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The only sure way to destroy a man is to take what he cannot live without.
Three years ago, I had everything.
A beautiful wife.
A son.
A reason for living.
Until a ruthless task force, assembled under Mayor Michael Culling, with a brutal strategy to make the streets of Detroit ‘safe’, ripped away everything I loved in a deadly hunt called The Culling.
They tried to kill me, too. I wish they had. Now I'm cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife.
A promise—to avenge the wrong and set it right.
I’m no longer Nick Ryder. I’m a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose—one who's seen the dark and violent truth behind the city’s flawless veneer.
Michael Culling doesn’t know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I’ve kidnapped his beautiful wife.
An eye for an eye—isn’t that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him.
If she doesn’t destroy me first.
WARNING: **Not recommended for readers under the age of 18 due to graphic violence, sex and strong language. Trigger warning for self harm.
“Every scar told a story, but it was the ones we didn’t want others to see that told a truth."
This is a journey that will definitely resonate right vs wrong. The reader will definitely question where they lie on the spectrum of morals vs justice. It will test whether the reader sees things as strictly black and white or if they can also see shades of gray. Each page contained a plethora of the seven deadly sins: anger, lust, gluttony, covetous, envy, sloth and pride.
"As fierce and dominating as he seemed, the man was broken. Tortured by something. Wracked by some kind of pain."
Nick’s absolute pain, loss, destruction and anger was tangible. The flashbacks and memories of what happened, in cold blood, to his family were life altering. The tragedies that took his family most definitely shattered Nick’s foundation, leaving him a cold altered man. I have to admit those memories and Nick’s retribution often left me with bone deep chills.
“Those eyes, as beautiful as they were, held a terrifying emptiness— a complete lack of empathy”
Due to his past, I couldn't decide if Nick needed to be locked up in a padded cell or if he was as sane and justified as any one person could be after experiencing what he had. Revenge ruled his every move, his every thought: conscious as well as unconscious. However, what I do know is that in the real world I and every other morally righteous person in the world would define Nick as certifiably insane. We would scream for him to be behind bars. That it isn’t right to take justice into our own hands. Keep in mind though, this man was DAMAGED. Trust me the caps are needed. Everything about our anti-hero was a raw, gritty mind f*** that will have you locked and engaged from start to finish.
“How quickly a man could be reduced to an animal. A psychopath, disconnecting all sense of morals.”
Ricochet and, in turn, Nick are NOT for the faint of heart. There are a few trigger warnings. Included are descriptive rape/ child sex trafficking scenes and cutting. This story is the epitome of dark. There isn’t much light at the end of the tunnel. Prepare yourself for the gore and brutality. It can be quite graphic and disturbing.
Was it a little far-fetched? Yeah, it definitely was. But, in all honesty, I was totally ok with that. I think in the moment and mood I was in it worked perfectly for what I needed. I was able to suspend reality vs fantasy to sit back and enjoy this page turning, edge of your seat story. Was Ricochet perfect in every sense of the word? Simply put—nope! However, I thought it was without a doubt perfectly imperfect.
In my humble opinion, Ricochet was disturbingly brilliant.
Keri Lake—I am kind of in love with this author right now. Definitely girl crushing hard. I had never read anything from her before and this book brought me out of one hell of a book slump. I originally loaned this from a friend and had to immediately buy it. My lord, those characters, those words, those vivid descriptions that had me reeling and feeling as though I lived amongst the pages with these characters.
Keri Lake is a married mother of two living in Michigan. By day, she tries to make use of the degrees she’s earned in science. By night, she writes dark, edgy paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Though novels tend to be her focus, she also writes short stories and flash fiction whenever distraction sucks her in to the Land of Shiny Things.
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