Payback by John Inman

PaybackInmanLGTitle: Payback
Series: N/A
Author: John Inman
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: Novel (200 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (February 2nd 2015)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Blurb: When Tyler Powell’s life is torn apart by an unspeakable crime, the need for vengeance takes over. Every moment of every day, as he tries to pull his shattered existence together again, it’s all he can think about—revenge.

Will he give in to his rage and become the very thing he hates most? A killer?

Only with the help of Homicide Detective Christian Martin, the cop in charge of his case, does Tyler see the possibility of another life beginning—the astounding revelation of another love reaching out to him. A love he thought he would never know again.

Will he let that love into his life, or is he lost already? Is payback more important to Tyler than his own happiness? And the happiness of the man who loves him? Tyler is determined to find a way to exact his revenge without sacrificing all hope for a future with Christian, but it will be difficult—if not impossible—and in the end he might be forced to make an unbearable choice.

Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6004
Reviewer: Tams

Review: Tyler Powell’s life was irrevocably changed in a matter of minutes with one random act of violence. Just a few short hours ago, he was lying in bed with his husband, exchanging the rings painstakingly sought out for their perfection after being married for a year. Now Tyler and Spence lie broken, beaten, and dying on the floor of a public restroom. The victims of a homophobic beating.

Three weeks later Tyler wakes in the hospital, his memories are shaded, and his husband is dead. His assailants even took their beloved dog when they retreated, leaving Tyler and Spence for dead.

Officer Christian has been enamored with Tyler since the first time he saw him on the gurney in the ER, so fragile and broken, and the infatuation only grows as he spends more time with Tyler trying to solve Spence’s murder investigation. Chris wants to get to know the man who had the strength to survive, wants to keep him safe, but Tyler makes that hard by being secretive and hell-bent on getting revenge. The three assailants are still at large, but protecting Tyler from himself may be a harder job for Chris than solving the case.

This is a very dark and disturbing story. I will warn you that if you have certain triggers then this may not be the book for you. Please read the synopsis and now that Inman describes the attack in detail. That being said, it is an integral part of the story.

I really enjoyed how Inman showed Tyler as he muddled his way through life in the early days following Spence’s death. Denial, grief, anger, revenge, these are all human emotions that must be felt and dealt with in the wake of such a life-altering event. But there is also trust in another person to help you get through the ordeal, and eventually, hopefully, you learn how to love again.

I really enjoyed this story, as dark as the content was and as hard as Tyler struggled in the aftermath of loosing Spence, there was a beauty to him finding happiness again. The story is well written and gripping from the start, and kept my attention throughout its sadly poetic storyline.

I’d recommend this read for anyone that likes stories based in harsh reality with flawed characters that manage to find their way back from the edge with a little love and trust.