Kill for me kill for you by Steve Cavanagh

Amanda’s 6-year-old daughter was abducted and murdered; husband, Luis, couldn’t forgive himself for taking his eyes off her for a moment and commited suicide. Her life imploded in loss, once a law abiding, anti-gun New York liberal Amanda is now a planning to kill the man she believes took her child. The police have a suspect but not enough evidence for a charge so she is meticulously planning to shoot him on a crowded subway train and disappear into the crowd. Her attempt fails but when she meets Wendy at a compulsory grief counselling session, who has similarly had a child murdered, they hatch a plan. Both fixated on the perpetrator, like in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train they agree, “Kill for me Kill for You”. The point of view shifts to Ruth, attacked at home; another family’s hopes and plans are erased; she survives but won’t be able to have children and her mental health has become fragile. The other point of view is the detective, Farrow, whose failed investigations haunt him. How these points of view interweave takes a while to sort out but after about the first third of the book the plot takes off, twisting and turning in unexpected ways.

Steve Cavanagh is expert at tapping into our fears of being randomly and brutally attacked at home, of having a child abducted and murdered, the suicide of those meant to offer support and failure of the justice system leaving perpetrators out there waiting to get us. His detailed descriptions are effective and the plot quite fast paced but I found none of the characters had depth beyond their need for revenge and ultimately didn’t care what happened to them. A clever, plot driven read that will appeal to thriller fans.

Themes: Revenge, Murder, Deception.

Sue Speck