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I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
MY REVIEW:
Genre | Tropes: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime
Rating: 5 out of 5 ⭐
An engrossing novel that will take you through the often blurred and graying lines of what is right and wrong. Two Good Men features just that – two men – both with their own opinions and thoughts on how to approach a very difficult situation.
Steve is an FBI agent that heads up a very special division that investigates crimes against convicted child predators. He believes that everyone should have the opportunity for a new life after they’ve served their time because he believes in the possibility of goodness within people. Throughout the book, Steve continues to deal with local law enforcement agents that despise the fact his position even exists because most of the time he shows up to investigate the death of a convicted criminal, and sometimes even after another atrocious attack has happened.
Then we have Dr. Richard Raynes who is a scientist that has spent his live working on the development of medications to help cure people. His latest work has been to create a medicine that “cures” people of their allergies. But along the way, his sister and nephew are put in danger’s way when the man that terrorized their small town when they were children is set free after serving his time. This man, Otis, has already warned Raynes’s sister, Denise, that he is looking forward to meeting her 11-year old son and this puts Dr. Raynes in motion to find a way to remove him from their lives.
Dr. Raynes finds himself on a trajectory of vigilante hero as he meticulously tracks down those likely to return to their bad behaviors and eliminate them from existence all together. As Steve, the FBI agent, starts a relationship with Dr. Raynes’s sister, he also starts to put the pieces together with what her brother is doing.
This is where everything gets interesting. Steve understand why Richard Raynes is doing what he does, but his conscious also knows that it’s just as criminal as anyone else. But both men’s moral compasses are called into question as they both realize they want the same outcome. To keep people safe from those that only want to harm others.
While there are a lot of dark elements to this story, especially in the earlier parts of the book that set the stage for the darkness inside these criminals, that eventually subsides into a faded background with less detail about crimes against children and focuses on the challenging path that Dr. Raynes has set himself on. He is methodically eliminating criminals, but only after he observes them and convinces himself that they are likely to hurt a child or he catches them in the act.
The main theme though throughout this entire book is really focused on morality. All of the characters in the story believe strongly in what they are doing and pursue those actions accordingly. The only wavering one is Steve, the FBI agent, and that’s because he has always been a little sour about his role in the whole web of deceit and lies that he’s embroiled in with his job.
A fantastic story that had me cringing, crying a little at the beginning, and overall had me thinking deeply about where my own moral compass lies. While I don’t condone everything Dr. Raynes does in this story, I fully understand where that motivation and determination comes from.
GET IT HERE:
From the internationally bestselling author of In an Instant and Hadley & Grace comes Two Good Men, a searing drama about two men on a quest for justice—from opposite sides of the law.
Dick Raynes feared this day would come. Otis Parsons, a violent pedophile, has been released from prison, and Dick’s sister Dee is the one who helped put him behind bars. Dick’s marriage is over, and his career is in shambles, so with nothing to lose, he sets out to do whatever it takes to keep Dee and her son Jesse safe. But Otis is just the beginning. Dick quickly discovers the dark truth about repeat sex offenders and finds himself unable to turn away. Using his knowledge as a scientist to develop a formula able to predict those most likely strike again, he sets out to protect future victims the law is powerless to defend.
FBI agent Steve Patterson investigates crimes against sex offenders, running a department he created after his son was killed by a vigilante mother who targeted the wrong person. Recognizing a disturbing pattern of untimely deaths in recently released felons, he sets out to figure out who’s behind it. What he doesn’t expect to find is another chance at love—with the sister of the man he is chasing.
Dick’s strong sense of right and wrong is tested as he pursues and neutralizes the most dangerous threats, while Steve makes it his mission to stop this vigilante serial killer before he is labeled a hero. Both men’s pursuits may be noble, but only one can prevail.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S. E. Redfearn
Suzanne Redfearn (S.E. Redfearn) is the award-winning and Amazon #1 bestselling author of seven novels: Two Good Men, Where Butterflies Wander, Moment in Time, Hadley & Grace, In an Instant, No Ordinary Life, and Hush Little Baby. Her books have been translated into twenty-five different languages and have been recognized by Goodreads Choice Awards, Best Book Awards, RT Reviews, Target Recommends, Publisher’s Marketplace, and Kirkus Reviews.
In addition to being an author, Suzanne is also an architect. She currently lives in Laguna Beach California, where she and her husband own two restaurants: Lumberyard and Slice Pizza & Beer.
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