Once a vigilante, now a cop… but Lexi Winter still plays by her own rules. Retribution is a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller for readers of Candice Fox and Sarah Bailey.
Ace hacker, ex-prostitute, Jack Daniels drinker and part-time vigilante Lexi Winter is now working with the police, with a new enemy in her sights and an old foe on her mind.
Most probationary constables would baulk at chasing a drug dealer into a train tunnel in the dead of night – not Lexi. But when she emerges, injured but alive, to face the wrath of her boss, it’s clear that while Lexi may now be in uniform, she has as much trouble with authority as ever. Just to prove it, Lexi is quietly using her hacking skills to investigate a notorious drug-dealing Sydney crime family with links to her old prey, the paedophile Damon Vaughn. As her colleague Detective Sergeant Finn Carson investigates a death on a Sydney building site that leads him to the picturesque Wondabyne train station on the Hawkesbury River, Inspector Rachael Langley oversees an enquiry that is becoming ever more complex as multiple lines of investigation seem to interweave. What they don’t know is that Lexi is the only one who can unravel them – if only she’ll toe the line.
Sarah Barrie began her writing career in the rural romance genre, but in recent years has moved into thrillers, with a lot of success. They are dark, propulsive reads, that have garnered her a legion of readers. Dead Man’s Track was so popular with our readers it made Better Reading’s 2021 Top 100 list.
Barrie’s last novel, Unforgiven, introduced us to both Lexi Winter and Rachael Langley. It was a dark yet gripping read that dealt with child sexual assault. It had some disturbing scenes, however Barrie is a master at traversing these areas. Retribution is the second novel in the series, but can be also read as a standalone.
It is once again set on the Central Coast of NSW, where Barrie lives. It’s a great setting for this series, providing a fresh take on the genre. Lexi is somewhat struggling with her new profession, giving this read multiple layers. She’s a great protagonist who’s tough, often funny and always compelling. Barrie has delivered a great team in Lexi, Rachael and Detective Sergeant Finn Carson, with enough loose ends here that suggests we’ll being seeing more of these characters, and this series.
Dark, gritty and filled with unexpected twists and turns, Retribution is brilliant and picks up to a relentless pace in the second half. Don’t start reading this before bed… there’s no way you’ll be able to put it down.
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