Pay Dearly (Revenge Series #1)by M.S. BrannonSummary:
“You see, Josslyn, murder is brash. It’s derived out of careless impulses, leading to a trail of mistakes and ultimately capture. It’s elementary and messy. But revenge … Revenge is entirely different, my dear. It’s methodical and gratifying. Revenge stews and festers as your mind has nothing to do except ingest the hate—to transform and become the hate. Revenge only seeks “You see, Josslyn, murder is brash. It’s derived out of careless impulses, leading to a trail of mistakes and ultimately capture. It’s elementary and messy. But revenge … Revenge is entirely different, my dear. It’s methodical and gratifying. Revenge stews and festers as your mind has nothing to do except ingest the hate—to transform and become the hate. Revenge only seeks one outcome. It wants them to pay and pay dearly.”~Nikolai Petrov
To Nikolai Petrov, being a criminal was not a choice. It was a necessity. In and out of Russia’s deadliest prisons, he learned how to survive and ultimately flourish amongst the worst criminals the broken society has ever seen. He rose through the ranks, soon becoming a valued member of one of Russia’s most feared organizations—Vory V Zakone, Thieves in Law.
For Josslyn Stowe, growing up in a typical American household was not in her fate. She experienced her own tragedy after the murder of her father. Soon after, her life was set on a one track course, right down to her chosen profession as a third generation police officer. It did not take long for Josslyn to form a prestigious career. She owed her success to the unrelenting drive to do whatever it takes to capture the worst criminals.
It was the tragic murder of an unknown family that sent these two powerhouse individuals on a collision course toward their opposing fate. Their story soon becomes a cat and mouse thriller that will have you wondering if there is good versus evil, right versus wrong, and retribution versus justice. Or are we all merely a lesser version of those who stand next to us?
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
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Review:
If you wondered what M.S. Brannon would do after her Sulfur Heights series came to an end, she has certainly shown that she isn’t going to stop writing and that she’s going to test herself as a writer by writing in various genres. I liked her contemporary romances, but this series is definitely way different. It’s more suspenseful and violent than her other books, but with the same rawness and terrifying underbelly of society that I loved in her Sulfur Heights series. I enjoyed Pay Dearly and I have a great feeling that the series will improve even more with each installment as she gets comfortable in this new genre.
I loved the duel point of view layout of Pay Dearly. At first, we met Josslyn, a detective with a tragic and violent past, who couldn’t be bought and fought against the seedy side of her town. We also met Nikolai Petrov, a criminal from Russia who murdered people without hesitating, but had a revenge plan in place for those he used to work for after they wronged him.
Being a fan of M.S. Brannon, I’m used to duel POVs, but typically with those involved in relationships. In Pay Dearly, it seems we have two warring sides. Josslyn was actively chasing after Nikolai, believing him to be involved in a string of murders. But I can’t help but wonder… will these two end up being on the same side?
I love that I’m kind of in uncharted territory here with the author because I honestly have no idea what she’ll do with the plot and how it will all unfold. All I have is a handful of theories and I’m excited to find out what happens next.
My biggest complaint? I just want the next book.
