Retribution

From Jillian P. Hoffman's website:

One rainy night in New York City, outstanding law student Chloe Larson wakes from a terrible nightmare. But it's not a nightmare-it's real. A stranger stands over her, a rubber clown mask covering his face, and in one, horrifying instant, everything in Chloe’s life is forever changed. She becomes a victim, a statistic. And no one is brought to justice. Twelve years later a very different Chloe is forging a formidable reputation as a Major Crimes prosecutor in the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. For more than a year she has been assigned to assist a task force of detectives who have been searching for a vicious serial killer nicknamed Cupid for the way he kills his victims. Nine women are dead and two are missing and the pressure is mounting to find the vicious killer. When the police stop a speeding motorist on the McArthur Causeway, it seems that the hunt for Cupid is finally over. But as Chloe begins the task of prosecuting the suspect, she soon realizes that this case will be anything but easy. Because her past is about to force itself on her present-and the terror is only just beginning. Sometimes there is a price to be paid for justice. And sometimes that price is awful. Revenge could cost Chloe her sanity. The truth could cost her life.

I normally don't read mystery novels because for the most part they not creative and I can predict them within a few chapters. The only reason I ordered this book from Paperback Swap was because I wanted something to listen to while I drive to work. This one had 13 cds and seemed slightly interesting. That being said, this book is AMAZING! It definitely has me reconsidering my "no mysteries" stance. There was no forced romance that felt like it was put there simply to have women interested. There is a little romance but, even though it's written by a woman, it is also not all consuming throughout the novel. The true story is the mystery and Chloe herself, the romance is just a by product. I thought that was a great way to go. I really hate when female characters spend the entire book mooning over someone when their life is literally falling apart. I just found out that there is being a movie made of it so I'm sure they'll play it up in just the way I hate.

Hoffman was able to surprise me several times, which is another reason I loved the book. If I can figure it out too soon, then I'm bored. And the twist she takes near the end...well, that was genius. I knew there was something more than the story we were being told but I simply didn't see it. Maybe it's because she didn't leave enough clues for the reader to get there on her own until she reveals a key piece, but it also didn't feel wrong when I did figure it out. It was more like "Of course!"

Like I said, I listened to the audio version. I was little confused because the cover and the cds both said they were read by Martha Plimpton but the beginning and end cds stated that it was read by Kathe Mazur. I had to do a serious search to even find a version with that name being read. Everything I saw said Martha Plimpton read the abridged version and the one lonely site I saw with Kathe Mazur listed said it was unabridged. I listened to the unabridged version but you'd think they'd put the right person reading on the cover! Very weird.

I highly recommend this book. If you listen, get the unabridged version. I can't imagine what they could possibly leave out in the abridged version. It would have to be terrible.