Victim's Choice

by Michael McClister

In this spectacular first novel by Michael McClister, Joe Colby is a successful TV newscaster and a recent widower. When he loses his two children to a rapist-murderer, there is little that can be... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312206186
• ISBN13: 9780312206185
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Bravo! to this first-time novelist.

Mystery lovers will delight in Michael McClister's Victim's Choice, a real whodunit! Not only does McClister keep his reader guessing till the very end as to who the culprit is, but he also takes an interesting look at a real human emotion - revenge - and how it compromises our value systems. The author's choice of setting in "Anytown, USA" gives the reader the sense that these characters could be his next door neighbors. The reader can identify with the characters and the dilemma of their situations. I hope we will see more of Michael McClister's "consulting detective", Mr. Elmo Finn. Bravo! to this first-time novelist.

So smooth, and so real. You won't see it coming.

Joe Colby lives the worst nightmare you can imagine. A wonderfully written tale of murder and revenge with a twist -- a surprise you have never before encountered in mysteries. Read this book today!

A great read.

A terrific twist-and-turn mystery with an interesting look at the psychology and emotions of revenge. Kept me guessing all the way.

Interesting police procedural

Two years ago, Joe Colby's wife Connie died from cancer, leaving him to raise their two children. Last year Joe gave Boogie Brown, a violent career criminal, a job. Boogie repaid his benefactor by raping and murdering Joe's ten-year old daughter and killing her twelve-year old brother Buzz when he tried to intercede. An angry, grieving Joe currently hosts the popular Crimes and Punishment TV show. Joe wants vengeance, not the endless appeals of the judicial system. Finally, unable to take it any longer, Joe breaks into prison to kill Boogie, but is caught. However, the media makes Joe the poster boy for victims. Soon a vigilante group, the Avengers, appears on the scene offering to execute killers and rapists. Initially, the media enthusiastically welcomes the team. The media soon jumps all over the vigilantes when they murder the spouses of a judge and a district attorney. The Avengers believe that the keepers of the broken system need to feel the same anguish as the victims for justice to occur. Joe becomes the link to the mysterious Avengers, who give victims the choice as to whether the culprit should die or not. VICTIM'S CHOICE is an intriguing look at the justice system from the only impacted group that remains outside the process. For the most part, the story line is fast-paced and filled with angst, anger, and agony that blend into an emotional ride for the reader. However, some subplots undermine the core essence of the surviving victims, including Joe. This costs a fast-paced, take no prisoners plot to occasionally lose momentum. Still, Michael McClister provides the audience with a unique and interesting police procedural thriller.Harriet Klausner