Review: Three Faces of Eve meets The Exorcist.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 2, 2014
Margaret is diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder as a child. Cause unknown, readers are told that "she was unique in that she could truly say she had never been alone a single day in her life." Usually onset by a traumatic event or thought to be therapist induced, being born with it isn't typical. This was my first hint that something sinister was at play.Margaret is raped by a transient worker and regains control of her psyche to find a bloody hammer in her hand and the remains of the perpetrator at her feet. Into the quarry he goes, along with her sister Jane. When Margaret's daughter goes missing seven years later, the quarry is dredged and the bodies of her victims are found. Fingerprints on the murder weapon lead back to Margaret and she is locked away in an institution.Twenty five years later, Candice, her alter ego, breaks her way out, killing a lecherous security guard in the process. The timeline gave me a bit of trouble, as readers are told she is institutionalized at 24, and at the time of her escape the psychiatrist tells authorities she has been there for twenty five years. Unless I missed an interim stay elsewhere that would make her 49. But she is referred to as elderly on numerous occasions.Candice was held at bay by a cocktail of psychotropic drugs for years. Attempting to rehabilitate Margaret, her psychiatrist lowers the dosage on her medication, making it possible for Candice to take control.What started off a psychological thriller ended as a spooky paranormal piece of fiction that gave me the heebie jeebies. Is a ghostly force at work? Or is it truly all in her head? Others swear they feel a presence in her company, and cameras malfunction when Margaret's alter ego is in control. This piece of information provided by the psychiatrist created a bit of inconsistency. He states Candice had been dormant throughout the years he treated Margaret. However, he notes stacks of videotapes with the mysterious glitch associated with Candice's presence.I faced a challenge buying into the actions of the victims. Each person that fell by Margaret's hand felt the darkness before opening their doors to her. Not one person listened to their inner warning bells and they all met a demise that could have been avoided.Reprisal could do with a bit more editing to fix some spelling and grammatical issues, but the writing was solid. The third person narrative was descriptive and the story flowed smoothly. The premise was creative and well organized. At a mere 100 pages, the author manages to tell a complete, well-rounded story that raised my heartbeat and gave me a healthy dose of fear.A few things I will take away from Reprisal: Vengeance Knows No Boundary...1. A quarry can hold a lot of dead bodies and cars.2. I will never underestimate the ability of an elderly woman.3. I will never stop for a hitchhiker.4. Karma is truly a bitch.