A tightly-wound domestic thriller, THE REVENGE PARADOX packs a lot of punches in under 220 pages. Twenty-five-year-old Rudy finds himself crashing on the couch of his best friend’s dumpy apartment after his stepparents have him evicted from their home. His unconventional, traumatic beginnings have led him down a listless path with no job, education prospects, or real life of his own. Determined to seek vengeance against his stepparents Debra and Mitchell, Rudy steals a gun from Mitch’s safe and sells it on the streets for cash. The desperate move sets off an unexpected and dangerous chain of events that threaten to upend Rudy’s life just as he’s trying to finally get his act together—especially his whirlwind romance with a young woman named Laci. As his lies unravel and family secrets are revealed, the past catches up to everyone (with deadly consequences).
Regina Buttner’s THE REVENGE PARADOX uses multiple perspectives to build a sleek, compelling thriller. From the affluent Syracuse suburbs to the seedy, neglected city streets, the book’s viewpoint shifts from character to character, dropping hints of foreshadowing and teasing out darker secrets from the least expected places. The author’s own knowledge of the area lends an extra realism that anchors the book’s setting.
While each character has their own flaws and prejudices, quite a few of them are difficult to like—which is compelling enough, if taken as a complicated character study, a hard look at classism, and an uncomfortable microcosm of suburban life. That said, the inner-city stereotypes are, at times, just that. But characters don’t often have to be likable to be interesting, and it’s Rudy’s abrasive, chip-on-his-shoulder personality that drives the plot. His stepdad Mitch is a real piece of work, too, though it’s their relationship arc that becomes the most surprising as Rudy’s plan goes off the rails. Especially appreciated is the nuance given to Rudy’s heartfelt visit with his ailing grandmother, who suffers from dementia.
No character interaction is wasted, as everything adds to the growing conflict that’s always hovering around the edges. Uncomfortable arguments, gossip, and a whole host of bad decisions add to the fraught atmosphere. The book does an excellent job of exploring the messy, complex nature of relationships in all their forms, the heightened emotions that family members can draw from one another, devotion that becomes dangerous, and what kinds of havoc these things together can wreak.
Tightly-wound, Regina Buttner’s THE REVENGE PARADOX is a haunting tragedy of a domestic thriller. Messy family dynamics, complicated characters, and a rollercoaster of shocking twists make this an edge-of-your-seat, fast-paced read.
~Jessica Thomas for IndieReader