Title: Eye for an Eye

Author: M. J. Arlidge

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Orion

Publication Date: 20th July 2023

Rating: 4.5/5

Cover:

Summary:

OUR MOST NOTORIOUS CRIMINALS HAVE HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.
UNTIL NOW…

‘Emily’ is a devoted single mother.
‘Jack’ starts a new job in a new town.
‘Russell’ may be falling in love.

They all share the same secret:
none of them are who they say they are.

They are among only nine criminals in the UK who have been granted lifelong anonymity, for their own safety, because of their terrible crimes.

But what if someone exposed their true identities to the families of their victims, who are desperate for revenge?

Probation officer Olivia Campbell is caught in the crossfire of this unprecedented crisis – and as the hunt for the mole behind it all intensifies, so too does the search for the vigilante killers let loose by the leaks…

Everyone is a suspect. Anyone could be a killer.
Who deserves justice? And who gets to decide?

Review:

I was immediately hooked by the premise of Eye for an Eye – what would happen if the criminals that have been granted new identities were revealed to the families of their victims? Would revenge be justified? Or gratuitous? It’s a thorny and complex moral dilemma and one that drives the momentum of this intense thriller brilliantly. We are thrown into the action at breakneck speed in the first chapter and introduced to a broad cast of characters in the short and snappy chapters that follow. This could have been overwhelming but actually feels just right for the story. Plus, the characters are well defined and distinct enough to make their mark in the reader’s mind effectively.

Eye for an Eye is a pretty chunky book but I absolutely flew through it, desperate to see how the chips would fall and who would be left standing at the end. This is a book that will undoubtedly bring up questions of morality and ethics, and there are no easy answers to be found. The story offers a case for both sides of the argument of what justice truly means and will definitely provoke strong feelings no matter which side you fall down on. Eye for an Eye is a sharp, harrowing, propulsive and thought provoking thriller that I would highly recommend. You won’t be disappointed.

✶✶✶✶.5

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for my place on the blog tour and for the copy of the book. My review is entirely my own honest opinion. 

Buy the book:

Waterstones | Blackwell’s | Amazon