Richard's Review:

This is one heck of a story.

As the title suggests, there’s a powerful Old Testament theme running through the spine of M J Arlidge’s often gruesome tale. Justifiable revenge; an eye for an eye - retribution, pure and simple.

Are some crimes so horrific that they can never be forgiven; the bloodied slate impossible to wipe clean other than by an equally violent reckoning?

And what if the original crime (original sin, if you like) – was committed by a child? A child either too young to fully comprehend the devasting consequences of what they’re doing, or so damaged themselves by abuse and violence that their entire world view is warped and bent out of shape?

Arlidge poses such questions against a thrilling backdrop of conspiracy and bloody revenge.

Judy's Review:

Sympathy for the devil? Is it ever possible? Let’s take Emily, a single mother devoted to her teenage boy. Or young Jack, barely out of his teens but all alone in a strange town with a new job. Or Russell, a sensitive man who can hardly believe that after a lifetime of isolation and loneliness he may actually be falling in love.

But these are not their real names. All three carry the burden of a terrible secret, and now live officially-sanctioned new lives under false identities. They are among only nine criminals who have been granted lifelong anonymity – for their own safety – after being convicted of murders involving unspeakable brutality and depravity.

The families of the dead thirst for revenge. They are incandescent to learn that the killers have been released from imprisonment and offered the second chance denied to their victims. So what happens if someone ‘on the inside’ leaks details of the new identities to those families?

Vigilante justice. Can it – should it – be stopped? You’ll be gripped as we were as you discover the answer.