Amy's "I need way more than 5 stars" Review of Ricochet by Keri Lake

Synopsis

WARNING: **Not recommended for readers under the age of 18 due to graphic violence, sex and strong language. Trigger warning for self harm. 

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. 

I need way more than 5 stars – The Culling … otherwise known as Devil’s Night. The night that Nick Ryder’s life changed forever and revenge became his sanity. This, my friends, is excellence. Let me warn you though it is not for the squeamish as there is detailed depiction of murder, devastation, darkness and loss so unfathomable it will seep into your pores and hold you confined unable to escape. The emotions in this story are so well executed in words that I was sitting in horror and pain for Nick and Aubree. Ms Lake places her leading man in a place worse than hell; bottom line. There is no way to candy coat it. In contrast the exquisite love that brought on the thirst for revenge is also revealed to us through Nick’s memories. Aubree Culling’s scars run just as cavernous as Nick’s. This is one of the most captivating female leads I have encountered in a long time. Her physical strength and her will to survive make you want to jump through the pages into this world and stand alongside Nick. The brutality she suffered at the hands of a evil and malicious man (not saying who no spoilers) is barbaric to say the least. Corrupt law enforcement, bought politicians and drug infested “crews” cement her to the torture of staying where she is. As you peal this story back page by page the depth of these two characters will astonish you. Ms. Lake outdid herself in creating a echoing trek that seemed to plunge you further and further into a epic storyline. Alec Vaughn, Chief Cox, Michael and other characters revealed throughout the pages will have you questioning every moment of pleasure and pain. I must just have some desire for darkness as I savored every word of Ricochet. I promise you if you can live through the hurt it will be worth every minute you spent consumed in Aubree and Nick’s stories. Nick’s flashbacks are seamlessly written into the dialogue at the exact moment your racing heart needs to know. The compassion and empathy you experience for these two characters will overcome and outweigh the disgust coursing through you from the events that unfold. I highly recommend clicking up this book. It will stun you, enslave you and allow you to witness the rise from an unbearable darkness into a blinding light of hope.