An exciting quick read, a simple traffic accident creates a domino effect of vengeance and murder, featuring a clash between two divergent worlds (affluence vs street gang). The thought provoking contrasts, spiraling violence, and question of whose brother is killed, combine to create a compelling story.

I received this ebook free from a librarything.com member giveaway. ( )

An exciting quick read, a simple traffic accident creates a domino effect of vengeance and murder, featuring a clash between two divergent worlds (affluence vs street gang). The thought provoking contrasts, spiraling violence, and question of whose brother is killed, combine to create a compelling story.

I received this ebook free from a librarything.com member giveaway. ( )

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review. The dark side of human nature. In this book retaliation is the prize. See how lives intersect causing destruction. It is a gripping novel, there is no happily ever after here. ( )

Well reviewed book, and my comments echo the others mentioned on Early Reviewers. You Killed My Brother follows the family of Jennifer, her husband, Rainer, and kids; and how their lives become intertwined with the rough and tumble Ruth. I'm not thrilled about the non-lineal storyline, or how the author finishes the characters stories, but it's not a bad read. ( )

What might have been the exploration of a compelling plot is lost amid under-developed characters and the author’s pontificating on his own point of view rather than the telling a realistic story. It’s a tale filled with mindless havoc, but the demons that drive the characters to take these actions are never revealed. So many things [such as a police officer’s son died despite treatment by the highly-esteemed doctor] are simply tossed into the story and left hanging, as if their mere mention is sufficient to justify their inclusion. There is a consistent lack of realism in many actions, especially with regard to the police officers. They do not draw their weapons and wave them around while speaking with gang members; officers are not asked to surrender their weapons simply because a relative has been gravely injured in an accident.

The writing is often off-putting [“Ruth sat on the couch and was sobbing into her hands.”]; several sections are out of order, making readers feel as if a time machine is bouncing them through the pages of this unpleasant, violent tale. Instead of being drawn into the story, readers are sidelined to observe the increasingly annoying action. As soon as they realize where the author is taking his story, the outrageous events become predictable and lose their shock value. Although the horrific, dark ending is, at first, extremely disturbing, by this point the story has descended so far into unreality that the reader no longer cares about any of it.