Tuesday, 23 December 2014

Book ~ "Secret Rage" (2012) Brent Pilkey

From Goodreads ~ A predator is stalking the streets of downtown Toronto. Haunted by a tortured past, he preys upon sex workers, leaving carnage in his wake. 

Officer Jack Warren and his partner, Jenny Alton, join with the Major Crime division to hunt down this dangerous madman. But when Jenny is targeted as the next victim, the chase becomes personal for Jack. A violent confrontation reveals horrifying secrets and Jack’s own bloody link to the monster.

Jack is a cop working in 51 Division in Toronto.  It's a rough area to work in because of the drugs and the prostitutes but he loves it.

Someone is brutally beating prostitutes and Jack, Jenny (his partner) and the rest of 51 Division are trying to find out who that is.  Plus to clean up the area and send out a message, Jenny poses as a prostitute so they can arrest the johns.

In the meantime, tension at home is increasing as Karen, Jack's wife, and her parents are pressuring Jack to quit 51 Division and the police force.  The only thing welcoming for Jack at home is his newly adopted dog, Justice.

This is the third book I've read by this author (it's the third in a series) and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style ... it's written in third person perspective with the focus on wherever the action is taking place, not just from Jack's perspective.  As a head's up, there is violence, adult activity and a lot of swearing.

The author is a cop and had spent many years in 51 Division so writes from experience.  Even though the story is fiction, it was interesting to get the insight into the life of a cop, both on the job and at home. 

Jack could take the easy way out and quit his job to make his wife and in-laws happy but he doesn't because he's good at what he does and he wants to make the city a better place.  Karen seems totally unreasonable but I can see it from her perspective.  Yes, Jack was a cop when she married him but she doesn't want to get a call that he's been killed in the line of action.  Too bad she hadn't thought of that before she married him ... or too bad she thought she could change him once they were married.  Jack met Jenny when he transferred to 51 Division last year.  There has always been a spark between them but they've never acted on it because he's married, though unhappily.  It was nice to to know the supporting characters more in this book which made them more human ... like Jack's father-in-law's experience driving through 51 Division so he could see for himself the area that Jack takes care of every day. 

I'd recommend this book and look forward to reading others by this author.  

1 comment:

Susan Demeter said...

Sounds like a fun read, particularly as it is set in Toronto :) Happy holidays to you and Gord and your fur babes :)