When the authorities do not handle cases in an acceptable
way, who is going to get justice on those who have caused irreversible damage
to a victim’s life? Who will step up when no one else will to punish rapists
and sex offenders? Vigilare.
Vigilare is watching over everyone in Vanguard. Vigilare
punishes sex offenders for their crimes when they get off too easy in the court
system.
When Detectives Gina DeLuca and Tony Gronkowski are assigned
to a case that appears to be serial murders, the details get weirder and
weirder. There is talk of a vigilante, a superhero of Vanguard who is punishing
these men for raping women in the city. The name they give this superhero, Vigilare.
They talk about Vigilare having glowing green eyes that
captivate its victim. It can look into their soul.
When Detective Gronkowski goes investigating on his own one
night in pursuit of a known molester, what he finds turns the case completely
upside-down.
This book is completely different from Brooklyn James’s
other book that I reviewed recently, The Boots My Mother Gave Me. That one was
heavy and memoir-esque.
Vigilare is pure fiction mixed with paranormal and science
fiction story lines.
It builds suspense well, and while I guessed the twist, I
was never 100% positive that was it until it happened. I always love a good
twist.
Also I am a sucker for a good courtroom scene, and this book
delivered that.
The writing was great. It pulls you in right from the
beginning. I really like how Brooklyn James goes into plenty of detail in her
books, but it isn’t so overdone that the chapters drag on. Every detail is
important to the story in some way and that really keeps it interesting.
It ended sort of abruptly, but there is a sequel to it so it
makes sense to leave off where it does.
The character development was spot on. I liked the
characters that you are supposed to root for, and I disliked the ones you are
supposed to be skeptical about.
The dialogue flows naturally, it doesn’t feel forced which
is one of my biggest turn offs with reading sci-fi/paranormal books. Sometimes
the dialogue is really forced and hinders the flow of the novel. The dialogue
complements the novel and was written very well.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of sci-fi
books or “superheroes” you might want to pick this one up.
It has a very strong female character, so if you like all of
those things, I do not think you will be disappointed with this read.
4.5/5 stars
