Alice Granger is no ordinary survivor. She has a tale to tell, a story of revenge.
Alice feels driven to protect the innocent from dangerous men. Men like her father. Men who hurt children. Predators who prey on the innocent. And there’s nothing Alice won’t do to make them pay.
Alice wants to make them suffer as their victims did. But the police are one step behind. And as the net closes, Alice’s life spirals out of control, the lines between good and evil becoming ever more blurred as she attempts to escape capture.
When the hunted becomes the hunter, is anyone innocent?
My Review...
In this book Alice tells the story of her life as if in a journal as prescribed by her therapist. It charts her journey from being a victim of childhood abuse to her current state of avenging vigilante angel/devil.
Should sadistic known paedophiles be free to walk among us? What the law says about this probably conflicts with what most of us feel about this question. That question is the whole crux of this novel.
Sometimes justice isn't legal and what's legal sometimes isn't justice.
So Alice starts her serial killings. Known nonces only. Justice?
But she relies on alcohol and prescription drugs . Addict?
The voices in her head become louder. Mentally ill?
As the net closes in, she must attack non-paedophiles to stay free.? Violent criminal Or?
Or perhaps a subtle combination of all of the above?
The author is a one time senior social worker with responsibility for abused children. He suffered PTSD and writing was a form of therapy for him also. One cannot help but speculate that, after years of frustration with a system that cannot cope, he was living vicariously when writing as Alice in dealing with the scum of the earth.
The language is basic and simple there is no colourful and witty prose or hidden foreshadowing of quirky plot twists which I often enjoy in a novel. However the style suits the story, indeed it has a true-life documentary vibe to it all.
It does succeed in making you see the world from Alice's point of view. Any book that changes your frame and lets you inhabit someone else for even a short time is a good book.
what happens in the end to Alice? It's worth reading the book to find out.
Selected Quotes...
"I’m sure the multi-agency professionals involved are well-meaning. But they can’t guarantee a child’s safety as I can. Death is final, and supervision is not."
"I hope they’re suffering still, burning for eternity. If there is a netherworld somewhere in infinity, it’s full of monster men like them, destroyers of innocence. I’m on the side of the angels."
"‘At least our killer only murders nonces. Would it really matter if he killed a few more?’"
"I picked up the blow torch next, lighting it and burning his bare chest for a minute or two as his whimpering became an agonised wail. There was a smell of charred meat that stimulated my appetite."
About the author...
John Nicholl, an ex-police officer, social worker and lecturer, is the award-winning, Amazon bestselling author of 11 darkly psychological suspense thrillers. John’s books are set in the UK and have a Welsh flavour. He began writing after leaving his job heading up child protection services.
John's English language books are published by leading crime and thriller publisher - Bloodhound Books
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