Vengeance is Mine by Harry James Krebs

Written by Carrie Anne-

Driven by a traumatic, violent event in his teenage years, Benjamin Tucker, a true crime author and amateur detective, is obsessed with solving crimes near his home turf of Holly Springs, North Carolina. When a series of decapitated female victims is found in neighboring communities, he is helplessly drawn in to the investigation. The hunt for the killer becomes personal and Tucker isn’t sure if he’s become the killer’s idol or his next victim. (from Amazon)

 

I loved this book.  Told entirely from Tucker's point of view, we truly never know what the killer is going to do next.  And sometimes what he does next will shock you!  Along the way, we find out the killer and Tucker bear an uncanny resemblance to one another, and that takes the story in an unexpected direction.  The final showdown with the killer seemed a little too neat, but it was unlike any I've ever read. 

 

The book is fast paced, even when the story line takes us to Tucker's home and his life with his new wife, their daughters, and housekeeper.  You would think that home life would be boring and out of place in a thriller, but it seems to be just what we need to fully understand and relate to Tucker, and appreciate the situation he is in.  There's just the right amount of levity in the story, too, both in Tucker's personality and his relationship with his family.  I have to say, Oscar, the family dachshund, with two legs shorter than the others, is a particular favorite of mine!

 

Unfortunately, for as much as we want to root for Tucker and his new life, he makes a few decisions that make this difficult for me. Maybe the lapses in judgment are just to show how human he is or how the stress of hunting for the killer is getting to him.  Either way, they were distracting for me and disappointing.

 

All in all, if there was another book available now, I'd read it in a heartbeat.  I'd like to see if any of the odd, nagging thoughts I have are resolved, but mostly I want to read more about Tucker and his life.  Hopefully, we can find out more about his past, and the events that shaped his future.