Retribution

Its been a while since I read this, but I can still remember how hard it was to put down! Immediately after finishing it I realized there was a sequel and though I had borrowed Retribution from the library I immediately bought the sequel. I understand that this story has been bought and is in production for a movie. I will certainly go and see it. So I don't inadvertently give you spoilers here is the description of the book taken from the author's website, [...] "When an elite prosecutor faces the most lethal predator she's ever encountered, it all comes down to a choice between justice . . .and retribution One rainy night in New York City, outstanding law student Chloe Larson wakes from a terrible nightmare. But it's not a nightmare-it's real. A stranger stands over her, a rubber clown mask covering his face, and in one, horrifying instant, everything in Chloe's life is forever changed. She becomes a victim, a statistic. And no one is brought to justice. Twelve years later a very different Chloe is forging a formidable reputation as a Major Crimes prosecutor in the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. For more than a year she has been assigned to assist a task force of detectives who have been searching for a vicious serial killer nicknamed Cupid for the way he kills his victims. Nine women are dead and two are missing and the pressure is mounting to find the vicious killer. When the police stop a speeding motorist on the McArthur Causeway, it seems that the hunt for Cupid is finally over. But as Chloe begins the task of prosecuting the suspect, she soon realizes that this case will be anything but easy. Because her past is about to force itself on her present-and the terror is only just beginning. Sometimes there is a price to be paid for justice. And sometimes that price is awful. Revenge could cost Chloe her sanity. The truth could cost her life."

Retribution, by Julliane Hoffman, was an intense novel of personal traumatic experiences, thrills and vengeance. Hoffman, using her background as a former attorney, wrote the well-written suspense thriller about a young prosecutor, C.J. Townsend, who was gruesomely raped and stalked. After C.J. finally thinks that she has gained control of her life again, she is given a case of serial murders and is partnered with special agent Dominick Falconetti. Together, as they work on the case, they grow strong feelings for one another but C.J. holds back in fear of letting her horrifying past be shown. Next, a suspect for the murders is caught, and during the trial, C.J. realizes that the suspected serial killer could also be her rapist, who was never caught and who was responsible for destroying her life in the past. She completely loses control but tries to reclaim her life by doing what ever it takes to convict her rapist, even if she has to break the rules. Unpredictable twists and a breathtaking ending makes this book an excellent choice for anyone who loves an intense, suspense thriller filled with well developed, surprising twists and turns. The Last Witness, sequel to Retribution, is promised to also have a chilling, intelligent plotline, and would be recommended to anyone who loved the first.

. This is one book that has stayed in my mind since I read it when it was first published. It's hard to image the horror of rape and torture, but Jilliane Hoffman caught the experience through her words better than any book I read or movie I've seen. The woman is C.J. Townsend, and through quirks of fate, she faces the monster 12 years later in court. The statute of limitations on her rape has passed, but she knows that he is vicious and she has the legal expertise to put him away for another crime, and he might well have done it -- the evidence certainly points to him. That is a compelling story in itself, but the book is so much deeper. Is he guilty of the crime for which she is prosecuting? Should she recuse herself or can she be fair? Could anyone be fair? The courtroom drama is brilliant and there is no getting lost in various legal issues. It is not filled with unnecessary details and jargon. Her scenes are so vivid that I feel as if I have first hand information about what a rape victim goes through in trying to both remember and forget at the same time. That information has given me insight into others. This is fast paced and intriguing. It is a first class read.

Chloe Larson was brutally attacked and raped by a knife wielding fiend in a clown's mask when she was a young law student in New York. Because of the rapist's knife, she is unable to have children. Years later she's a tough state's prosecutor in Miami dealing with a series of rape murders where the killer takes his victem's hearts. A tip leads the police to a suspect who has a heartless body of a new victim in the trunk of his car. During his arraignment Chloe hears his voice and knows right away he's the man who'd raped and knifed her all those years ago. She should take herself off the case, but instead she bends the law, ignores the ethics and gets a death penalty conviction. Then she finds out that even though he was a serial rapist, he was not the killer? Though I saw the ending miles away, it didn't make a bit of difference to this thoroughly enjoyable read. RETRIBUTION is a terrific debut novel and in my opinion worth all the hype. I can hardly wait for the movie.

Wow I can never get over the negative descriptions of really good books. Some people have to read and analyze the story's various parts without actually "reading" the story. If you're a reader and not an analyzer, read this one. C.J. Townsend is prosecuting another suspected mass killer and loses her ability to speak upon hearing the voice of the accused as he berates his attorney. It was a voice she'd heard years before in her bedroom, coming from her rapist/torturer wearing a clown's mask. C.J. then was a young law student with a bright future, attractive, dating a soon to be partner in a prestigious firm. But after her attack her life is changed. There are alot of legal issues at battle here in the plot of this great book, but there are alot of humane issues falling about too. After reading Retribution I felt entertained by the story because it was so horrific but also educated as to just how damaging such an event can be in one life. I think I have a better empathy for rape victums now after reading this novel than before. If any of the women in my life, and I pray that it never happens, should become a victum, I now have a better understanding of how to react as a friend, or father, or husband. This book is good on alot of different levels. It's a thriller that'll have you turning the page, it's a courtroom drama, that'll really suck you in, and it's got some twists and surprises that make it worth the effort all alone. For the reviewers previously that say this one's been written before, I'd like a list; because this one was new territory for me and I enjoyed it. If you're a "reader" too, I believe you'll like it as well.