Redemption Road by John Hart

ISBN-13: 9781848541825
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton 
Publication Date: May 2016
Format: Trade Paperback, 432 pgs
Source: Purchased

Where shall I begin? There are so many issues and events happening here that they made my head spin (in a good way). John Hart is an excellent writer and an excellent storyteller as well. The plot, the characterisation as well as the suspense are stunning and though this is a thriller, it is much more than the conventional whodunit or any of those unreliable characters who mess with our minds. No, this book isn't that but simply a great suspense story but oh, how it had captured my attention right from the beginning till the end! 

To begin with, Elizabeth Black has been with the police force for thirteen years and she's seen through many horrible crimes and dead people. She couldn't forget the case whereby she single-handedly rescued a girl from a locked cellar and shot her two kidnappers dead. She is labelled as a hero but the state cops think otherwise. They feel eighteen shots is unjustifiable even for criminals. But there are also people who thinks Elizabeth is a heroine for the act she has committed in order to save the girl. As for Elizabeth, this case haunted and emotionally affected her. 

However, this story tells more than the abduction case. Adrian Wall, an ex-cop whom Elizabeth has admired since young was put behind bars for a murder crime. He is finally free after thirteen years of torture and abuse in prison; Elizabeth believes he is wrongly convicted but evidence said otherwise. Gideon Strange, a fourteen-year-old boy is waiting for a chance to avenge the death of his mother and Adrian is the person he is waiting for. And somewhere deep in the forest, a body is found on the altar of an abandoned church. The method of murder matches Adrian's thirteen years ago. 

Redemption Road is one of the best thrillers I have read thus far this year. This novel is brimming with tension and suspense; and it evoked so much emotions in me. It is a dark story; filled with horrible deeds and more horrible people but there is also a bright side to it as well that made my heart ached with the love and compassion some characters did for their loved ones. Yes, this is a book about righteousness, justice and redemption but it is also a book about love and faith. I wished I could say more about this book yet I know any more I said would be a spoiler. This is a story filled with twists and turns and is a must-read for all crime thriller fans.