THE ART OF GOOD AND EVIL

A recently widowed ethics professor aims to rid the world of sex offenders in this dark thriller.

Harvard professor Jonathan Poe’s world comes crashing down all at once. He loses his beloved wife and their two daughters when the plane taking them home goes down. Months later, he’s depressed and contemplating suicide. One night, while wandering through a Boston neighborhood, the martial arts–trained Jonathan stops a man assaulting a woman, ending with the assailant’s murder. Once Jonathan learns the attacker had been a child molester, he finds a purpose in tracking down like-minded criminals, using the Sex Offender Registry Board. As he goes after people in the Boston area, it doesn’t take long for local police to suspect a vigilante killer. Savvy homicide cop Minerva Morales is hot on the culprit’s trail even as Jonathan tries erasing any evidence pointing to him. Still, he knows the authorities will catch up to him someday, and he vows they won’t take him alive. But before it’s over, he may have a shot at explaining his startling acts to the public, which already seems to be rallying behind his crusade. McIntyre aptly delivers a morally complex novel. The engrossing story doesn’t glamorize what Jonathan does. Citizens may cheer him on, but he’s undeniably ready to die, as he has “nothing else to live for” without his family. At the same time, Jonathan questions the sex offender list, which includes a young woman who mooned a police cruiser. The author’s concise prose most effectively describes the protagonist meticulously shadowing his targets. The less suspenseful latter half, meanwhile, explores the legal ramifications; if caught, Jonathan will surely receive a harsher sentence than the despised sex offenders. A remarkable supporting cast entangled in the vigilante murders bolsters the narrative, from Morales to Jonathan’s college friend/lawyer Elaine Peck and his wife’s best friend, Constance Delgado.

A tense, engaging tale of vigilantism and moral ambiguity.