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Mark Nykanen

Striking Back Kindle Edition

by Mark Nykanen (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Justice is coming.These men like to hurt women. Now it's payback time for an unknown murderer who's slaughtering the abusers in ways that mirror the ugly violence they forced upon the women in their lives. As the death count grows-and media interest explodes-innocent people could get caught in the killer's revenge.Los Angeles therapist Gwyn Sanders keeps her ugly family history to herself. More than twenty years ago, when she was still a teen, her violent stepfather died a grisly, mysterious death. Gwyn knows all the secrets but she's not talking about the past-she's too busy trying to change the future by breaking the cycle of domestic violence. The men she counsels aren't saints, but maybe she can change the mindset that makes their lives-and the lives of the people closest to them-so miserable. But when someone starts killing her controversial clients, Gwyn becomes LAPD's primary suspect. After all, there's the unsolved mystery of her stepfather's bizarre death. Maybe Gwyn has a hidden desire for justice that's far from therapeutic. Mark Nykanen is an Emmy-winning former NBC correspondent and the author of acclaimed thrillers HUSH, SEARCH ANGEL, THE BONE PARADE, PRIMITIVE and, writing as James Jaros, BURN DOWN THE SKY.

Print length

206 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Bell Bridge Books
Publication date

May 7, 2011
File size

688 KB
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Product details

ASIN : B0051IPXJY
Publisher : Bell Bridge Books (May 7, 2011)
Publication date : May 7, 2011
Language : English
File size : 688 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 206 pages
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #2,468,243 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #7,042 in Psychological Literary Fiction
- #10,527 in Mystery Romance
- #14,834 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction

Customer Reviews:
40 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		23%
4 star		29%
3 star		37%
2 star		5%
1 star		6%

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"Power and Control. Gwyn could have made a huge headline out of what these guys were all about."

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2017

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The first book I ever read by Nykanen was HUSH, a terrifying tale of child abuse. It's been years since I first read it and I still remember the dramatic impact the words of this writer had on me.

STRIKING BACK was good. In fact, it started out very good, but it ended up to be rather a mess - thus the rating I gave it.

Gwyn Sanders is an L.A. therapist who holds group counseling sessions for men that are guilty of violent physical abuse against women and children. She has a rare insight into this field because she grew up with an abusive stepfather - that died a mysterious death when Gwyn was 16 years old.

Now men in her group sessions are being killed off and she's one of the suspects.

Some parts of this book were great while some really stretched the seams of believability. It's still a book worth reading but if you're given the choice of reading either this book or HUSH, definitely choose HUSH.

I received this book from Belle Books through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review but I also bought this book to support this author.

One person found this helpful

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booklover

Suspect or Killer?

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2017

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3.5 Stars

Therapist Gwyn Sanders is counseling a bunch of men who have all committed acts of domestic violence.

One of her clients is found murdered, ironically killed the same way he abused the woman in his life. When second man is also murdered, in a different way, but again in the same manner he abused his wife and child.

When it's learned that Gwyn was a suspect in the murder of her abusive step-father 23 years ago, the detectives take a much closer look at her and her mother.

Is she trying to break a cycle of domestic abuse in her clients ... or is she a killer taking revenge?

The subject of domestic abuse is a hard one to address. I'm sure the author did some research, but there were areas that didn't come across as cohesive. There are twists and turns and practically all the characters are suspects. The ending tied up all the loose ends, but it felt a bit rushed.

Many thanks to the author / BelleBooks, Inc. / Netgalley for the digital copy of STRIKING BACK. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

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Marcus Andrews

Ultimately unsatisfying

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2012

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Author Mark Nykanen clearly can write - he has a fine ear for sentence construction and the "musicality" of language. Here and there his writing reminded me of work by authors whom I admire greatly, like Martin Cruz Smith. However, Nykanen's just not in that league. For every elegant turn of phrase there's another that lands with a thud, or a leaden simile, or some small turn of phrase that left me scratching my head, like "the silence that ensued could have been the cool yammer of cold steel." Huh?

But my real problem with this book was one of plausibility. I struggled through the first half, often cringing as one or another character failed to act in credible way. I then put the book down for several weeks, returning to it only because I hate to leave a novel unfinished. The second half proved more engaging, but the plausibility issue persisted. I had to force myself to read the last thirty or so pages, which is precisely when I shouldn't have been able to tear myself away. And the final, post-denouement chapter is w-a-y too long, which speaks to the number of loose threads the author needed to address.

However, it must be noted that the author has real talent, and this is a far cry from some of the self-published thrillers available for Kindle (which range from excellent to execrable). It's more like a project from a talented writer that somehow went-off track in its early stages and never managed to recover.

2 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

A Great Suspense-Thriller Read

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2012

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Being a counselor/therapist for men who abuse their partners or children is difficult. The difficulty increases when the therapist is a woman, especially one with a history of abuse. Gwyn Sanders has first-hand knowledge of what it's like to live with an abusive male . . . her stepfather. Now that members of her therapy group are being targeted, the police are targeting Gwyn and reinvestigating her stepfather's death. Unfortunately for Gwyn, several of her therapy subjects feel that she may be the "cause" of their fellow member's death and the group members become even more violent, verbally at first, as more members die horrible deaths. Fortunately, the police soon realize that Gwyn is not the killer nor is she instigating the murders. But the questions remain who is killing off these abusive men and why?

Mr. Nykanen has provided a captivating thriller in Striking Back. The characters are all too realistic with their quirks and flaws. Although the acts of these abusers are despicable and hated, it is easy to feel a small amount of sympathy for them as they suffer through the abuse of the killer. The burgeoning relationship between Gwyn and Hark provides a softer side against the ever-increasing violence against the members of the therapy group. The story is filled with just enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing "whodunit" to the very end. Striking Back isn't filled with blood, guts and gore although there is a certain amount of violence; it is quite simply an extremely well-crafted suspense thriller.

One person found this helpful

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appyshoer

Spouse abuse punished as it should be

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2020

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I read this book in one day. The author is very adept at descriptions. Starting out with a social worker and court mandated class for spouse abusers and spiraling out of control to serial killer. Well worth the read.

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Would not recommend

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2015

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So much of this book was interesting -- Gwen is a compelling and intelligent heroine, her world is interesting, the mysteries (both present-day and in Gwen's pasty) quickly draw the reader in, and the language is often beautiful. But the book is saddled with a real clunker of an ending where nothing really comes together. We are kept guessing about who the killer is, but when s/he is unveiled things aren't much clearer than they were before.

I would check out another book by this author, but would hesitate to recommend this one.

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Top reviews from other countries

Lauren G

Pleasurable and would recommend

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2012

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(Bought as a free Kindle download)

The premise for 'Striking Back' is the beginning of vigilante-style murders of domestic abusers - the victims are men convicted of spousal abuse attending a group run by Gwyn Sanders, a therapist with a haunted past.

Alongside the primary story is a sub-plot regarding the decades-old murder of Gwyn Sanders' step-father in suspicious circumstances during her youth.

The pace is reasonably fast moving and includes several twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. In places, the author loses tension but you still find yourself reading through the minor points where there isn't much plot development.

The protagonist of Gwyn Sanders is intriguing although the rest of the characters are quite one-dimensional. The annoyingly named 'Mommsa' becomes quite infuritating throughout the novel which is probably testament to the writing of the author.

I was slightly disappointed with the eventual culprit (although the reveal was well written) but I would consider this to be a minor point and overall enjoyed the book. Its an easy read that doesn't require too much attention and it flows well, with an even mix of character and also plot development.

I would definitely recommend as a quick but satisfying read.

One person found this helpful

Alice

interesting concept

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2012

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Violent men have been the back drop to much of Gwyns life, starting with her step farther, who used to abuse her mother, that is until he died. Now she works with violent men trying to rehabilitate them and stop them beating their wives and children. Now suddenly the men who come to the group are being murdered in ways that echo the abuse they carried out on others and Gwyn is the number one suspect.

The main theme throughout this book is retribution, particularly for unpunished crimes and having the 'victims' also be wife beaters is an interesting juxtaposition.

I enjoyed the book and 90% of the time I didn't expect the twists and turns the story took although on occasion some events were quite predictable. While I felt this was a good book is wasn't one of those books I couldn't put down and I don't think it will be long before I see it on my Kindle and struggle to remember what it was about. That being said it was well written and a good concept it just didn't stand out as an "amazing" book.

Anne

Average - nothing special

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2013

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Gwyn runs support groups for domestic abusers but she is losing her enthusiasm for the occupation as she feels that the groups are doing little more than encouraging the men to become better at lying. Gwyn herself was an abused child and a suspect in her stepfather's murder - she and her mother have been lying for many years about what exactly happened. Her professional life comes to a time of crisis as abusers from her group are being targeted for murder and, because of her past, Gwyn is a suspect - then it looks like she will become a victim.

This is a good plot which explores some interesting ideas but its execution lets it down. I found this book mostly without tension and climax. The writing was not notably poor but the book was not gripping and I didn't really develop empathy with Gwyn. I find it difficult to identify exactly what was missing, but I found this book easy to put down and I don't think that I shall have the urge to read it again.

Smiffie

Good prose style

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2012

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As a basic concept, the abused becoming the counsellor to the abused, a little cliched.
However a good storytelling style keeps the reader interested and pulls them into the dark world without being too heavy and preaching. The end seems to come a little too soon, as if the writer lacked the courage to delve more deeply into the back story of some of the fringe characters who also deserved to be victims. On the plus side this left the reader disappointed the end had come, rather than praying for it.

Overall a good read with some suspense, no unnecessary gore and enough plausible suspects to keep most readers guessing until the reveal.

Lilian

Striking Back

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2011

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it - particularly as it was a free download at the time. I am now going to have a look at the other books he has written as I think I would enjoy them. :-)

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