THIS ENDS NOW by TM Payne

 4.5* Book 1 was good, but omg, this knocks it out of the park.


Despite the lack of anything even vaguely Scouse - like in book 1 - other than the rooftop restaurant (that had me going as the scene of a crime but for COMPLETELY other reasons than what we shockingly see in just a couple of pages) that may be modelled on the real life Panoramic 34, this was an excellent, if really unpalatable with the reveals, tale of love, loyalty and justified revenge. I honestly didn't see the reveals coming, and had to admire the sang froid of a certain character who it turned out wasn't who they (using this neutral pronoun so as not to spoiler) seemed. Frankly, that person could have had a career on the stage/in film, had the circumstances been different. And, ugh, the planning that'd gone into the vengeance was to be admired, as were the reasons for it, despite the 'eye for an eye' ethos/feel. I wouldn't advocate it, but omg, was it deserved by those individuals that perpetrated unspeakable wrongdoings. There perhaps needs to be a word of warning, because some of the reveals may trigger readers, but at the same time, doing so would lose this tale its crux, so...


The tale works perfectly with the locale that is brought vividly to life. The revenge is executed with pure Machiavellian style and tbh, you had to feel for the victims, as well as admire their fortitude, cunning plan - no pun intended - and execution. I only started to see things that'd been present in plain sight once the reveals came, and in this book, and mine - again, no pun intended - the victims did right by doing wrong. I had immense sympathy with both, and admiration for how they took back control and exacted their revenge. 


The investigations were very plausible and that the cops were mostly taken in, were too. I think there are certain crimes where law enforcement has sympathy and empathy for perpetrators, and this is one of them, so that the cops didn't prevent things from happening, wasn't a bad thing. I could totally see this book on the small screen, it's so vividly played by the ones seeking revenge. And, the tale was certainly one of 'revenge is a dish best served cold'. Stone cold, actually. 


The red herring involving DS Sheridan's girlfriend was a tad overdone and out of the blue to make it more of a neon-bright herring, i.e. very obviously trying to throw readers off track, and took me out of the tale long enough for it to deserve a mention and lose it a 0.5*. But, it's still a great book, refreshingly set in the UK, with a believability and visual'ness that I think gets glossed over in US-set books/films/TV shows. I can't wait for book 3. 


ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer, for my reading pleasure. 


Sent from AOL on Android

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE SECOND GRAVE by Jeffrey B Burton

 4* Good intro to this series, and it didn't matter that I'm late to the party. This is an engrossing and engaging tale, partly because of the dynamics of the brother-sister duo, partly because of the brother's telling of the tale, partly because of the storyline but mostly because there are dogs in it, dogs that save the day, literally, and that don't get hurt. It's easy to start and there's enough told that I didn't find myself wondering about the previous book. It's quite fast paced and Cory is unaffected and literal and his 'voice' is youthful and believable and carries the tale well. The storyline is sad at the start, but that's just a facilitator for the plot, which is a good one. A sad one for some of the people involved, and boy is it good that justice of a sort, the type I find satisfying when someone's gotten away with something for too long, got done. 'Al' definitely deserved what they got. But those involved in the dec...
Read more

ALWAYS YOU AND ME by Dani Atkins

5* Even though I don't believe in HEAs anymore, this book had me crying because of THAT ending. I'm going to try and review without spoilering, but ugh, I started the book almost in tears and ended it in actual tears, and with hope that sometimes love does last.  This book is so much more than a second chance at love. It's about loving and loved but flawed characters whose lives with each other had their time, and when that time was gone, the love continued. Like Finn and Matt by Charlie Winters, this is a book I loved but won't ever read again. A part of me can't believe the author went there with the ending, but another part of me, the romantic-but-hurt part, wants to believe in the power of everlasting love.  ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my reading pleasure. 
Read more

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Mike Gayle

3* A pleasant enough 15-minute deckchair read. This isn't a deep novel with a big plot, but pretty much what the blurb offers. I didn't feel much for either character but the tale ended well for both - not going to spoiler, but it wasn't what I expected and it didn't quite ring true. 
Read more