Eye for Eye (Roy Cruise Book 1) Kindle Edition

Spoilers: Eye for Eye by J.K. Franko is the start of a four part series about revenge and the lives that are lost in the pursuit, by the course of the revenge and the crime that preceded it. The series may be a slow burning action into the complexities of vengeance and the mindset of the people before and after the act as well as the moral, ethical, and legal quandaries. However, Eye for Eye is not that. Instead, it is a gripping fast paced novel with several intriguing and fascinating plot twists and psychological mind games that characters inflict on one another. That is great for a stand alone novel, but one has to wonder how this pace would be kept up for an entire series (three interconnected books and a prequel). It could do well, but it could also get repetitive especially when the central crime and revenge act are in the first book. However, if you ignore Franko's long term plans, Eye For Eye is a very good and suspenseful read because you don't know what the characters are going to do and who to empathize with, if anyone.The plot focuses on affluent Floridians, Susie Font and Roy Cruise whose daughter, Camilla, was killed by Liam Bareto, who was texting and driving when the accident occurred.On vacation, the married couple watch Game of Thrones and observe Arya Stark taking revenge on Walder Frey for the deaths of her mother, Catelyn and older brother, Robb. This passage becomes a bit meta as they talk about a fictional character seeking revenge and how people approve of things in fiction that they wouldn't in real life, even though, you know, they are fictional characters seeking revenge and eventually do things that people would never approve of in real life.Anyway, their conversation is coincidentally, later proven to be not so coincidentally, overheard by Deb and Tom Wise, another couple that also suffered a personal loss. Their daughter, Kristy was sexually assaulted by Joe Harlan Jr., a Senator's son whose contacts and family wealth allowed him to be acquitted. The Wises have a proposition for Susie and Roy: since they are all in the same boat with a child that had been killed or assaulted by someone who got away with it, if the Wises take care of Bareto, could Susie and Roy kill Harlan for them? The offer is intriguing and with Susie and Roy's marriage on the decline, the two have very little to rely on. Both Susie and Roy have been severely affected by Camilla's death and Franko reveals the strain that the loss has in their marriage rather well. Susie has become an advocate against texting and driving, but her activism cannot hide the enraged emotions that she feels. Roy keeps most of his emotions internal and spends time making his business, Cruise Control, a success. The two are falling apart emotionally. When people are like that, they are willing to do anything to bring themselves back together, including murder. They explode their anger onto someone else, so they don't implode on themselves.The way that Roy and Susie is so cold and analytical, almost worthy of a villain in a James Patterson or Dennis Lehane novel. They have the advantage since Harlan lives in Texas and they have no prior connection to him. They plan the items that they need and the steps as methodically and nonchalantly as though they were making a shopping list.Roy and Susie are written as a couple who suffer a deep loss and most of our sympathies lie with them. In fact Harlan is so reprehensible and amoral that we can't help, but root against him. However, while Roy and Susie make their plans to murder him and entrap him, our allegiances don't really shift but we question Roy and Susie's motives and actions. They become so cold, that they are almost inhuman. It becomes less of good guys vs. bad guys and more bad guys vs. slightly worse guys.What also shifts allegiances are many of the revelations that we learn about Roy, Susie, and The Wises. We learn that the two seemingly random couples go back farther than was initially believed and that things were planned long before the events in which we read. A few of these twists are expertly written and fold neatly into the novel. They make the four characters more multilayered and untrustworthy than before. Some are somewhat implausible in the odds that these characters who knew each other once would be involved in each other's lives once again, but it ties into the book's overall themes of revenge for crimes long unresolved and secrets that are no longer buried.One anticlimactic bit so far is the revelation of the first person narrator. There are hints that the character is important to the storyline, but their identity is later revealed to be a mere observer introduced late into the story who bears no major part to the action preceding. Now judging by the preview of the next book, Tooth for Tooth, this character may become more involved as the series goes on. For now, they are just the teller of other people's stories and none of their own.

Exciting book, you won't want to put it down. Looking forward to more from this author!

Eye for Eye: (Talion Series, Book 1) by JK Franco is an extremely well written and engaging mystery that will most likely and immediately capture the reader from the opening narrative to the surprising and thrilling conclusion.Thirty years ago at a youth summer camp in Texas a young 11-year-old girl, by the name of Joan, met her untimely death. It was a dark night as reflected both according to the time of day and circumstances swirling around the finding of a young girl's body. Her lifeless body lay sprawled on the rocks near the edge of the river. A young life that was full of promise and held an exciting future.The authorities listed her death as she journeyed back to her cabin as a miscalculation and taking the wrong turn on the darkened campgrounds. The question of why a young camper was out after dark with only one shoe on was never addressed. The case was closed.Until another, 11 year old by the name of Arya became the force that brought the life and death of Joan full circle.Eye for Eye: (Talion Series, Book 1) by JK Franco is a well-written novel that has all the wonderful elements of a suspenseful mystery. The book is replete with the dark traits of the evil of humanity. Included is a strange request to perform a murder from a stranger who invokes the memory of daughters stolen from their parents.The author has gifted the reader with a well-thought-out and written murder mystery that is sure to increase the heart-rate of the reader and bring full immersion into the story.

Eye For Eye is a carefully plotted psychological murder novel. The book is told by a third-party, whose identity is not revealed until the end of the book. It all began when Joan was a 13 year-old at summer camp and witnessed something shocking to her. When running from the scene, she tripped, was caught, and then murdered. Years later, this murder comes up again.Roy and Susie Cruise are a wealthy couple that lost their 16-year old daughter, Camilla, in a tragic accident. Tom and Deb Wise’s daughter, Kristy, was the victim of a brutal assault. Now the couples want to plot revenge on the perpetrators, and they plan it in the manner of Strangers on a Train. But, is there a perfect murder, or is there a connection thing the two couples together that was overlooked, but will be discovered? The novel ends in a cliffhanger, setting you up to read book 2.I really enjoyed this novel, and look forward to the next book in the series. I only wished the book was about 75 pages shorter!#EyeForEye #JKFranko

If you are looking for a fast-paced, energetic thriller, this is just that. Eye for an Eye has a great premise, a really good idea that moves the plot and that is its main strength. The pair of main characters suffered a tragic loss when their daughter was killed and they suddenly get the opportunity to take revenge. I won't go into more details here, but I have some good and not so good thoughts about how the author developed that idea. I know this is a thriller and it is meant to be an exciting page turner, and it really is, but I would like to see some more depth and the inner life of those people who suffered a tragic loss. It would help to be more connected to them and understand their motivations. If you put that aside, the plot moves at a steady pace, writing is solid and there are some cliches, but nothing out of the ordinary. If you don't expect a masterpiece, this book will entertain you for a few days, that's for sure.

I thought that this was one of the most over-rated books that I have read in a long time. The premise was interesting, but the delivery was appalling in my opinion. The two main characters were both extremely unpleasant and not at all likeable - readers are presumably meant to feel sorry for them, but to be honest I thought they were purely caricatures of the supposed American rich & gorgeous set - yuck!The use of an unknown narrator was, frankly, very annoying and was almost condescending to the reader, and as for the supposed 'jaw-dropping twists', they were jaw-droppingly numb and "so-what".I can't understand how this book received so many high reviews and have no intention of reading the sequels. Waste of money if you ask me.....

"Eye For Eye", a crime thriller, is the first fiction novel published by author J.K. Franko, and it is not one for the faint hearted; deep philosophical questions are raised in this novel, where murder and revenge are key. Lex talionis, a.k.a. talion, is the law of retributive justice, dating back to ancient Babylonian law (Hammurabi's code) and to the Old Testament, "where the punishment should fit the crime, in degree and kind to the offense of the wrongdoer".Thus shall you punish wrongdoers.So that all who hear of your actions shall tremble and cease to do evil.You must show no pity: Life shall pay for life, eye for eye,tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.DEUTERONOMY 19: 19-21This is the basis of the Talion series, which begins with the Eye to Eye trilogy, now complete: Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth, and Life for Life.The   is a short prequel, written in the third person, which gives further insight into the catalyst for the series: the alleged rape of teenager Kirsty Wise on Halloween night in 2015.This novella literally covers the subsequent criminal trial, in quite a novel and fun way as it is an expanded adaptation of a short play (about 40 minutes, excluding credits) which took place in April 2019 in Covent Garden, London, for the launch of Eye for Eye; the reader can either choose to read the transcript of the proceedings, or to watch a live performance of it, and then resume the story at page 50, which covers the jury's deliberations and verdict, to then rejoin Kristy and her family in the aftermath of the trial, preparing us for what will be set in motion in January 2018 in Eye for Eye.I thought The Trial of Joe Harlan Junior was well worth a read, and we enjoyed the five-part play featuring the author, J.K. Franko, as the trial Judge; we also did engage in a debate on whether Harlan jr. had done it! For maximum enjoyment, read it, watch the play and decide whether justice was served before starting Eye for Eye which will reveal the whole truth.In Eye for Eye an unknown narrator recounts and reflects on events in Roy and Susie's lives; he claims to have learnt much of it, including many personal insights, from them, but we have no idea who he is or why they spoke to him. The opening sentence of the prologue sets the tone:"When I try to piece together how this whole mess began, a part of me thinks it may have started over thirty years ago. At least the seeds were planted that far back, in the early 1980s. What happened then, at that summer camp in Texas, set the stage for everything that was to come."Some chapters follow law enforcement and their investigations; at times these also include interview transcripts.Beside the main storyline, sub-plots, twists and turns unfold, and whilst some were predictable others were hard to see coming. Although the book ends with a revelation that sets up the next instalment, Tooth for Tooth, Eye for Eye can be read as a stand-alone novel.Franko's prose is engaging and to the point, without any padding; every sentence, every detail is there for a reason. The first time I read the book the first part felt a little slow as I could not yet see the bigger picture; the second time I devoured every word.The characters, situations and locations are incredibly vivid; you are there with them, sharing in their actions and emotions, and by the end of the novel, as a reader, you feel that you know these people. The author's legal and business backgrounds, as well as his local knowledge and copious research, come through to make the plot completely believable and effortless despite its complexity; only the very last set of circumstances seem unlikely, but still possible. At every step, the reader is challenged with implicit moral questions: 'what would you do?', 'how far would you go?' , 'how far is too far?', 'what defines justice, retribution, revenge and murder'Careful and intricate character building, and suspenseful story weaving are what make this novel stand out, as much as its ability to be thought provoking. It is a rollercoaster ride.If you are a fan of the TV show Games of Thrones be aware that the first chapter starts with a major spoiler to season six (2016) which is the premise that kick-starts the entire series of events that affect the lives of Roy and Susie, the main characters of the Eye for Eye trilogy. If you care about spoilers, be sure to watch season six before reading this book.Expect some strong language, and strong topics, including date rape, bereavement, mutilation and, of course, murder. Some parts do read like a manual to commit the perfect murder.Eye for Eye was without a doubt memorable (it had me hooked twice) and I am about to dive into Tooth for Tooth.

Most acts of murder are spontaneous and a product of jealousy or hatred. Given that, how would you go about getting away with murder if you remove spontaneity from the equation? That is the question the author poses for wealthy businessman Roy Cruise and his wife Susie.Well, first off, don’t leave a body. Without a body, you have a missing rather than murdered person. Without a body, there is no crime scene. With no crime scene, there are no forensics. Well, you get the gist.And then what if someone were to plant an idea in your head? If you have suffered a bereavement and the person responsible for that bereavement was culpable in a way that just chews you up inside; could you eliminate that person in such a way that the police are unlikely to be able to prove a case against you?That is the basic premise of this opening book of a trilogy. The feelings of loss, hatred, bitterness and entitlement are stripped back to the core and what unfolds is a very modern tale with its origins stretching back to biblical times. Throughout the book, you are gripped by the characters’ actions and you can take your pick as to who the villains of the piece really are. There are no shortage of candidates.For a debut novel, this is an absolute belter.

I do not remember the last time I felt goosebumps reading a book. The characters are fantastic and the way they think and act got me shocked. I initially thought this would be a typical crime thriller, but oh my gosh, it is so much more. I sat in bed for hours until I finished this. I needed to know what would happen, and I need to pick up the next book.The author has done such an excellent job, and so much research has been put into this. I am glad that events started to tie together and the connections left my mouth open in shock. While reading, I was curious as to who the narrator was and thought the epilogue was the best way to leave a reader hanging.

Kept me hooked from the first chapter and I've read it in a day. The characters are really interesting and realistic and the storyline is fast and exciting and I can't wait to read the next one x