Review of Unknown Vengeance
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Amanda Nicole Newton
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- Latest Review: Unknown Vengeance by Patrick O'Brien
Review of Unknown Vengeance
[Following is a volunteer review of "Unknown Vengeance" by Patrick O'Brien.]
Unknown Vengeance by Pat O'Brien is an excellent thriller crime novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning right up until the end. While it was no surprise who the killer was, the main twist doesn't have anything to do with the psycho's identity. If you can piece together what the numbers 67, 60, 10, 4, 47, 17, 43, 20, 10, and 32 have in common before the last chapter, you still have only solved half of the mystery!
This novel looks at a crime spree in Buffalo New York that is being investigated by two Buffalo Police Department detectives named Rhody Richardson and Jon Wayne. It also looks at the connected storyline of a psychiatrist named Dr. Kaileen Taylor who worries about her recently widowed patient, Paul Schon. Detective Rhody Richardson has the best case closing rate of the entire department but even he still needs help to solve this crime. This book features a lot of clues to what is going on as many people connected to the medical field are brutally murdered. Each victim is tortured while still alive and then killed, leaving a number between 4 and 67 carved into the skin of their chest. They don't share a race, religion, neighborhood, or even job, so finding the killer is tricky!
I thought that this book was an excellent thriller. It kept me reading right to the end. I wanted to know what was going on with the numbers, what linked all the victims, and why the killer was going to such over-the-top methods to kill his victims. It kept me laughing each time Detective Wayne was introduced to a new character as they always ended up asking him, "Wait, like the actor?". I couldn't imagine having a name so well-known! The only thing I didn't enjoy was that you know so early on who the killer is. From a few chapters in, I already knew who the bad guy was. This wasn't a major problem as the rest of the plot will keep you guessing.
I believe this novel is professionally edited. It was edited exceptionally well and I noticed no errors myself while reading. Although I will admit that by the time the case was wrapping up, there could have been a ton and I'd have been too into it to notice! That's how good this book was, that I just kept going and going until it ended.
This book would appeal to an adult audience that is looking for a good thriller featuring crimes, mental illness, and a complex puzzle to solve. It can get a bit gory and it is very detailed. Even from the beginning, it describes the killer's body in very formal terms such as his trapezium, T2 to T3 vertebrae, and the "oily excrement of his pores". Keep in mind that if you have a weak stomach for descriptions of blood or violence that this may not be the book for you.
I rate Unknown Vengeance 4 out of 4 stars. It was well-edited and so interesting that to rate it any less would be doing the book a disservice. I enjoy books that are more accurate in their police investigations and descriptions of the victims and the killer. A good crime thriller for me is one that I can't solve before the police do, so I have that same sense of shock as they experience. This book hit on all of those points for me, so it was an excellent choice.
******
Unknown Vengeance
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Unknown Vengeance by Pat O'Brien is an excellent thriller crime novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning right up until the end. While it was no surprise who the killer was, the main twist doesn't have anything to do with the psycho's identity. If you can piece together what the numbers 67, 60, 10, 4, 47, 17, 43, 20, 10, and 32 have in common before the last chapter, you still have only solved half of the mystery!
This novel looks at a crime spree in Buffalo New York that is being investigated by two Buffalo Police Department detectives named Rhody Richardson and Jon Wayne. It also looks at the connected storyline of a psychiatrist named Dr. Kaileen Taylor who worries about her recently widowed patient, Paul Schon. Detective Rhody Richardson has the best case closing rate of the entire department but even he still needs help to solve this crime. This book features a lot of clues to what is going on as many people connected to the medical field are brutally murdered. Each victim is tortured while still alive and then killed, leaving a number between 4 and 67 carved into the skin of their chest. They don't share a race, religion, neighborhood, or even job, so finding the killer is tricky!
I thought that this book was an excellent thriller. It kept me reading right to the end. I wanted to know what was going on with the numbers, what linked all the victims, and why the killer was going to such over-the-top methods to kill his victims. It kept me laughing each time Detective Wayne was introduced to a new character as they always ended up asking him, "Wait, like the actor?". I couldn't imagine having a name so well-known! The only thing I didn't enjoy was that you know so early on who the killer is. From a few chapters in, I already knew who the bad guy was. This wasn't a major problem as the rest of the plot will keep you guessing.
I believe this novel is professionally edited. It was edited exceptionally well and I noticed no errors myself while reading. Although I will admit that by the time the case was wrapping up, there could have been a ton and I'd have been too into it to notice! That's how good this book was, that I just kept going and going until it ended.
This book would appeal to an adult audience that is looking for a good thriller featuring crimes, mental illness, and a complex puzzle to solve. It can get a bit gory and it is very detailed. Even from the beginning, it describes the killer's body in very formal terms such as his trapezium, T2 to T3 vertebrae, and the "oily excrement of his pores". Keep in mind that if you have a weak stomach for descriptions of blood or violence that this may not be the book for you.
I rate Unknown Vengeance 4 out of 4 stars. It was well-edited and so interesting that to rate it any less would be doing the book a disservice. I enjoy books that are more accurate in their police investigations and descriptions of the victims and the killer. A good crime thriller for me is one that I can't solve before the police do, so I have that same sense of shock as they experience. This book hit on all of those points for me, so it was an excellent choice.
******
Unknown Vengeance
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad?"
Alice: "I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”
Alice: "I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”
Latest Review: Unknown Vengeance by Patrick O'Brien
