Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: Rapture: Sins of the Sinners
AUTHOR: A.C. Henley & Fran Heckrotte
PUBLISHER: Affinity Ebook Press NZ Ltd
LENGTH: 218 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 11, 2014
BLURB:
A serial killer is targeting young lesbians throughout the state of Texas.
Texas Ranger Cochetta Lovejoy is assigned to the case. Convinced she knows who is committing the murders, Ranger Lovejoy is willing to do whatever it takes to put the perpetrator behind bars–even if it means stretching the limits of the law by manipulating the judicial system.
Detective Agnes Kelly-Elliott is one of Ft. Worth Police Department’s finest investigators. When Ranger Lovejoy appears on the crime scene of a recent murder, Agnes fears a dark secret that, if revealed, could destroy her family ties, and end her career.
This is a dark, gritty, graphic tale of desire gone awry, and flawed characters looking for redemption in all the wrong places.
REVIEW:
If you’re looking for a love story, this story isn’t for you. As per the blurb, it’s dark and gritty. Blood is shed and lesbians turn up dead. The way the bodies are left in a ritualistic pose, makes it clear early on someone has taken it upon themselves to rid the world of gay women because the person believes it’s a sin to be gay.
Detective Lovejoy is one of the most despicable characters I’ve ever encountered. When a hook-up doesn’t go to her liking, as she discovers Agnes is into bondage, and therefore must be some kind of perverted nut-job, Lovejoy puts two and two together, comes up with ten, and deduces Agnes must be the killer. False accusation and flimsy evidence from Lovejoy see Agnes incarcerated. With more strings pulled she ends up thrown in with the general population. Needless to say her time inside was brutal and not easy to read about.
I found it odd how much pull Lovejoy had but went with it in the name of fiction. Although the legal system is supposed to protect us, I’m sure all manner of things get pushed under the carpet.
The story is told in third person, past tense, and from multiple point-of-views as new characters are introduced. There were only a couple of incidents of head hopping, but for the most part I knew whose point of view the story was being told in, and loved getting such a close insight to what made everyone tick. Agnes’s ex husband Griff was one of my favorite characters.
Writing style – I could have done without the copious amounts of words in italics, almost every one of those ending with – he thought, she thought. If it’s in that persons POV and they are musing, the addition of the words ‘he thought’ are jarring to me as a reader. On that note, the publisher / editor didn’t seem to have any issue with it.
Verdict – While this story wasn’t easy to read, it made me feel, and that is what makes a story stay with me long after turning the last page.
There’s no lady love in this story, so don’t let the fact this falls under the lesbian umbrella deter you from picking up a riveting read! I recommend this story to lovers of dark gritty crime stories. Regardless of the sexual mix.
RATING: 
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