Book Review: “An Eye for an Eye” by Caroline Fardig is a suspenseful sequel to its similarly successful predecessor
Caroline Fardig is a USA Today Bestselling Author, well-known in the world of mystery and suspense. Her most notable writings are the Java Jive and Lizzie Hart series. According to her website (www.carolinefardig.com), Caroline acted out many roles before deciding that she would become a writer. Considering her book “Bad Medicine” was called one of the Best Books of 2015, I think she made a successful decision.
Caroline Fardig produced this sequel to “Bitter Past” as a nail-biter through and through. “An Eye for an Eye” is the second book thus far in a new series about Ellie Matthews, a criminologist who left the police force to become a professor. In the first novel, Ellie is brought back to assist with a homicide case involving students and staff at Ashmore College, where she had begun teaching forensic sciences. Although relationships and storylines are built up in the first book, the second is certainly understandable without having read both. That being said, I would recommend reading the pair solely because they are solid stories!
After a brief intro, we find out that Ellie’s half-sister Rachel has a friend, Jenna, that goes missing with no trace other than a cell phone in the bushes. Rachel and her friend are students at Ashmore College, which pulls Ellie onto the case once again. She is assigned to work with her former partner, Detective Nick Baxter, even after a previous falling out. Jenna happens to be the niece of Ellie’s close friend and the Sheriff of the department. So when Rachel is also abducted, it seems as through the kidnapper is targeting their department.
After a few ups and even more downs, we find out that Ellie and her department had worked a case about a woman who was murdered. The husband was convicted of the crime, but it is suspected that he didn’t do it. Ellie and Nick are given 72 hours to solve that previous case and Rachel will be released. Ellie struggles to stay focused after her last case, so this one causes her massive anxiety. In the end, there is quite a shocking outcome that may trick the reader.
The different relationships are very relatable throughout the book, but overall the idea of love is very evident. Ellie is a strong woman but closes herself off to the love of a man because she is afraid of getting hurt. While focusing on that, she doesn’t see the adoration coming from others in her life. She is the kind of character that a large number of people can compare themselves to, but would also get frustrated at her stubbornness. Her complex mental state, mixed with the other generally simplistic characters helped Ellie stand out.
The plot has escalating suspense from start to finish, with the investigation moving very slowly to show all that Caroline Fardig learned about forensics. This plotting really keeps the reader wanting more and they will surely get that. It was extremely clear that she did her research, which she nods to in her Acknowledgments section. With the amount of action in this book, you’d think it was simply a well-thought mystery, but it speaks to so much more than that. It makes you think how far you would go for your loved ones.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with “An Eye for an Eye” and was at the edge of my seat for most of the novel. After reading the first two in this series, I think it would be worth visiting her other two series. Anyone looking for a good book in the crime/mystery genre should look no further than here.
“An Eye for an Eye” by Caroline Fardig was published on January 23rd, 2018.
Training & Development Director by day; Daddy, Husband and web junkie by night. For years I have benefited by creating many things including : Web Sites, Logos, illustrations, online training courses , writings and much more.
