If you like smart, fast-paced thrillers with unexpected twists, then you’ll love J.K. Franko’s Eye for Eye Trilogy!
“REALISTIC & CHILLING!” – Mystery Thriller Week
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Legal
Published by: Talion Publishing
Publication Date: October 5, 2020
Number of Pages:1050
Amazon & Goodreads
My Review
I chose to read this trilogy after receiving a free e-copy. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.
The Eye for Eye Trilogy is fast-paced with surprises around every corner. It had many characters, and I can’t think of one that I liked, but each character was different in their own unique way. None of the main characters seemed to have a real problem with murder.
I thought having Roy and Susie’s therapist as the narrator of the books was ingenious. It did make sense, though, since they were both sociopaths so they’d seek understandably seek help.
This is a great trilogy that I especially enjoyed because I could read the books back to back. I did feel there was some superfluous text and occasionally just wanted the author to get to the point.
Eye for Eye
“NEW TWIST ON STRANGERS ON A TRAIN”
~ THE SUNDAY TIMES
Roy and Susie are on a skiing holiday, trying to take a break from the constant reminders of their daughter, tragically killed by a careless driver. Out of the blue they meet Deb and Tom, another couple with a tragic past and a shocking proposal to put things right.
As the bodies accumulate, secrets are revealed and alliances crumble. Ultimate survival depends on following the rules for a perfect murder. And the first rule is… leave no singing bones.
My Review
Eye for an Eye was my favorite of the three books. I think it was because I didn’t know what to expect and there were so many surprises. Once I got into the book, it was difficult to put down. There was so much going on!
At first, I felt sorry for the couples, and I can’t imagine what I would be capable of if one of my children were raped or killed. As events unfolded, however, I was shocked not only because of the lack of remorse but the deception! Roy, Susie, and Deb had so many secrets from others and from each other.
If you only have time to read one of the books in this trilogy, this is the one I’d recommend.
The Trial of Joe Harlan Junior
A college Halloween party. A night of fun, dress-up, and laughter. But for Kristy Wise, it quickly became a night of horror.
Now, Joe Harlan Junior, entrepreneur and son of a prominent senator, is at risk of losing everything as he stands accused of a crime he insists he did not commit.
Yet the facts are undisputed: Kristy was drugged, and she did have sex with Joe.
But was it consensual?
Read the story. Listen to the testimony. Is everything that happens next justified?
YOU decide.
My Review
In my kindle version of the trilogy, this prequel popped up. It’s a court document (mostly) about Joe Harlan Jr.’s trial that was the subject of a lot of the first book, so it was a nice addition. It’s short but enlightening. I would have read it before the first book if I’d known it was there, but I think I got more out of it after having read book one first.
Tooth for Tooth
What would YOU do?
What would you do if you got away with murder? Would you stop there? Could you?
Susie and Roy thought that they committed the perfect crime.
Their planning was meticulous. Their execution flawless.
But, there is always a loose end, isn’t there? Always a singing bone.
Now, while enemies multiply and suspicions abound, their perfect world begins to crumble.
The hunters have become the hunted.
My Review
Book two started slower than the first book, but eventually it was very good. I made myself a note to be sure to mention that “these people are horrible.”
Those affected by the murders had more of role in this book. Deb and Tom’s daughter, Kristy, the girl who was raped, sought answers. Eventually, of course, she sought revenge. The parents of those murdered in book one also wanted answers. There were also many new characters and more crazy twists and, of course, more murders. There was so much going on! I was surprised that I could keep the characters and events straight in my mind, but I was so invested in the story that it was easy.
At the end of Tooth for Tooth I couldn’t imagine how much more craziness could happen to these people!
Life for Life
What would YOU do if someone threatened your family?
Roy Cruise and his pregnant wife Susie barely survived an assassination attempt in their own home. The police now have them under surveillance. Meanwhile, Kristy Wise is a loose cannon—she knows too much and is trying to “set things right.”
What goes around comes around. And in this case, Roy and Susie may have pushed things too far. There are too many dead bodies. Too many foes plotting against them.
Roy and Susie must outwit the police and neutralize their enemies once and for all. If not, their days of retribution may end behind bars… or six feet under.
My Review
Life for Life had some of the same craziness especially in the first third of the book. A lot of book three was a trial…yes, someone was finally caught. While some aspects of the trial were interesting and there was a surprise or two, there was a lot of testimony that repeated events from the first two books. As a result, although interesting, it wasn’t the page turner that the first two were.
The ending wasn’t what I expected, but there was a lot in the trilogy that wasn’t expected! I look forward to reading book four.
Excerpt
When I try to piece together how this whole mess began, a part of me thinks it may have started over thirty years ago. At least the seeds were planted that far back, in the early 1980s. What happened then, at that summer camp in Texas, set the stage for everything that was to come.
Odd, how something so remote in time and geography continues to impact me here, today.
Sometimes I try to imagine her, how she felt—that eleven year-old girl—as she ran, stumbling and tripping through the woods that night. I try to put myself in her shoes. When I do, I wonder if she was frightened.
Did she understand the consequences of what she’d gotten herself into? I imagine it felt otherworldly to her, like a dream. But not a good dream. No, one of the bad ones—the ones that make your heart machine-gun as you try to outrun some dark thing that’s chasing you. But the faster you try to run, the slower you go, your legs feeling leaden, clumsy, useless.
Panic sets in. Tears of frustration form. Fear takes hold and won’t let go. You open your mouth to scream but realize, to your horror, that you’re paralyzed. It’s not that you can’t scream; you can’t even breathe. Not a dream—a nightmare.
Then again, all that may simply be my imagination. It could just be me projecting what I might have felt onto Joan. Maybe she wasn’t scared at all.
True, it was dark out. The night smelled of rain, but there was no lightning, only the far-off rumble of thunder hinting at a distant storm. There were no trail lights, no visibility but for the moon peeking out intermittently from behind a patchwork of clouds. But, Joan had been down this trail before. She was running toward the main cabin.
She had been at Camp Willow for almost two full weeks. She had been up and down that trail at least ten times a day, every day. Of course, that was during the day, and always with her buddy, or a camp counselor (the children called them troop leaders). Joan had never been on the trail at night. And never alone.
Maybe I imagine Joan was scared because, as an adult, I believe that she should have been. I would have been terrified.
***
Excerpt from Eye For Eye by JK Franko. Copyright © 2019 by JK Franko. Reproduced with permission from JK Franko. All rights reserved.
About the Author
J.K. FRANKO was born and raised in Texas. His Cuban-American parents agreed there were only three acceptable options for a male child: doctor, lawyer, and architect. After a disastrous first year of college pre-Med, he ended up getting a BA in philosophy (not acceptable), then he went to law school (salvaging the family name) and spent many years climbing the big law firm ladder. After ten years, he decided that law and family life weren’t compatible. He went back to school where he got an MBA and pursued a Ph.D. He left law for corporate America, with long stints in Europe and Asia.
His passion was always to be a writer. After publishing a number of non-fiction works, thousands of hours writing, and seven or eight abandoned fictional works over the course of eighteen years, EYE FOR EYE became his first published novel.
J.K. Franko now lives with his wife and children in Florida.
Catch Up With JK Franko On:
jkfranko.com, Goodreads, Instagram, Bookbub, Twitter, & Facebook!
Giveaway
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for JK Franko. There will be Six (6) winners for this tour. Two (2) winners will each receive a $10 Amazon.com gift card; Two (2) winners will each receive 1 print edition of Eye for Eye, book 1 of the Talion series, by JK Franko (US and Canada Only); and Two (2) winners will each receive 1 ebook edition of Eye for Eye, book 1 of the Talion series, by JK Franko. The giveaway begins on October 19, 2020 and runs through December 21, 2020. Void where prohibited.
Bound 4 Escape