Three Reasons for Revenge, Dervla McTiernan (Review by Stacey Lorenson)

Three Reasons for Revenge is the seventh mystery-suspense novel from veteran writer, Dervla McTiernan. Gloss Book Club (Girly Book Club at the time) selected McTiernan’s sophomore novel, The Scholar in 2019, as the Mystery-Thriller read for that year, so I was excited to revisit this talented author once again. This highly suspenseful novel begins with a young woman, Alexis Turner, who insists on reporting her sexual assault to Detective Seargent Judith Lee. The allegations are particularly disturbing for DT Lee because they are exactly like a case she oversaw ten years earlier. After the initial investigative interview, Alexis disappears and three anonymous packages are delivered to three people who appear to be unconnected to each other. After receiving the package, the recipients’ lives are permanently devastated. Finding Alexis Turner is the key to solving the case. How are the three package recipients connected? Can DT Lee prevent another crime from occurring before it’s too late? Complications arise when she becomes entangled in this serpentine game of murder and revenge. Three Reasons for Revenge shines for several reasons; the protagonist, forty-year-old Judith Lee, is just as damaged as the survivor she is investigating. I would have liked Lee’s character to be more reactive. She deflected what was happening to her and sunk her emotions into the case, giving her a narration a one-dimensional note, when there was potential for so much more. The plotting of this novel was unconventional; there are three distinct stories that slowly merge as DT Lee assembles all the pieces of the diabolical puzzle. The exceptional writing grabbed me from the first chapter and held my interest until the very end. This is a gripping novel that has well timed twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very end!