Author: Jack Jordan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK
Publication Date: June 2024
Genre: Thriller / Suspense
Buy The Book: Amazon
Description: The latest pulse-pounding thriller from the master of the moral dilemma and Sunday Times bestseller Jack Jordan.
Aaron Alexander has just been released from jail after serving eleven years for causing the death of Joshua Moore in a hit-and-run. Now a free man, all he wants to do is stay on the straight and narrow and leave his troubled past behind him.
But for Joshua’s mother Evelyn, eleven years in jail isn’t nearly enough. Consumed by grief and rage, she has been waiting for Aaron’s release, counting down the days until she can exact the revenge he deserves. And now that time has come.
However, as Evelyn and her husband Tobias embark on a road trip to track Aaron down, they soon find themselves caught on two different sides of a gripping game of cat-and-mouse. Because Tobias knows what Evelyn is planning, and he will do anything to save her from herself. Even if it means protecting the man who killed their son.
Locked in a collision course set in motion eleven years ago, Aaron, Evelyn and Tobias are about to find out whether the road they have chosen leads to retribution . . . or redemption.
My Thoughts: Redemption by new to me author Jack Jordan explores the lives of three people and how far someone is willing to go to exact revenge.
Eleven years ago, Evelyn and Tobias Moore received the worst possible news a parent could ever hear. Their nine-year-old son, Joshua, was killed by a hit and run driver. Eleven years later, his killer, Aaron Alexander, has been released from prison and is trying to rebuild his life. The grief that Evelyn and Tobias have carried have completely changed them. No longer are they the parents of a little boy, but they are no longer the loving couple who fell in love more than two decades ago. They are like strangers to one another. Tobias is desperate to find the woman his wife used to be. Evelyn feels nothing but contempt for her husband and rage at Aaron Alexander. She is on a mission and is determined that nothing and nobody will stop her. She plans on hunting Aaron down and killing him. Only then will the pain she has carried be overcome.
My heart broke over and over for all three of these characters. I had loads of empathy for Evelyn and Tobias but as she moves forward on her quest for vengeance, I felt that empathy begin to fade and horror and disgust began to take over. I understood why she felt she needed to do this but I couldn’t understand how she could actually do the things she ends up doing.
I felt bad for Tobias. Not only has he lost his only child to a senseless act, but he is losing his wife to her grief and anger. She is no longer the woman he married, but he still loves her and believes if he can get through to her somehow, to stop her, she will come back to him. I admired his courage to want to do the right thing, knowing his life could be jeopardized if he gets in his wife’s way. The actions he has to take to not only survive but change the course of events unfolding in front of him were quite intense and scary. I honestly would not know what I would do if I were in his shoes.
I wanted to hate Aaron. Perhaps at the beginning of the story, I did a little. What kind of person would strike a child in the road and not stop? A monster, certainly, but I soon learned that Aaron wasn’t a monster. He was a messed-up kid, who came from a messed-up home, got caught up with the wrong people and became a drug addict. These are not excuses for his behavior but are factual insights into the person he was. While in prison, he got clean and wanted to make something of himself. As the story progressed and I got to know Aaron better, I understood who he was and why he was in the car that night.
This story was absolutely riveting! How far would any of us be willing to go to exact revenge? How long could we feed the anger and hate in our hearts, keeping it alive in our soul? I expect we would likely turn out the way Evelyn has. Eleven years is a long time to wait, plan, prepare. It’s no wonder she lost parts of her soul, her humanity, her compassion and her love. This story gave me the anxiety one feels when they are trying to get to the finish line before the timer runs out but I had to keep going. I had to know what was going to happen. Would Evelyn come to her senses on her own and lay down her sword? Would Tobias be able to stop her in time before she did something she could never come back from? Would Aaron be able to survive and outwit her? Could he really build any kind of life if he’s on the run and always looking over his shoulder?
In addition to Evelyn’s thirst for blood, this story offers up other dangers and villains that pose a threat. The backdrop of this story is a massive wildfire near Aaron’s home. Driving towards the fire is never a good idea, but Evelyn doesn’t care. Drug dealers and members of the Proud Boys are also a threat to both Tobias and Aaron for multiple reasons. There are multiple supporting characters that round out the story with substance, helping the story move forward.
My Final Verdict: I suspect this book will remain with me, in my mind and my heart, for a very long time. I highly recommend this story not just for the story itself, but for the characters who are so vulnerable in their humanity and lost in their mistakes. Are these characters capable of only retribution? Is redemption a possibility? Read this book and walk that road with Evelyn, Tobias and Aaron. It’s a journey that you will never forget.
Thank you to the publisher, Simon and Schuster UK, who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
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