Official Review: Vengeful by AJ Parnell

[Prisallen]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Vengeful" by AJ Parnell.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Luke stepped between his students and a shooter, trying to save them, and got critically shot himself. He became depressed, blaming himself for not saving more students, and started seeing a counselor, Abigail. They dated secretly after he fell in love with her. Emily, a young woman who survived the shooting, also felt guilty and became suicidal, thinking the whole situation was her fault. Because Luke had been trying to help her, Emily called him one day to tell him goodbye before she died. Unfortunately, he got there too late and witnessed her death. Distraught and confused, he rushed to Abigail’s office for comfort. Anticipating a backlash for dating a patient, she coldly accused Luke of stalking her, placed a restraining order against him, and then secretly suggested suicide to him.

After surviving an overdose of medications prescribed for pain and anxiety, Luke begins encountering five different ghosts, including Emily’s. They inform him that their deaths were all orchestrated by Abigail, and they want revenge. She will have to pay for her deeds before they can move on. After being hounded constantly by them and fearing he will lose his mind if he does nothing, Luke decides to kidnap Abigail, transport her to the desert, and get her to acknowledge her crimes. He hopes this will appease the ghosts and let them depart. The psychological battle begins as Abigail tries to convince him he is hallucinating, and Luke reasons with her to admit what she has done. Meantime, the police are searching for Abigail.

Vengeful by AJ Parnell is a chilling crime drama with supernatural elements. This is the first story in the series; the next five books are prequels with each novel telling the story of one of the five ghosts. Although the ghosts are an important aspect of this novel, the details focus mostly on Luke and Abigail. Consequently, this is a standalone book with most of the pertinent questions answered by the end. It is fairly short, comprising only 177 fascinating pages. The author’s prose is descriptive, easy to understand, and difficult to put down. Imagination is shown in a plot that progresses in unexpected ways.

I enjoyed Luke’s character. He represents a good man, determined to make a difference in this world, proven by his willingness to risk his life for his students. You could sense his despair and his loathing to do what is asked of him. Abigail’s character is more difficult to fathom in the beginning. Did she just make unfortunate mistakes? Was she truly an evil person? Or did Luke suffer a mental breakdown and is now hallucinating because of his grief? The answer becomes quite clear as the story unfolds. The plot encourages the readers to ponder how far they would be willing to go to stop someone they believe to be wicked, especially without evidence to convict them in a court of law.

Regrettably, there were several grammatical, punctuation, and formatting errors. Although these were not very distracting, there were too many to give it a perfect score. Because of this, Vengeful achieves a rating of three out of four stars. Being very suspenseful with an imaginative plot, it deserves better than two stars.

I enthusiastically recommend this book to readers who appreciate crime dramas and psychological thrillers with paranormal aspects. Sensitive readers should be aware there are profanities and violence in the story.

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Vengeful
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[Praise GodWord]

Luke seems like a nice guy. But I hope he saves the right people.

[K-A-Y]

The bond between therapist and patient is a very crucial one so this seems like quite a read.
Thank you for this review, I'll be sure to keep a lookout for this one.

[Prisallen]

Luke seems like a nice guy. But I hope he saves the right people.

He was a nice guy who was put in a very tough spot. Thanks for reading my review and commenting!

[Prisallen]

The bond between therapist and patient is a very crucial one so this seems like quite a read.
Thank you for this review, I'll be sure to keep a lookout for this one.

I agree it should be a very important one. I hope you get a chance to read it!

[Josephe-Anne]

Wow! There are so many layers to this story - betrayal, guilt, psychological issues, and paranormal encounters all rolled into one book. The plot sounds tragic, but also intriguing. Now I want to find out more!

Thank you for a great review!

[KMGR70]

That's too bad about the errors you mentioned. It sounds like it has quite an intense plot with several issues that need to be resolved. It also sounds as if it has a few triggers for sensitive people. Thankfully, I'm not one of those people so I'm moving this one to my Want To Read shelf. Thanks for the review!

[Chigo Nwagboso]

Your review is so appealing and catches the mind. The book seems to be an intriguing read because it showed all through your review. Except for the flaws. Great review

[Prisallen]

Wow! There are so many layers to this story - betrayal, guilt, psychological issues, and paranormal encounters all rolled into one book. The plot sounds tragic, but also intriguing. Now I want to find out more!

Thank you for a great review!

It can be a little dark, but it has a light side too. I hope you get to read it. Thanks for reading my review and commenting!

[Prisallen]

That's too bad about the errors you mentioned. It sounds like it has quite an intense plot with several issues that need to be resolved. It also sounds as if it has a few triggers for sensitive people. Thankfully, I'm not one of those people so I'm moving this one to my Want To Read shelf. Thanks for the review!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Thanks for stopping by!

[Prisallen]

Your review is so appealing and catches the mind. The book seems to be an intriguing read because it showed all through your review. Except for the flaws. Great review

It really was an interesting book. I hope the errors get cleared up. Thanks for the comments!

[Raluca_Mihaila]

It seems like my kind of book so I'll add it to my list. Thank you for your recommendation and this engaging review!

[Goodness C N]

I don't love books with an atom of supernatural elements. Either way, your review is detailed. Bravo

[Prisallen]

It seems like my kind of book so I'll add it to my list. Thank you for your recommendation and this engaging review!

I think you will enjoy it! Thanks for reading my review!

[Prisallen]

I don't love books with an atom of supernatural elements. Either way, your review is detailed. Bravo

I understand. We don't all enjoy the same things. It would be a boring world if we did! Thanks for the comments.