Next of Sin by Lisa Gordon

Next of Sin
DESCRIPTION FROM AMAZON:

A string of murders dating back to 1987 and in all that time only one witness and she doesn't even know she's a witness!

A strange recurring dream is haunting you; you see a psychologist and a psychic as your try to figure it out. Then......it hits you; the memory floods back! Suddenly everything you thought you knew about yourself, your family and your past is cast into doubt.

Someone you love is a KILLER.

But who will believe you? He is popular, successful, charming and credible. The police will say that you have no evidence. People will call you mad, paranoid or vindictive.

You select your allies with great care, as there are few you dare trust in this duplicitous new world.

You set about assembling the evidence: secretively and urgently, before he strikes again. However, he gets wind of your suspicions and this time when he kills, it's someone very close to you, someone who knows the truth.

Suddenly you realise that you are up against more than just him, he has eminent and influential friends and the scales of justice are rigged against you.

What would you do? What will Gaby do?

A book that will make you wonder if you can ever trust anyone again and the safe answer.....is NO.


MY REVIEW:





You witnessed a murder when you were hardly more than a toddler and you don't remember? I'll buy that. You're depressed and can't uncover the source of discontent until you indulged in a controlled substance and the memories flooded back? Okay. I'll bite. Your brother is a diabolical - and seemingly unstoppable - decades long serial killer, and you think you shouldn't tell anyone but your sister and then decide to take him on yourselves? Whooooaaaaa. Wait a minute.
This novel unraveled pretty quickly. Almost from the beginning the identity of the killer is known. Gaby had a lot of opinions based on nationalities or astrological signs that came across as annoying, but then, I think she was a flawed character. Perhaps it was to demonstrate how "stuck up" she was, and then her eventual change. I didn't like that Chantelle was a "dumb" blonde, well, I suppose that is incorrect. I didn't like that Chantelle specifically says she is nothing but a dumb glamour model so she would just follow Gaby's lead. I found Robbie's role as private detective in the story more interesting than Gaby's as the main character, even though it seemed too easy for him to gather all the information he needed. The dialogue was strange and sometimes distracting. Too many events and confrontations in the book were difficult for me to accept.
The story had its glowing moments and yes, the villain was extremely creepy, in fact, I think the villain was actually my favorite character in this book. He was smarter than everyone, and went for a very long time doing whatever he pleased without anyone being the wiser. If it wasn't for Gaby's slip under peer pressure to smoke a joint he may never have been found out. I felt he controlled the entire story.
I think the book got better towards the end, when the suspense built, other twists to the story unfolded that made Gaby's plight more difficult and forced you to wonder if Gaby would win and see justice or if she'd succumb to the same fate as those for whom she seeks revenge.
I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This review was originally written for The Bookie Monster

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