Thriller

Holy crap. What a book.

Kick Lannigan is tough. I liked that. And not because she's perfectly unaffected because she's not - she's a total mess. But she's a mess that pushes on anyway. Kick is a survivor. This was an intense read. The emotions and the conflict Kick feels as she confronts her fractured memories, her family and the overwhelming guilt batter straight through you. I appreciated though that she was both broken and whole. Which sounds kind of weird but she was. I think the mental health issues were addressed very well. I will say though the blurb had me expecting something different. Something more logical. This wasn't and in a way it was a lot better. This wasn't a straight procedural where Kick is leading the cause and tackling every issue without fear. I liked that all of the characters were imperfect. There wasn't one character who was flat - they all had their own internal struggles and problems - and you could see that even if it wasn't explored with any depth - perhaps one of the best examples of the whole show not tell.

I wish there was more. ( )

I picked up this book at a bookstore for around $5. I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.

'Kick' is the nickname of the protagonist, a 21-year-old woman with a truly unpleasant past who is still in the midst of recovery 10 years later. Kick was kidnapped at age 6, and was subsequently brainwashed, sexually abused and exploited for five years. We meet Kick 10 years after her rescue and it is clear that despite her attempts at learning to protect herself, she is still deeply traumatized.

Despite child pornography and its fallout being the largest aspect of the novel, Cain manages to keep it from being stomach-churningly descriptive. We know that the movies made of her as a child are still the most popular child porn on the web, but further graphic details are never given. This is a clever amount of withholding by the author as it keeps the reader engaged and curious but stops far before the line of lurid shock factor details. There are a few moments of complete dissociation for Kick, where even the use of her name changes to show Kick's mindset that I genuinely liked.

I definitely hope there is more of Kick's 'brother' James in future books as I found his backstory interesting and the depth of their relationship was really the emotional core of the story.

A solid 7/10 ( )

Can't wait for the next book!!! She needs to start writing faster than one book a year!! She's killing me!!!! ( )

Not my favorite Cain book. I found the main character's (a victim of horrific child sexual abuse) behavior unrealistic. However, the writing is great as always and the villains are really, really horrible. The fact that this is sort of 'ripped from the headlines' made me sick to my stomach. ( )