Review: Revenge of the Master Manipulator!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 10, 2014
This novel is once again an original, emotional and compulsive work from Eve Rabi. It is a read that her fans will not want to miss and those who enjoy thrillers and dark romantic suspense will also enjoy. Do not read after the first paragraph if you want to avoid spoilers for book 1, You Will Pay- For Leaving Me.In this and the previous instalment in the tale, You Will Pay: She Left her Abusive Husband He Took Revenge, the author tackles the difficult and often taboo subject of domestic abuse. The abuser in this story is a sociopath who seeks brutal revenge on his wife who leaves him after years of abuse. There are harrowing scenes of threats, violence and murder and although not an easy read the ability of Eve Rabi to weave a compulsive and addictive story containing real life issues and characters with whom the reader can identify with is once more underlined. The remainder of this review contains spoilers for book 1.In book 1, You Will Pay – For Leaving Me, we met Arena, married to businessman Tom. Tom likes to control Arena, from how she dresses to how she wears her hair and who she socialises with. His control also extends to their son Warren and after Arena becomes pregnant and their daughter Sasha is born, his behaviour turns violent. Arena finally takes the plunge and leaves him to make a new life for herself and her children. However, Tom dishes out the most terrible revenge imaginable on Arena and her family and is truly beyond redemption.  Arena and Bear, the new man in her life, dish out their own revenge on Tom, which I absolutely loved! After the end of book 1, I was sort of happy that Tom had been incarcerated, although secretly I would have preferred him to have been AT LEAST 6 ft under! The fact that he was in prison due to the actions of Arena and Bear I regarded as natural justice after his sickening crimes against Arena and baby Sasha.In book 2, Arena and Bear are happily married, living with Warren, Tom and Arena’s son, Bear’s daughter Amy, by his first marriage, and their own baby Savannah.  All is fine and dandy apart from a series of abusive and threatening letters that Arena begins to receive from Tom, trying to persuade her to bring Warren to visit him. Arena does not respond to his letters and they abruptly cease. After a brief respite, the tenor of the letters changes and Tom claims that he is suffering from terminal cancer and that he needs to see Warren before he dies. Arena is torn between her hatred and distrust of Tom and the fact that he is in effect making a deathbed request that it would be heartless to ignore. After all what can he possibly do to her if she does visit as he is behind bars?You need to read the book to see how Arena copes with the situation and the consequences of her decision on whether or not to acquiesce to Tom’s request. What I will reveal is that this instalment and Tom’s actions are just as chilling as book 1, as  even from his prison cell Tom attempts to bring Arena, Bear and their family to their knees. Arena and Bear’s love is tested to the full and lives are put on the line. Once again this stellar read contains some intense and dark moments and once again I read it into the small hours.I enjoyed finding out more about Bear in this book, such as what makes him tick, his relationship with Arena and how he seeks to protect her and their family from Tom. I felt for them both when they were faced with the terrible consequences of Tom’s actions and there were some truly heart rending scenes.  I also enjoyed the character of Ritchie, Arena’s brother who supported them and the pivotal role played by the character of Ingrid.This is perhaps one of Eve Rabi’s darkest works to date, Nevertheless it still contains her trademark scenes of intense love between the hero and heroine, the survival of a strong woman who survives against the odds, self-sacrifice, heart rending emotional scenes and a plot where the reader has absolutely no chance of predicting what will happen next, let alone the outcome.I strongly recommend this book to fans of Eve Rabi and also to those who are not adverse to reading about difficult issues and examining the darker side of humanity.A copy of this novel was given to me by the author for the purpose of a fair and honest review.