Official Review: Vengeance by Bryan Koepke
Posted: 21 Oct 2015, 17:57
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Vengeance" by Bryan Koepke.]
3 out of 4 stars
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In his thrilling mystery, Vengeance, Bryan Koepke makes his debut by taking readers on a roller coaster ride. Bryan tells the story of Reece Culver, an aerospace engineer turn private investigator, who gets more than he bargained for when he takes on a missing person’s case. Bryan takes the mystery world by storm with this novel and makes a name for himself among the likes of Patterson and Koonz.
Shortly after his father’s death, Reece Culver ends his career as an aerospace engineer to become a private investigator. While Reece contemplates the events surrounding his father’s death, Crystal Thomas walks into his office seeking to hire him to find her missing mother. The case takes Reece on what seems to be a wild goose chase throughout the Midwest. This case has everything thrilling to a P.I, art theft, gambling, murder and even a bit of romance. As the case progresses, Reece discovers evidence that causes this case to hit closer to home than he ever expected. Will he be able to find a woman who has been missing since 1989? Will his emotions and personal vendetta get in the way of his job?
For this being his debut novel, Bryan Koepke utilizes all the elements that take a novel from being okay to being fantastic. Once you get started in the story, it is difficult to let the book out of your hands. While the story is thrilling and fast paced, there are a few moments where it seems to stall before picking back up. Some scenes feel forced and choppy, but those moments do not take away from the overall effect of the novel. There is a lot going on in the story with several different story-lines happening at once. It is almost as if Koepke had so many stories wanting to tell their tale that they all fell into this one. Oddly enough though, it works.
The characters are realistic and well-defined. They each have strengths and flaws making them unique to the story. This also makes it easier for readers to relate to the characters. I enjoy novels flawed and personable characters like this. This gives them room to grow and become stronger as the story progresses. I found the character of Crystal to be mysterious and interesting. She is the kind of woman who will do anything to protect those she loves, even if that person has done despicable things. While the characters are strong and well developed, there are a lot of them. Too often it gets hard to follow which characters are in each scene.
I enjoyed this novel a great deal. I think any mystery, suspense and thriller fan would enjoy this novel. Murder mystery fanatics may find a new favorite author in Bryan Koepke. I also believe those looking for a good starter mystery would find a gem within Vengeance.
As for a rating, I would give this novel a 3 out of 4 because there are moments of staleness and the over abundance of characters.
******
Vengeance
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
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In his thrilling mystery, Vengeance, Bryan Koepke makes his debut by taking readers on a roller coaster ride. Bryan tells the story of Reece Culver, an aerospace engineer turn private investigator, who gets more than he bargained for when he takes on a missing person’s case. Bryan takes the mystery world by storm with this novel and makes a name for himself among the likes of Patterson and Koonz.
Shortly after his father’s death, Reece Culver ends his career as an aerospace engineer to become a private investigator. While Reece contemplates the events surrounding his father’s death, Crystal Thomas walks into his office seeking to hire him to find her missing mother. The case takes Reece on what seems to be a wild goose chase throughout the Midwest. This case has everything thrilling to a P.I, art theft, gambling, murder and even a bit of romance. As the case progresses, Reece discovers evidence that causes this case to hit closer to home than he ever expected. Will he be able to find a woman who has been missing since 1989? Will his emotions and personal vendetta get in the way of his job?
For this being his debut novel, Bryan Koepke utilizes all the elements that take a novel from being okay to being fantastic. Once you get started in the story, it is difficult to let the book out of your hands. While the story is thrilling and fast paced, there are a few moments where it seems to stall before picking back up. Some scenes feel forced and choppy, but those moments do not take away from the overall effect of the novel. There is a lot going on in the story with several different story-lines happening at once. It is almost as if Koepke had so many stories wanting to tell their tale that they all fell into this one. Oddly enough though, it works.
The characters are realistic and well-defined. They each have strengths and flaws making them unique to the story. This also makes it easier for readers to relate to the characters. I enjoy novels flawed and personable characters like this. This gives them room to grow and become stronger as the story progresses. I found the character of Crystal to be mysterious and interesting. She is the kind of woman who will do anything to protect those she loves, even if that person has done despicable things. While the characters are strong and well developed, there are a lot of them. Too often it gets hard to follow which characters are in each scene.
I enjoyed this novel a great deal. I think any mystery, suspense and thriller fan would enjoy this novel. Murder mystery fanatics may find a new favorite author in Bryan Koepke. I also believe those looking for a good starter mystery would find a gem within Vengeance.
As for a rating, I would give this novel a 3 out of 4 because there are moments of staleness and the over abundance of characters.
******
Vengeance
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like literarycat's review? Post a comment saying so!
