Once a victim, she’s now a vigilante. An addictive and suspenseful thriller for readers of Candice Fox and Sarah Bailey.
Lexi Winter is tough, street-smart and has stood on her own two feet since childhood, when she was a victim of notorious paedophile the Spider. All she cares about now is a roof over her head and her long-term relationship with Johnny Walker. She isn’t particular about who she sleeps with… as long as they pay before leaving.
Lexi is also an ace hacker, tracking and entrapping local paedophiles and reporting them to the cops. When she finds a particularly dangerous paedophile who the police can’t touch, she decides to gather enough evidence to put him away. Instead, she’s a witness to his death…
Detective Inspector Rachael Langley is the cop who cracked the Spider case, 18 years earlier – but failed to protect Lexi. Now a man claiming to be the real Spider is emulating his murderous acts, and Rachael is under pressure from government, media and her police colleagues. Did she get it wrong all those years ago, or is this killer a copycat? Lexi and Rachael cross paths at last, the Spider in their sights… but are they too late?
Sarah Barrie’s latest thriller Unforgiven is a gripping read that deals with the intense subject matter of child sexual assault. If you’re a fan of darker thrillers and can stomach some disturbing scenes, then Unforgiven is a great read for you. Barrie is a prolific author who kickstarted her career with popular rural romances. In a complete change of pace, her last few books have been gritty crime thrillers, gaining her a legion of new readers. Her last novel, Dead Man’s Track, was extremely popular with our readers, making our 2021 Top 100.
Unforgiven alternates between the first-person narration of Lexi Winter and Detective Inspector Rachael Langley – and boy do they make for a pair of strong, complex protagonists. Twists and turns come thick and fast as Lexi and Rachael try to track down some of the worst criminals out there. Cold cases are reopened and questions remain hanging, right down to the tense finale.
Interestingly, Barrie set Unforgiven on the Central Coast, where she also lives. This lends great authenticity to the settings, which are vividly depicted and eerily familiar.
With Unforgiven, Barrie has delivered yet another dark, propulsive thriller which her fans are sure to devour. While not an easy read due to the difficult subject matter, Unforgiven is compelling, gritty and fast-paced — all things a great thriller should be.
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