Customer Reviews

Retribution

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

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.

When i first checked this book out, i looked at the werid font and short chapters and thought hmm this doesnt look that good. But i decided to give it a shot and was soo glad i did. I absolutely love it!! I read it in one sitting. C.J Townsend is a prosecutor in a case involving a man who is accused of killing dozens of women. During the trial, she finds out that the man she is prosecuting is the same man who raped her 12 years ago and changed her life. She wants justice for the women and herself, but finds out that there was no probable cause to arrest the man. She is torn between her legally duty as a prosecutor and her moral duty to herself. This book is excellent. I felt the characters pain, frustration, and anger. I loved this book so much, i went out and bought it! I recommend it to anyone who likes mystery reads because this one is a thriller!!

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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.

I stayed up too late last night to finish this legal thriller because I just couldn't put it down. The story was very clever and the ending very unexpected. Ms. Hoffman's experieince as an attorney brilliantly shows in every word of the book. I am a paralegal and famliar with many of the terms used, but the book is written so that anyone could understand. The characters are well developed and interesting. I also bought Jilliane Hoffman's next book "Last Witness" and can't wait to start it.

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.

After torture and rape in New York when she was law student Chole Larson leaves the city and eventually becomes a prosecutor in Florida's State Attorneys Office. Then she discovers that a man suspected of serial killings is the man who raped her a dozen years before and got away with it. Even though she doesn't really believe he's the killer she decides to follow through with the prosecution.

I love courtroom thrillers, I love revenge thrillers, I loved this book and I think you will too.

I keep hearing this is a good novel for a first effort, but that would be more appropriate for a publisher's rejection letter, not for a published book.

This book is raw and badly written. The characters are completely without redeeming features, even the victims, which is what you will be if you pay for this book. If you must read this, use your library card and save your money.

Wow. This is dark - very dark - and disturbing and really well done. Chloe Larson is a beautiful young law student who suffers a brutal rape at the hands of a sadist who leaves her for dead. She survives, but is left scarred, both physically and emotionally. Twelve years later she's evolved into C. J. Townsend, crackerjack prosecutor in Miami who lands the biggest case of her career when a serial killer known as Cupid is caught in her jurisdiction. Cupid's calling card is that after torturing his victims - all young, beautiful blondes - he claims his trophy, their hearts. Townsend is determined to get this monster the death penalty and everything seems to be working in her favor, until she meets the defendant and her nightmares become real again. The court process is fascinating in Hoffman's hands; she is a former Florida assistant state attorney and it shows. The book could have used better editing; there are some minor errors and some repetitiousness, but nothing major enough to pull me out of the story. The violence is graphic without being gratuitous, with details of some really heinous crimes, and the ending is superb. This is one very powerful debut novel.

"Retribution" is one of the most unusual books I have had the pleasure of reading in quite a while. The beginning of the story describes a crime in a level of detail that makes you sick with revulsion. Jilliane Hoffman thus grabs you by the collar and screams, "Don't put this book down till you reach the last page!" You can only obey.

I don't want to spoil the plot, but by the time I reached the last few chapters, I was cheering. I'd never found revenge to be a beautiful thing until Hoffman showed me how it's done.

"Retribution" is about pain, violence, the struggle to do the right thing, revenge, love, healing, and a second chance at life. The characters are well developed, and you are drawn into their world completely. There's none of that unbelievable fantasy nonsense you find in many mystery/thrillers. You can envision the moral battles taking place in the minds of our heroine and those around her. Just like in real life, decisions must be made and lines must be drawn. I spent a few days after finishing this book asking myself, 'What would I have done?'

Buy, borrow, rent, or steal this book.

Aren't the majority of fictional thrillers? If they weren't-- if they were just your average, run-of-the-mill stories of everyday life-- would any of us read them? Most of the popular suspense-style authors I read would fail if held to a "plausibility" test. I don't read a book because I want a completely realistic story. I read it to be excited, frightened, surprised, entertained... "Retribution" did all of that and more. All I ask is that the author follows through, answers most questions that arise while reading (for a satisfying finish), and does not stray too far into the realm of ridiculous and/or impossible. Do they stay true to the story? Or do they come out of nowhere with some big finish that makes no sense, simply going for surprise/shock value? I believe the end of "Retribution" is a perfect finish to what the author was setting up the entire book. To go back and re-read it, you would not find any flawed logic, any cheating with character or plot... so it did not strike me as an illogical conclusion by any means.

Every once in a while, I take a chance on a new author, and I am usually disappointed. Not this time. I thought Ms. Hoffman did an outstanding job with this book in so many ways, like really setting up and following through with the initial crime (rather than giving us a 5-page prologue or leaving the reader to merely glimpse the past via character flashbacks). Not a dull moment to be found (in that sense it reminds me of Harlan Coben books.) She has made it onto my "must-read" list, and I'll be recommending her to all my friends-- that is, the ones who can handle the graphic nature of this book, because it really is disturbingly detailed-- another plus, in my opinion. In fact, I liked this book better than most of the books I've read lately from my favorite, best-selling authors. Wow!! A rare find... I hope to be enjoying Ms. Hoffman's books for years to come.