Two Good Men
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Average rating5
15
Ratings1
Average rating5
From the internationally bestselling author of In an Instant and Hadley & Grace comes Two Good Men, a searing drama about two men on a quest for justice—from opposite sides of the law.
Dick Raynes feared this day would come. Otis Parsons, a violent pedophile, has been released from prison, and Dick’s sister Dee is the one who helped put him behind bars. Dick’s marriage is over, and his career is in shambles, so with nothing to lose, he sets out to do whatever it takes to keep Dee and her son Jesse safe. But Otis is just the beginning. Dick quickly discovers the dark truth about repeat sex offenders and finds himself unable to turn away. Using his knowledge as a scientist to develop a formula able to predict those most likely strike again, he sets out to protect future victims the law is powerless to defend.
FBI agent Steve Patterson investigates crimes against sex offenders, running a department he created after his son was killed by a vigilante mother who targeted the wrong person. Recognizing a disturbing pattern of untimely deaths in recently released felons, he sets out to figure out who’s behind it. What he doesn’t expect to find is another chance at love—with the sister of the man he is chasing.
Dick’s strong sense of right and wrong is tested as he pursues and neutralizes the most dangerous threats, while Steve makes it his mission to stop this vigilante serial killer before he is labeled a hero. Both men’s pursuits may be noble, but only one can prevail.
Reviews with the most likes.
Superbly Written Thriller Will Make You Reconsider Your Ideas Of 'Justice'. On the one hand, a man has identified a way to identify serial sexual predators - and is committed to stopping them before they can strike again. On the other, a law man absolutely committed to the Rule of Law and that *everyone* has the right to a second chance once their sentence is complete. Which one is "good". Which one is "just"? How can we as readers of this text reconcile the two competing ideals? Should we? How can we as a society reconcile these ideals? Should we?
Redfearn - yes, the same Suzanne Redfearn of In An Instant, Moment In Time, Hadley & Grace, and Where Butterflies Wander - here presents her most thoughtful book to date, damn near an Atlas Shrugged level deep, *deep* philosophical dive - without Rand's overt political diatribes. Indeed, the text here in some ways is also remeniscent of NPC by Jeremy Robinson, which also features such deep examinations from two different sides by two people of equal mental acuity - though in the Robinson text, the questions at hand are more existential in nature rather than centered on justice for all, particularly those deemed the lowest of the low by society at large.
This is one of those books that could have gotten quite preachy rather quickly in any number of ways in a less deft hand - as Rand was known to do, despite her own great storytelling abilities - and yet never actually does. It questions and it shows pros and cons of both sides, with quite a bit of real (enough) logically paced and logically executed action. While it can be read as a straight up thriller, and many might, it is one of those texts that really deserves and demands to be more deeply considered and examined. Perhaps particularly in the weeks leading into an Election Day, though that has nothing at all to do with the book and is nowhere present in the text.
This was the 157th book I read in 2024. I'm reasonably confident (at the moment at least, we'll see what happens in my final rankings in December) in saying that if you read just a single book this year... make it this one.
Very much recommended.
Originally posted at bookanon.com.
