WHAT KIND OF TROUBLE COULD YOU GET INTO AT A FAMOUS WRITERS’ CONFERENCE? Thriller Jubilee is a renowned week-long writers conference held every year at the luxurious Hotel Marisol on the sun-drenched island of Punta Maya. Attracting literary luminaries and reading fans alike, this year’s conference is attended by one guest too many, a writer wannabe whose efforts have not received the recognition … have not received the recognition the author expects—one might say demands.
As conference officials discover participants are quietly disappearing, they wrestle with the question of whether to disclose that a serial killer may be on the loose, fearing that it could trigger a panic and permanently destroy the event—and the host organization.
Payback, third in the popular Brooks/Lotello Thriller series, is a fantasy murder mystery blended with today’s real-world obsession with society’s moral decay, for example the college admissions scandal and the failure of sports, academic, and church leaders to expel offenders within their ranks preying on those entrusted to such organizations.
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First The Amendment Killer, next The Puppet Master, and now PAYBACK, whenever Barak brings it, it’s tense, timely, and terrific!
PAYBACK, timely, poignant and terrifying. Every writer’s nightmare, or fantasy.
Fasten your seatbelt, Barak has done it again! A breakneck thrill ride with an unforgettable antagonist. This one will keep you up way past your bedtime.
Payback is an excellent 3rd book of the Brooks/Lotello series.
Eloise Brooks, wife of distinguished Judge Cyrus Brooks, has a surprise for her husband. She’s planned to spring it on Cyrus at a celebration of their 55th wedding anniversary dinner wherein they’re closest friends, homicide investigator Frank Lotello and his wife, Leah, are invited. The surprise? Well, there are two of them: (1) he’s the only one who doesn’t know; and (2) it’s a trip for the four of them to attend a one week’s trip to a writer’s conference in Punta Maya, an island near the coast of Spain. The purpose of the trip is to help Cyrus complete an unfulfilled idea of writing a novel.
The problem? Well, after their arrival to the resort, a few of the attendees begin to disappear. The question? Is it possible that this is due to a serial killer.
Author Barak again teases the reader by including the thoughts of the killer interspersed throughout the book. The unstated idea is to provoke the reader into attempting to identify the killer. And, as usual, it’s a challenge for the reader to attempt to do so.
OK, jump right into it. You won’t be disappointed.
I would really give this book a 4.5, but there are no half stars and there are never any spoilers in my reviews. This is my first book by this author and I’m glad I took a chance. Although I hadn’t read the first two books with these characters, it didn’t take anything away from being able to get into and follow this one. The premise of a retired judge and detective sleuth team was intriguing and then the foul play taking place as a writer’s convention is genius. The men and their wives embark on a vacation of sorts to Spain to attend this conference and at the conference participants start turning up dead at the hands of a serial killer who may be among the attendees. In the beginning, you are exposed to the point of view of the killer, and as you get into the book, you find that there is no shortage of suspects in this fast-moving murder mystery. It certainly kept me guessing, and the ending was indeed satisfying. I received an ARC of this book and am providing my unbiased and unsolicited review. I enjoyed this book enough to go back and check out the first two.
This was a most interesting book, with intricate plot, complex characters and a very unique way of presenting them.
This 3rd book in the series is a real page turner. It’s a fast paced who done it with lots of twists and turns. The storyline is very entertaining and creative. I really enjoyed this book. Brooks and Lotello are a great duo. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving this review
First book by Barack that I have read but won’t be the last! I thoroughly enjoyed following Judge Brooks and Detective Lotello wind through the book conference and discover who goes missing and who is responsible. Very interesting seeing into an author’s world while finding a killer!
The friendship between the Brooks and Lotellos is fun and brings color to the story, especially when the sometimes haute judge gets in trouble with his wife.
As an advanced reader, I am blessed to read books early and love to share the best with others!!!
Sometimes revenge is more public than we’d like – and more confusing where there are more than a few possible suspects.
Exciting, and ironically amusing views of the publishing industry- and it seems more than a little literally lethal.
An exciting and insightful series with many colorful characters.
If you’ve ever wondered what writers do when they get together and kick back, you’ll love this book as much as I did. Ronald Barak takes you behind the scenes at an exclusive conference for writers and book publishing professionals on the tropical resort island of Punta Maya.
Judge Brooks from the earlier Washington stories has decided he’d like to write a book so his wife books them into the conference and invites Detective Lotello and his wife along to enjoy the trip. The conference connects the Judge with all the “right” people in the publishing industry, but when some of those people start disappearing, Brooks and Lotello’s Washington experience suddenly puts them at the centre of a mystery.
This latest Barak novel will take you on a roller coaster ride through a twisted revenge plot that will keep Lotello and Brooks following leads and cast suspicions on a whole list of attendees before everything becomes clear. Meanwhile, you might learn something about the intricacies and complexities of the publishing industry.
First read by this author and enjoyed this book. Full of twists and turns, suspenseful. Good character development. A murder mystery set at a writers convention. Clues are through out the book to help you solve who is the murderer. Will you be able to figure it out? Recommended read. Received an ARC and this is my voluntary honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. I liked the way Cyrus Brooks thinks and talks. The author was quite clever to have the killer thinking about his or her motivation in the prologue. It certainly drew me into the story quickly. The comments by the killer at the end of each chapter, and later at other points, definitely heightened the suspense. Just knowing that this person could see and hear what was going on was downright creepy. The twists and turns of the plot kept me guessing until the end. The author continued cranking up the tension and kept me on the edge of my seat, reading until the wee hours of the morning. I highly recommend this book and I am eagerly looking forward to the next one.
Disclosure: I voluntarily read and reviewed a free copy (ARC) and have given my honest opinion.
The author very kindly sent me an ARC on request, in return for an honest review. Payback is a fast paced thriller. It gave me an insight into the ordeals faced by authors to get their books published. The scenario is a Writers’ Conference. Seems safe? Not for aspiring writer and retired judge, Cyrus Brooks and his friend Lotello,. They have to deal with missing organizers and an obsessed author. The ending is unexpected. I recommend Payback and Ronald Barak’s style of writing. This author is definitely on my reading list
I received an ARC copy from the Authors’ XP website.
This is the sort of thriller plot that begins rather confusing. The many repeats and characters that need to be introduced, challenge your reading speed. At times you wonder when the thriller part or story will begin. But all the preparations and back story is part of the building up to the actual story. In hindsight, I understand it now.
Brooks and Lotello find themselves in Spain, at a writer’s retreat. Brooks is there to learn more about the craft and more specifically publishing. I have never been to one myself, the reason my interest peaked when I saw this book.
Writers can be very difficult, as well as very dramatic. I know from first-hand experience. But in this story, these writers take it a step further. Which enhanced the storyline tremendously. It gave the story a new dimension of reality and the inner workings of writers’ craftiness.
When officials of the TITO organization began to disappear things became interesting.
The way that Brooke and Lotello handled the entire investigation was unique. Making this story really interesting and believable.
This is a must-read for all thriller readers that are looking for something new in this genre.
In PAYBACK, Ronald S. Barak picks up right where he left off in THE AMENDMENT KILLER and THE PUPPET MASTER, the first two suspense novels in his Brooks/Lotello thriller series. In PAYBACK, Barak cleverly and timely focuses this time on today’s lack of transparency in society, using the literary world to come up with his best whodunit yet, one that rivals the best whodunits of the famous Agatha Christie. I look forward to his next caper.
Retired Judge Brooks thinks that he may write a novel and his wife and his best friends, police detective Lotello and lawyer Klein accompany him to the yearly thriller writer conference on the (fictive)Spanish island Punto Maya. When one of the teachers goes missing, leaving footprints on the beach going into the water but none returning, everyone assumes it must be a tragic accident. The next day, another teacher doesn’t turn up and then, another one. The only police inspector on the island happens to be on a 2 week holiday and the organisation doesn’t want to cause a panic, keeping the disappearances quiet. Brooks and Lotello, aided by the hotel security investigate.
The story was well found and original and contained more than enough suspense. I didn’t guess the real murderer until the very end.
But unfortunately, I have some criticisms as well. In several places, there are very odd and crooked sentences. I’m not a native English speaker and I noticed them. Also, the author sometimes exaggerates the internal dialogues and explanations and turns them into real tedious speeches on the subject. I skipped a few pages at times. Some dialogues are rather rigid and artificial, that’s OK when talking legal matters but even then some translation for the layman would be welcome. The remainder of the time, judges are just ordinary people who speak like everyone else as well.
I doubt that in reality, the hotel security would ask the help of an American policeman and judge, but that’s the story here. The end of the book isn’t very strong as I’m not satisfied with the explanation of how the identity of the killer was discovered. The secondary story was also very suspenseful and did complicate and obscure the plot as should be done.
Most likely I’d read another book by this author because of the strength of the story, but maybe a better editor could help.
I received a free ARC of this book through AXP elite reviews and this is my honest review.