A new stand-alone thriller by an acclaimed master of the genre and author of the Nameless Detective series.

Bill Pronzini is crime-writing royalty. His more than eighty published novels have won or been nominated for Edgar, Hammett, Anthony, Shamus, and Macavity awards—a clean sweep of the crime fiction award field—along with rave reviews from critics. He crafts masterful stories, often from multiple perspectives, in which the human condition is on full display.

The Violated is no exception. In Echo Park, in the small town of Santa Rita, California, the mutilated body of Martin Torrey is found by two passersby. A registered sex offender, Torrey has been a suspect in a string of recent rapes, and instant suspicion for his murder falls on the relatives and friends of the women attacked. Police chief Griffin Kells and detective Robert Ortiz are under increasing pressure from the public and from a mayor demanding results in a case that has no easy solution. Pronzini cleverly unfolds the case through alternating perspectives—Martin Torrey’s wife, caught between her grief and the fear her husband was guilty; the outraged husbands of the women violated; the enterprising editor of the local paper; the mayor concerned most with his own ratings; the detectives, often spinning in circles—until a surprising break leads to a completely unexpected conclusion. The Violated is Bill Pronzini at the height of his storytelling powers.

This book was okay. Just okay not great but also not bad. As mentioned in the blurb it touches in the subject of rape so that may me a trigger to some readers. This book also have multiple POV which I thought was great for this book and story. The story was entertaining and kept me guessing while I was sitting on the edge of my chair. The characters were good but some of them seemed a bit immature, which kind of took away from the overall thriller of the story. While most of the book was entertaining, some f it was a bit predicable and others a bit too drawn out, which can slow it down. The overall pacing of the book was okay . Overall I thought it was good and something you can enjoy if you like thrillers I rate it 3 ★

*I received a free copy from the publisher and chose to leave a voluntary review. Thank you!*

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Mystery Writers of America Awards "Grand Master" 2008 Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1999) for Boobytrap Edgar Awards Best Novel nominee (1998) for A Wasteland of Strangers Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) for Sentinels Shamus Awards "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) 1987 Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1982) for Hoodwink.

Married to author Marcia Muller.

Pseudonyms: Robert Hart Davis (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann) Jack Foxx William Jeffrey (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann) Alex Saxon

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Somehow this is a difficult review to do. This could’ve been a solid 5 star review hadn’t some things really bugging me.

I expected to be devastated by reading about Derek’s on-page-rape. Yes, it was horrendous en it was devastating to read about what it did to Derek’s self confidence. But his emotionally down fall because of it really was heartbreaking.

His career was over. His relationship with Tim was crumbling. He had a mortgage on the cabin and no income. He couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stand the thought of sex. His entire life was falling apart. Victor had won.

He’d destroyed Derek as utterly as if he’d put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

So I was very involved in Derek’s story. I’m usually a big fan of changing POVs but the POV of Russ in the first half of the book, I didn’t like at all. I wasn’t interested in Russ’s story where he was hooking up with guys, trying to find love. It felt off besides Derek’s pain…
Not until Derek and Russ came together, that I was enjoying Russ’s POV more. I loved how he put his own needs after Derek’s needs. Russ was amazing!

I also loved how Fessenden made this so real. No Disney-like HEA and kept it real.

Derek would never be “over” what Victor had done to him. He would never forget it. It would never go away. It would always influence his feelings about sex, about men, about friends. But he and Derek could still built a life together. They could still love each other. Russ just needed to let Derek heal in his own way, over the rest of his life.

I didn’t like this one. I like a little background on both MCs before they get together, but this was just ridiculous.

Derek has just bought a lake house with his fiancé Tim (I should say his ass of a fiancé. I had no idea what he saw in him), when he meets his yummy neighbor Russ. Of course Derek is engaged, so friendship it is.

Russ is a cop, who is tired of being alone. When he meets his new neighbor, sparks fly, but he doesn’t do (almost) married men. But the two become friends anyway.

When Derek goes away on a business trip with his colleague and best friend Victor (since Derek never really liked Victor in the 20 years he has known him, I use the term ‘best friend’ loosely), he is expecting to be bored to death. What he doesn’t expect is to be raped by that same best friend when they spend the night at a hotel.

Derek’s life falls apart after that. He is afraid to tell anyone, because well, he is a muscular guy, and those don’t get raped, right?

It’s after Tim leaves Derek and he loses his job, that Derek really hits rock bottom. But he still has Russ as a friend. Or maybe something more. If Russ can get over the fact that Derek can’t stand to be touched anymore…

This sounds like an amazing story, on paper. But I’m afraid the execution was very disappointing.

For the first 40% we get a complete introduction of Derek’s and Russ’ lives. We get to read about Russ finding a fuck buddy and having sex with him several times. We read about Russ finding out that said fuck buddy is together with his ex again. We then read about Russ going away on a sexy weekend to a ‘clothing optional gay farm’, where he has sex with one guy for the entire weekend, but everyone else has orgies. I skimmed that entire part. It was unnecessary and way too long.

We also read about how awful a person Tim is. It gets kind of old if the current boyfriend/fiancé is ALWAYS a dick. Derek must have loved him, but I just couldn’t see why. Why couldn’t we just have a normal fiancé who just couldn’t deal with Derek’s moods after the rape?

And I really like it when a person needs help healing when he has gone through something traumatic. But for some reason I never bought it here. Derek was still so in the middle of it after a couple of months (as one would expect after being raped by your best friend), that I had a hard time believing he was ready for a new relationship.

Overall, nice premise, bad execution.

 

Derek Sawyer thinks he has it all—a high-salaried position, a boyfriend, a dog, even a new cabin on the lake—until a business trip with his manager and best friend, Victor, shatters his world. One night of drunken horsing around in their hotel room leads to the most intensely personal violation Derek has ever endured.  - Blurb excerpt from “Violated”

Needless to say, this is not a book I would have sought out at all.  Rape for me is very difficult to read and so typically I avoid books with this theme. The violation of another person in that way is just more than my heart can take. So reading this was a personal feat and I am so glad I took this on.  This was breathtaking.

“You… destroyed… me.”

Derek is not only raped but raped by someone he knows…someone he trusted…someone he has called his best friend for over 20 years.  How can he trust again?  Trust a man again?

This was undeniably difficult to endure but Jamie Fessenden deserves all the accolades on this one. Jamie beautifully brings you into the mind of Derek. Feeling every emotion, every fear, every internal struggle, flinch, panic attack and self-accusation.  Not to mention feeling how vulnerable a victim of rape becomes and more specifically how a gay man feels. The sensory acuity expressed here is exceptionally captured. From the smell of Victor's cologne to his voice you feel every emotional impact this has.

Derek had his own demons from his childhood that certainly did not help his situation at all but learning to live with this incident was a huge part of his journey.  And it was Russ who ultimately became a part of that journey. 

Russ…

Russ…

Russ…

I want to tackle you in a hug and cuddle you forever. I just love you.

This is one of the most caring and loving men I have ever read about.  Patient and protective, he is exactly who Derek needs.  And while Russ has his own POV is it not until nearly 60% that the relationship begins.  And getting their stories before their relationship was a huge part of understanding who each of these men are and what they need.  But no one was more perfect for Derek than him. 

Whenever Derek caught his eye, the warmth he found there amazed him. No man had ever looked at him quite like that.

Even though he knew Russ wouldn’t want him to feel that way, Derek felt foolish and self-indulgent. He reached across the table and rested his right hand over Russ’s left. For a few seconds he did nothing more than rest it there, until he concluded that he liked the feel of Russ’s skin under his fingers. He stroked it lightly with his fingertips and glanced up to see Russ watching him closely.

The rape and the journey consume nearly every page of this book.  This is not a remote incident but is a part of Derek that has ultimately changed him forever.  How this couple learns to handle each other is quite remarkable. The relationship has some of the most touching and heartwarming moments I have read in a while.

Susan had warned Russ that Derek would never be “over” what Victor had done to him. He would never forget it. It would never go away. It would always influence his feelings about sex, about men, about friends…. But he and Derek could still build a life together. They could still love each other. Russ just needed to let Derek heal in his own way, over the rest of his life.

No doubt that this book will stay with me for some time and undoubtedly it will land at the top of my best of 2017 list this year. 

**Highly Recommended**

Closing the door, Derek thought to himself, I used to be strong. If somebody in high school started a fight with him, he’d always fought back. He didn’t understand why this was so different, but somehow it was. Somehow Victor had not only taken his body, but his strength. Curled up in a ball in the wee hours of the morning, he felt as if the entire world was lurking just outside the room, waiting to rip his body to pieces if he dared to move and reveal his hiding place.

*dying*