MALEDICTION

Humans are the hunted in Lomax’s twisty thriller.

After her husband was murdered, Maggie Johnson and her two children moved back home with her “Momma C.” Her on-again, off-again situation with police Detective Brody seems to be off again; at least now Maggie is free to do what she wants, and what she wants is to dance it up at her high school reunion. If the dancing didn’t make the night worth it, the fact that she won an all-expenses paid cruise vacation (donated at the event by Robert Malcolm, one of her dance partners that evening) sure did. But that’s about where the good times end—while on the cruise, Maggie’s two kids get kidnapped and locked into a cell, and they’re not the only ones in this facility. It turns out that humans are being used as targets for hunters willing to pay a hefty price, and they don’t have long until the next outing (“they’re going to make us the prey in some twisted hunting game”). Chief Robertson and the police department are actively working on the case, even sending Brody undercover to infiltrate the organization, but can they find the evidence they need and get everyone out in time when they don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle? In this thriller, the third in a series, the author introduces multiple bad actors, all with their own agendas. The story moves fast, and details about the characters are only sporadically sprinkled throughout—this may be because the author is relying heavily on readers already knowing the cast from the previous novels. The villains’ plans are discovered early on, but the way in which everything comes together, and the breakneck speed of the story itself, will keep readers turning the pages. Another pass by an editor to fix some grammar errors would be beneficial.

A fast-paced thriller that will keep readers entertained.