 Thank you to Rachel from Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for A Stranger's Revenge, a new legal thriller by K.J.McGillick.  A Stranger’s Revenge When art law attorney Abigail Clarke is mistaken for the murdered twin sister she never knew existed, will she be able to outwit a man determined to kill every member of her treacherous family. Thirty years ago, during a thunderstorm, on an isolated street in South Boston, an unidentified two-year-old girl was discovered, abandoned, shot, barely clinging to life. After a thorough investigation, the case was eventually designated to the cold case files until Abigail Clarke, now an astraphobic art law attorney, is mistaken for the murdered twin sister she never knew existed. What the FBI Art Crime Division cannot determine is if Abigail is an innocent bystander or a co-conspirator in her sister’s art fraud crimes. Compelled to uncover all her family’s secrets, nothing prepares Abigail for the disastrous meeting with her murderous brother and crime boss father. Her life is irreversibly changed the more she becomes mired in her family’s treachery. She soon finds herself drawn into a game of cat and mouse by the vengeful killer who methodically plans to execute every member of her family, holding each one of them ultimately responsible for the murder of his own family thirty years ago. Purchase Links UK / US  My thoughts: This is my second book by Kathleen Mcgillick and I knew this newest book is also going to fast-paced, action-packed and impossible to put down. Exactly what it proved to be! Abby Clark is an attorney specialising in art law, so when a new client asks her to accompany him to an auction and assist him in purchasing two paintings, she sets aside her irrational distrust of the man and flies to Boston. The auction house unexpectedly withdraws the offer which clearly infuriates Abby's client. On her return home Abby finds out that FBI have identified her...as a possible murder victim. In fact, even Abby herself can't deny she looks a veritable doppelganger of the girl strangled in a dark alley in Boston. A quick DNA analysis confirms what was already obvious to everyone- the victim was Abby's twin sister Aisling Dolan, an Irish national. Abby herself was shot and left for dead at the age of two. While she has a loving family, great friends and fantastic career, she is also suffering from anxiety and abandonment issues related to her early childhood. Time to find out what exactly happened to Aisling and who exactly were her biological parents. Now Abby is quite an interesting character. She is loyal to her friends and her family, but she is obviously quite impulsive, even reckless. Some of her comments about Ireland rubbed me the wrong way- it was as if Abby was determined to see only negative things about her birthplace to simplify her complex feelings about what happened to her as a child. I wasn't so sure about her 'in-built lie detector'. One thing you have to give to Abby- she is decisive and always ready to act. Abby's grandma Stasha with her little thermos of Dutch courage (shhh, don't tell anyone) was a real hoot! I loved the little legal details introduced here and there in the book, from Abby giving her psychiatrist friend Maura help with her unusal predicament to Abby's 'hypothetical' conversation with her partner Gregory. It's clear that the author knows what she is writing about and knows how to pique and keep the reader's interest. The pace is fast and there is quite a high body count in this action-packed thriller. Some settings were extremely evocative and I could easily see this book adapted for the silver screen- Hollywood, are you listening? Overall, this was a very quick, compulsive read, perfect for anyone who enjoys suspense, action, international settings and books about stolen art. Looking forward to Kathleen's next book! Thank you to Rachel from Rachel's Random Resources and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.  Author Bio – Kathleen McGillick is an attorney by education and writes mainly suspense and thriller novels. She earned a B.S.N. from the University of Miami, and an M.S. from Adelphi University, after which she practiced nursing for seventeen years. In 1994, while working as a Registered Nurse, she earned a Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. Her solo law practice in which she specialized in Family Law for twenty-seven years, centered on meeting the needs of women and children. While practicing law, she turned to novel writing and has self-published ten novels that have recurring themes of legal intrigue and stolen art. As an avid international traveler, she incorporates many of the places she has traveled into the settings of her books. For the last fifteen years, she has immersed herself in the study of art history and the intrigue of crimes related to fakes and forgeries which she weaves into her character-driven complex plots. Born and raised in New York, she now resides in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Kathleen is a grandmother of two teenage grandchildren and a mother to four fur babies. Social Media Links facebook / twitter / website / goodreads   Comments are closed.
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