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A review by bookgirlbrown_reviews
The Revenge List: A Novel by Hannah Mary McKinnon
4.0
Anger management was designed to help people build the tools needed to combat their anger outbursts. Everyone thought Frankie Morgan desperately needed these skills; Frankie, on the other hand, thought the people in her life needed a little help of their own. If she had anger issues, she wasn’t sure what these people in her life had. During a group session she is tasked with making a list of everyone in her life that has ever wronged her – a “forgiveness” list. Thinking this exercise is a waste of time she doesn’t put much thought into it until that list goes missing and the people on it start dying.
I have seen a couple of shows and movies with this same plot – self-help group where someone in the group enacts revenge for another member without their knowledge. I find these stories interesting enough, however this book isn’t that exactly. I thought the plot would have been centered on this anger management group and its members, but the group session felt more like a distance memory that slowly fades with time. A majority of the story centers on Frankie and her list of people, events in her life, while the anger management group sessions aren’t a part of the storyline for very long. Still, I found this book intriguing.
The pacing was a little too slow for my likes, I need action happening and happening everywhere – on the first page, the first chapter, and every chapter after. It didn’t feel like this was the case here; for a thriller, I didn’t find it very thrilling. The twists and turns are what save this book for me. It makes everything worthwhile and leaves your jaw dropped at the end. I would recommend reading this book – the writing is exceptional with descriptions so palpable you’d think they were actually happening in front of you. It takes a special talent in writing to have that effect. Hannah Mary McKinnon is truly gifted.
I received an ARC of this book and leave this review of my own accord. Thank you NetGalley and MIRA for the opportunity to read this.
I have seen a couple of shows and movies with this same plot – self-help group where someone in the group enacts revenge for another member without their knowledge. I find these stories interesting enough, however this book isn’t that exactly. I thought the plot would have been centered on this anger management group and its members, but the group session felt more like a distance memory that slowly fades with time. A majority of the story centers on Frankie and her list of people, events in her life, while the anger management group sessions aren’t a part of the storyline for very long. Still, I found this book intriguing.
The pacing was a little too slow for my likes, I need action happening and happening everywhere – on the first page, the first chapter, and every chapter after. It didn’t feel like this was the case here; for a thriller, I didn’t find it very thrilling. The twists and turns are what save this book for me. It makes everything worthwhile and leaves your jaw dropped at the end. I would recommend reading this book – the writing is exceptional with descriptions so palpable you’d think they were actually happening in front of you. It takes a special talent in writing to have that effect. Hannah Mary McKinnon is truly gifted.
I received an ARC of this book and leave this review of my own accord. Thank you NetGalley and MIRA for the opportunity to read this.