending this here? If you like dark, twisty, thrillers you should definitely give this one a try!
Rating: 4.5 stars!
This was such an excellent read! It was packed with detail, twists, turns and lots of fast-paced excitement to really bring the story to life.
The characters were created brilliantly, especially the main character. As I got to know him, I really felt compelled to follow the story and see how he got on, especially with everything seeming to work against him. As he tried to get to the bottom of things, I loved his ingenuity and problem-solving, as well as his attitude.
The pace was brilliantly aligned with the style of read, and helped to even further bring the book to life. It really gave you moments where you were moving at break-neck pace to ensure you got to the heart of things, and moments to take in the knowledge or clue acquired. I loved the swift changes in this, as it felt very realistic.
Overall, the story is very well written and truly is an exciting read. I highly recommend it!