Retribution

Rating:
Summary: You must read this!
Review: This is an abusolute page turner! Anyone who wants to read a book that they simply cannot put down, should pick up a copy. You don't have to be a lawyer or even a fan of legal thrillers to thoroughly enjoy this novel. There is something in it that everyone can relate to, and become engrossed in the story. I wouldn't miss it

Rating:
Summary: Genre Bender
Review: After a bumpy start wherein this reader was lost as to Who's on First and What's on Second, and how I happened to stumble into reading sadistic porn, this debut novel by Trisha Yearwood look-alike Jilliane Hoffman boils into what I came for: one fine Legal Beagle thriller. It is apparent that Hoffman has "been there, done that" on the side of Law and Order.

After the jumping, jolting, WOF WOS start, the pace is perky and the characters we're supposed to care about are worth caring about. There's more than a nod here to someone we all know and fear (that's all I'm going to say, I'm not going to give it away!) and if you read a lot in these genres, you're gonna think you "get it" before the rest of the gang. It makes my "SLEEP? Who needs SLEEP? Page turners - all night long" List.

Reviewed by TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining, although predictable, beach read
Review: This is a good book to curl up with on the beach this summer. A real page turner! It wasn't without it's flaws, but I argue that it is much better than some of the tripe that is being pawned off as "thrillers" these days. While the characters were in large unlikeable, it is also the case with MYSTIC RIVER by Lehane, yet everyone upholds him to be a fantastic author. The plot wasn't any less surprising as DA VINCHI CODE, yet people seem to think that was the best book ever written. In other words, it's amazing that the criticism applied to this book turns a blind eye to other books that suffer the same flaws. I wouldn't pick this book up to be intellectually stimulated, but for an entertaining read on the beach, this is perfect.

That being said, I was somewhat confused by the ending. The therapist confesses to the crimes, but nothing becomes of it, and the villian's guilty verdict is upheld by appeals. So was he actually framed, or was the therapist just crazy and saying things to mess with C.J.? I can't tell. It was probably the biggest chunk of plot development, yet it was rushed at the end. C.J.'s ethical transgressions were pretty much excused in the epilogue. It would have been fascinating to see how she dealt with her wrong doings, as well as the defense attorney, who seemed to be torn apart regarding her ethics at one point. So there are ways this book could have been made better, but take it as it is - a book for the masses to enjoy. I would be happy to read Hoffman again, which is more than I can say for other authors, such as Lehane and Brown, who people have touted over Hoffman in their reviews.

Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately, I've read it all before
Review: I have a confession to make; I really did not like this book. I couldn't finish reading past about a quarter of the way through - but because I ALWAYS read to the end I forced myself to skim read the rest. I can't understand such great accolades for stereotypical characters and a plot that, beyond the chilling rape scene at the beginning, failed to impress me.

I didn't like the style of writing from the beginning. Chloe Larson came across as irritating as hell in the first couple of chapters. I wanted to shout "Okay, I understand that she has perfect blond hair, a perfect size 4 body, a perfect life - enough already!' The plot was spoilt by over-the-top physical descriptions that sounded as though they came from notes on a Hollywood movie. Seriously though, the fact that the heroine had blond hair was mentioned far too many times in the first twenty pages, why didn't the editors notice this?

The book seemed to plod by, with paragraphs that went on forever and led nowhere. So much of it was predictable: Young blond woman is brutally attacked, she changes her looks and comes out the other side 'tough' but vulnerable, falls for brooding, dark-haired Italian Detective...and so on. I don't mean to sound patronising, it's just that I read a huge number of books and I've read this type of thing so many times before. What's more, I've seen the movie so many times before.

Overall I could not recommend this book because it was so hackneyed and stereotypical. The scariest and best-written scene was near the beginning and it all went downhill from there.

JoAnne

Rating:
Summary: Wow what a book
Review: This was a very good book. A very very good book. I like the way she used character development. Like at the beginning, Chloe is blonde. And then later, she dyes her hair, because she's grown. See? And now she's an adult, so she uses innitials. That's DEVELOMPENT.

And like the detective she falls in love with. You just KNOW she's going to fall in love with him, because he cares about her even though she has scares, and then she does, and it's like this was MEANT to be. It takes a real writer to see that, because some people might miss it.

I love the mystery about the initials DR. I totally missed that one. Even after she starts a paragraph with DR as a sentence all by itself, cause that puts the period right next to the letters, but I was still totally in suspense.

Also, I really like the way she puts all the dramatic thoughts in italics, because that way I know that they're, like, important. It's like in movies, when there's dark music, only this is a book, so they can't have music, I don't think, because then it would be a movie, only with words, and on paper, but otherwise, a movie.

Also, I loved the part where the big stupid FBI guy tries to take all the credit for the case. I've read a lot of crime books and writers always ignore the politics there. But not Jilliane! Brilliant move.

Overall, I found this easy to read, and I didn't have to look up too many words in the dictionary, like if there were fancy concepts or anything.

Rating:
Summary: A 'WOW' book
Review: New York, 1988, and blonde law student, Chloe Larson, has it all, a go getting boyfriend and an ensured future in a prestige law firm. Then she wakes to find a man wearing a clown mask leaning over her calling her by the pet name that only her father calls her. She is sexually and physically tortured for hours; her torturer finally leaves her a whisper away from death and mentally shattered. Twelve years later, she has dyed her hair a drab brown, changed her name to CJ Townsend and is assistant chief of the Miami State Attorney's office. Miami has been in the grip of terror as a serial killer, nicknamed Cupid, has been viciously murdering blond women. By chance, William Bantling is pulled over by a traffic cop, and a mutilated body is found in the boot of his car. As a routine work assignment, CJ acquires the case of prosecuting William Bantling, but when he stands up in court and speaks, C.J. realizes that he is the man who tortured her years ago. She soon realises that her involvement in that case might very well cause Bantling to be freed on a technicality, but without her on the prosecuting team, he may walk anyway. However, she has to stay together mentally, and Bantling knows which button's to press.

This is Jilliane Hoffman's first novel, and as an Assistant State Attorney, she is writing about what she knows best; and her best is excellent. This is a book worth ringing up work sick and staying home to read. Unputdownable. I was hooked from the first page and was not put back down until the last page. This book is courtroom drama at its best, and has twists and turns and big surprise ending. CJ is excellently portrayed as a woman with a tortured past - trying to put her life back together. The characters are all well written, and realistic, even the rookie cop who is first on the scene. There is a love interest, Dominick Falconetti, who is the lead investigator on the case, but this is kept to a minimum and Hoffman balances this with `Cupid,' a villain who makes Hannibal Lector look like a pussycat; he is one deliciously evil man. There is an undeniably exciting final confrontation, with a final resolution that is a tiny bit far fetched, but oh so different. This is a `wow' book, and you should do yourself a favour and read it.


Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book, kept me gripped until the very end.
Review: Great book, and it doesn't wimp out on the subject of retribution. I got grabbed from the first page where the main character, Chloe, gets raped and tortured. Her life falls apart at that point.

But then we see her several years later, her identity changed. Seemingly, she has left this event behind. But then the man who raped and tortured her becomes the prime suspect in a series of serial torture/murders. Once more, it seems that her life may fall apart again, but she is strong and perseveres. I don't want to reveal any more because it would "spoil" the many twists of the book. Do read it, I don't think you'll regret it.

Rating:
Summary: very good read
Review: I like this type of book and was very sorry to have finished it. I liked the suspense and thought she did a very good job of keeping the identity a secret. I am looking forward to more books from this author.

Rating:
Summary: Good for a first novel
Review: Good idea to have the suspect in custody almost from the first page of the book and then do some back-story and let people guess. But I got really tired of the way the lead character did nothing but stress and go without sleep, and get clammy and dizzy and go without food, and hyperventilate and zone out and tremble and freak. Sheesh. Get a grip. Noticed some surprisingly awkward sentence structure now and then that I thought an editor should have pointed out to Ms. Hoffman, but otherwise fairly good narrative for a first-timer.

I agree that the killer became obvious a little too early on. I think the last scene was super-scary in the matter-of-fact way the killer went about preparing his tools, but was dragged out way too much as C.J. defended herself from him. I don't want to tell the end, but it should have stopped a bit sooner. Worth the read over all.

Rating:
Summary: Be wary of other reviews
Review:
Ok, I have to add my two cents this since the other reviews are so extreme--either emphatically fantastic or emhpatically horrid. Let me try to be more fair.

First, the book is good until about halfway, then it feels too long, and it starts to feel too contrived.

Second, I'm no genius, and I typically don't figure out the killer in a mystery, but I knew the killer in this book on 306 of a 448-page book. That means the remaining 140 pages were horribly over-padded, in my opinion.

Third, the ending is ridiculous--he kills 11 others who are immobilized, but somehow C.J. is not immobilized and can defend herself. Please. And then after such horrible trauma where she's almost murdered, on top of the horrible trauma that has psychologically damaged her for years, C.J. suddenly appears happy at the end with Dominic. Again, please.

Fourth, be wary of some of the emphatic reviews. Given the publicity push to get this book sold, I have no doubt that the publishers post their own emphatically great reviews to sway opinion. This is just a wild guess, but if there are 20 emphatically positive reviews, perhaps half of them are real, and half are from lackies with an interest in strong sales in the book. I could be wrong. I doubt it.

Overall, this is an ok book with some interesting twists mixed with some very contrived events.

Buy this book at a discount (such as the cheap $4.49 Costco price), or wait to check it out at the library. It's worth reading, but not at full price.