About Portrait of Vengeance
An unsolved case. A tempest of memories. The future’s at stake—and time is running out . . .
Gwen Marcey has done a good job keeping the pain of her past boxed up. But as she investigates the case of a missing child in Lapwai, Idaho, details keep surfacing that are eerily similar to her childhood traumas. She doesn’t believe in coincidences. So what’s going on here?
No one knows more about the impact of the past than the Nez Perce people of Lapwai. Gwen finds herself an unwelcome visitor to some, making her investigation even more difficult. The questions keep piling up, but answers are slow in coming—and the clock is ticking for a missing little girl. Meanwhile, Gwen’s ex-husband is threatening to take sole custody of their daughter.
As Gwen’s past and present collide, she’s in a desperate race for the truth. Because only truth will ensure she still has a future.
My Review
A Portrait of Vengeance is the fourth Gwen Marcey novel, following When Death Draws Near, The Bones Will Speak, and A Cry from the Dust. Each novel centres on a crime or series of related crimes, with an underlying thread about Gwen’s relationship with her teenage daughter (not good) and her ex-husband (even less good).
But Portrait of Vengeance was unique in that it gave some of Gwen’s own personal history.
This gave an insight into the person she has become, and showed us what she has overcome–not just the breast cancer and divorce we learned about in the earlier novels, but something of her childhood and upbringing.
As Gwen investigates the disappearance of a native American child from a small town in Idaho, she finds details which are similar to her own childhood memories. Is the person behind this disappearance the same person who destroyed her childhood? And what happens when the memories don’t make sense.
I don’t want to say too much, because it’s impossible without giving away spoilers. If you’ve read the previous Gwen Marcey novels, you’ll want to read this—it’s the best yet in terms of both the characters and the suspense. If you haven’t read any Gwen Marcey novels yet, and you enjoy Christian thrillers from authors such as Colleen Coble, then you’ll want to read this—but you might want to start with When Death Draws Near.
Recommended for those who enjoy fast-paced thrillers with great characters.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
About Carrie Stuart Parks
Carrie Stuart Parks is a Christy finalist as well as a Carol award-winning author. She has won numerous awards for her fine art as well. An internationally known forensic artist, she travels with her husband, Rick, across the US and Canada teaching courses in forensic art to law enforcement professionals. The author/illustrator of numerous books on drawing and painting, Carrie continues to create dramatic watercolors from her studio in the mountains of Idaho.
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