William Kaine has been murdered, a victim of corporate espionage. Kaine’s survivors are a troubled lot. Wife Lauren is prone to bouts of rage. Son Mason is gay, closeted, and miserable. Kaine’s estranged brother Ryan is a recovering alcoholic. The only bond they share is resentment; each blames the other for their troubles. These family members are essentially strangers — the readers know them better than they know each other — yet they must come together to avenge William Kaine’s murder.
In T.O. Paine’s THE RESENTMENT sinister strangers cozy up to the Kaines following William’s death, slowly worming inside the family circle. The bad guys are looking for computer code hidden on an SD card. What kind of magical algorithm was William working on? Paine builds suspense by giving readers clues just ahead of the characters, resulting in a slow, tension-filled burn once the action gets rolling. Ryan’s reliance on AA to stay sober gives the novel a moral center, guidelines for battling addictions to alcohol, resentment, and anger. Paine has a firm handle on character motivation; the Kaine family is so angry they can’t even properly mourn the loss of their beloved husband and father. But beneath all that resentment lies a bed of guilt and shame that prevents Ryan, Mason, and Lauren from healing. Half of THE RESENTMENT is a murder mystery; the other half is a family drama about patching old wounds as best as possible and moving forward.
THE RESENTMENT doesn’t quite stick the landing — there are some improbable plot twists in the final chapters. At the novel’s close, some readers might feel cheated by Paine’s multi-character plot twist. But, overall, story is a terse thriller with rapid pacing and genuine suspense. Fans of Lee Childs and Jeffery Deaver will have fun with Paine’s work.
A satisfying blend of corporate thriller and family drama, T.O. Paine’s THE RESENTMENT overcomes a few shaky plot points with solid character development and a driving narrative.
~Rob Errera for IndieReader