Official Review: Nemesis by Bill Carson

[claire mckay]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Nemesis" by Bill Carson.]

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Nemesis by Bill Carson is a fast paced criminal thriller full of colourful characters, action and violence. It is the sequel to Necessary Evils which is about a normal guy John Kane who has his world turned upside down when his wife is murdered. He is consumed with fury and a desire for revenge on the criminals responsible and wreaks havoc upon the them. Nemesis begins with him initiating the second phase of his plan for revenge which is focused on the justice system that has failed him and in particular, an unpleasant, uncaring judge who has sentenced his new partner, Lynda, to 5 years in prison after the murder of her abusive husband.

There is also Jimmy Costa, the brother of the criminal that John killed and he is seeking his own revenge for that death. He is the psychotic leader of a criminal gang but after his deputies fail to find the identity of his brothers' murderer he enlists the services of the highly sinister and evil assassin, Harold Harper, to track down and murder John Kane. Also involved is the couple, Nick and Anna, who are ex police but are now starting up their own private investigator business after becoming disillusioned with police work and all its rules especially as Nick appears to have stolen some money from the Costa gang himself in the first book. Their first case is to investigate a murder which leads them straight to the heart of the war between Kane and the Costa gang. As if that's not enough drama, there is Andy Ryan, the specialist sniper who is called in by the government as events get increasingly out of control.

I haven't read the first book and while Nemesis makes sense without having read it, I felt that I lacked a bit of empathy and understanding for John Kane as I hadn't been through the full journey with him. He was just a normal guy but has an extreme and violent reaction to the death of his wife and it would have been better to have fully experienced that with him. I would recommend reading Necessary Evils first as based on this book it would be a great read and would also enhance your enjoyment of Nemesis.

The characters were all interesting and it might be a female bias but I really liked Anna's character as she is strong and capable in among all the testosterone flying around! Some of the male characters (Costa and Harper) are pretty extreme as they are assassins and gang lords so while they are exciting characters you don't relate to them in the same way. However the reactions of Anna and especially John Kane make you wonder how far you would go to save or avenge the ones you love. What actions would become acceptable and what would you be capable of if one of your family was killed?

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and diverse, the action moved along quickly and although there is no real mystery to be solved I was absorbed enough in all the action to keep turning the pages to see what happened next. I particularly enjoyed the roller coaster of an ending as it was dramatic, exciting and had a good few surprises in it. If you enjoy a well written, engrossing thriller then this book is well worth a read. I could easily see it being made into a big blockbuster film especially with all the strong characters and the explosive conclusion. It is quite violent and although the language is not too offensive I would recommend not making the mistake I did and eating while you read it as it is pretty gruesome in places!

I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. I was going to give it 3 stars until I hit the ending which I thought was very strong and exciting and was a very satisfying conclusion.

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[KLyons1]

This sounds good, but I think I'll look for Necessary Evils first. The reaction you described of a lack of connection to the protagonist is the reason I prefer to start most mystery series at the beginning (even in cases where the author's first few books were less well-done as they learn by doing). Glad to hear there are strong female characters, because we can always use more of those!

[sybil1reader]

Nemesis sounds like a good one. I already have the first book so I will put it on my to red list. Thanks for the thorough review.

[RILENTLISS]

Good Review! Very comprehensible and encompassing. It made me feel like I was reading the back of a new book at Barnes!

[claire mckay]

That's very complimentary thank you!