Practicing law in a large partnership, Sydney Jones was primed for making partner. Then her life turned upside down after a disagreement with her boss at Birdman & Birdman. Leaving the office, she was swiftly kidnapped and taken to her assailants’ hideaway, beaten, and raped. With no memory of whom she was put her at a disadvantage with her captors. Through gritted teeth, she promised a day … day of repercussions for their actions while mentally visualizing her revenge. Warned by her assailants to keep her mouth shut or else, she was delivered to her home. Not recognizing her former living quarters, she was careful in exploring her options for regaining her memory. Piecing together the reasons for her kidnapping brought her into contact with people, some she could trust and others risky. The problem was the amnesia prevented her from recognizing the difference. Tapped for crime once nudged her toward caution for something afoul was going on at Birdman & Birdman. She prepared for a fight. With a vision of fury she made a chilling decision – never to be a victim again.
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I thought Primed for Revenge was fantastic. The plot was great; very dark and twisted. I was gripped from the start and had a need to know why this had happened to Sydney and what she was going to do about it. The characters were brilliant and inspired the right about of hate and affection. A very high quality crime thriller.
Author Carolyn M. Bowen has a background in life planning and career development with advanced studies in psychology, adult learning, and career development, Her initial publication was CROSS-TIES (an historical romance), followed by THE LONG ROAD HOME (romance mystery) and CROSS-STEPPING YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS (life coaching short book), and now she concentrates her scriptive gifts on writing mysteries. She has created a strong female protagonist in Sydney Jones, a lawyer, and PRIMED FOR REVENGE is Book 1 of her Sydney Jones Series of novels.
Using her depth of experience in examining people’s behavior in addition to her keen sense of place (likely due to her extensive travels to other cultures), Carolyn presents in this book a well sculpted central character in Sydney Jones, and from the impetus of this initial book, the series merits our full attention.
The incident that is the core of this thriller is discovered in the opening paragraphs – ‘‘She awakened not knowing where she was or how she got there…She’d kill to remember her past and what brought her to this place and time, but she figured she wasn’t a killer, as she was the one beaten beyond recognition. She felt a lump growing on the side of her head peeking out from the blood-smeared follicles, The stench of blood was something she could never grow accustomed to…She had no idea how long she’d been there and when, if ever, anyone would return, especially her accosters…’
How this kidnapping plays such a key role in the story is explained in the synopsis; ‘Practicing law in a large partnership, Sydney Jones was primed for making partner. Then her life turned upside down after a disagreement with her boss at Birdman & Birdman. Leaving the office, she was swiftly kidnapped and taken to her assailants’ hideaway, beaten, and raped. With no memory of whom she was put her at a disadvantage with her captors. Through gritted teeth, she promised a day of repercussions for their actions while mentally visualizing her revenge. Warned by her assailants to keep her mouth shut or else, she was delivered to her home. Not recognizing her former living quarters, she was careful in exploring her options for regaining her memory. Piecing together the reasons for her kidnapping brought her into contact with people, some she could trust and others risky. The problem was the amnesia prevented her from recognizing the difference. Tapped for crime once nudged her toward caution for something afoul was going on at Birdman & Birdman. She prepared for a fight. With a vision of fury she made a chilling decision – never to be a victim again.’
This is a ‘hold your breath’ quality mystery, well written and well paced, an adventure that introduces a fine series. Highly recommended.
Primed for Revenge by Carolyn M. Bowen has a kidnapping, rape, embezzlement, murder, deception, and even romance. Sydney Jones is a lawyer in a large firm. She is kidnapped, raped, drugged and finally released and she has no memory of who she is or of being kidnapped. The events that bring her memory back and the people who helped her make for a suspense filled story. Sydney is able to deal with many problems and maybe she will even find romance and love along the way.
I received this book as a gift and I always review every book that I read. I found the plot and characters to be well developed. There are no cliff hangers in this book, but there is potential for additional follow-on stories. If you enjoy legal procedures, court trials and suspense, this book is for you. Enjoy.
Sydney Jones has made a success of her law career, but when she disagrees with her boss her life is upended. She is kidnapped, raped and beaten and has no idea why. When she is finally dumped back at her home, she has no idea who she is or if this is her home as she is suffering from amnesia. Judith, from her law firm, has been trying to find Sydney and hires a private investigator. At first, Sydney rebuffs Judith, but then realizes that she needs someone who knows who she is and allows her in to her home and life. Installing a gym in her home and practicing at the gun range, Sydney is now stronger and can protect herself as her memories begin to resurface. In my opinion, the whole plot was questionable in that she would go through what she did and not contact the police, especially since she was suffering from amnesia. Why did she trust Judith? Why did she trust the private investigator? For a smart lawyer and supposedly out for revenge, she seems to accept what she is told by people that she does not know or remember. I had too many questions as the story and the characters seemed impossible for me to believe. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)