Portrait of Vengeance ~ Review

Portrait of Vengeance
A Gwen Marcey Novel #4
By Carrie Stuart Parks

When the Interagency Major Crimes Unit that Gwen Marcey is currently working with is assigned a case that is too eerily like her past Gwen takes the case. The similarities to what she has hidden for years along with the proximity to where it happened is too coincidental to ignore.

But confronting her past may be more than Gwen can take when the very people she trying to help take offense with her very presence and her ex-husband is demanding sole custody of their daughter. But when Gwen targeted she can't help wondering if the danger is from the past or the present.

But with a young girl missing and the clock working against her Gwen has her work cut out for her. She is determined to bring Beatrice home and find the person responsible for what she believes is a string of serial killings. But is her determination to finally face her past making her see a pattern where none exists?

First off this is most definitely a mystery so mystery fans take note of this one. Second, this is the fourth book in the series, which I will admit I did not know before getting this book in my hands. Yes, I could have done a bit of research and easily found out that this was part of a series. But had I done so I might not have picked this book to review. Having not previously read the previous books I was not at a disadvantage when I started reading this book. I was not familiar with some references to previous cases, situations, etc., but that had no bearing on my reading experience.

I will admit there were a few scenes that were a tad gruesome for my normal reading fare but not to the point of where I felt a need to be done with the book. And her ex-husband is quite the "charmer" from the few scenes that he puts in an appearance. And in case you're wondering it is really hard to figure out just who the bad guy is in this one.

After reading Portrait of Vengeance and the small excerpt of the first book I have to read the other books (Time to pull out the library card!) If you want some reading that will keep up at night don't pass on this book. And for those who might find this of note Gwen is a cancer survivor and there are (I think) some attempts at humor in regard to this that I'm afraid I did not find humorous. But that could be me.

I was provided a review copy of this book by BookLook Bloggers /Fiction Guild with no expectations of a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.


About the Book:

An unsolved case. 

A tempest of memories. 

The future’s at stake—and time is running out . . .

Gwen Marcey has done a good job keeping the pain of her past boxed up. But as she investigates the case of a missing child in Lapwai, Idaho, details keep surfacing that are eerily similar to her childhood traumas. She doesn’t believe in coincidences. So what’s going on here?

No one knows more about the impact of the past than the Nez Perce people of Lapwai. Gwen finds herself an unwelcome visitor to some, making her investigation even more difficult. The questions keep piling up, but answers are slow in coming—and the clock is ticking for a missing little girl. Meanwhile, Gwen’s ex-husband is threatening to take sole custody of their daughter.

As Gwen’s past and present collide, she’s in a desperate race for the truth. Because only truth will ensure she still has a future.