prettylittlewriter

Thank you to Faber & Faber books for sending me a copy to review! 

Synopsis
‘Maggie is hiding out in a sleepy North Queensland tourist town, trying to stay under the radar, when she stumbles across a dangerous drug cartel. Anyone else might back away shaking their head, pretend they hadn't seen anything, keep quiet, even though people are getting hurt. But Maggie is no ordinary girl. She's got skills, as well as plenty of secrets to keep, burdens to carry - and anger to burn.

When circumstances mean that she has to get out of town - fast - she heads towards Melbourne, where she just might find the answers that she needs - answers about her family and who she really is. With a bent cop for a dubious ally, the police tracking her and furious bikers on her trail, Maggie is in deep trouble. She's only got her ingenuity and wits on her side - and a determination not to inherit the sins of her father.’

This was an absolutely wild ride from start to finish. Maggie is such an incredible main character, a badass with so much resiliance, despite often being outnumbered, that you cannot help but be impressed by what she manages to survive throughout the novel.

It is quite graphic and very grim in some places, with Maggie being beaten and stabbed, to the point where you’re expecting her death, but somehow she still manages to keep going. There are a couple of characters that do unexpectedly help Maggie, including Jack Carlin, whom you come to actually quite like as a character by the end of the novel.

The novel is very much about Maggie diving back into her past to try and locate her missing mum who abandoned her, as she navigates old memories of her abusive father and what she inherited from him (hence the title of the novel). It seems as if the main thing she inherited was his violent streak as she has no qualms in brutally attacking the people that deserve it. Despite this brutal outlook on life and the things that Maggie does, you really do feel for her, with the abuse she received at the hands of her Dad, and you are rooting for her throughout.

We also get a glimpse into the past through the eyes of Jack Carlin, and his relationship with Maggie’s father, and another cop whom Maggie always trusted as a kid.

This novel is a sequel to Gabriel’s first novel, The Hunted. However, it works well as a stand-alone (I have not read the first novel myself) as it is a new look into who Maggie is, and the first novel doesn’t delve into Maggie’s life as much as this one.

I’ve now added The Hunted to my TBR list, as I really enjoyed this book and I want to find out what else Maggie gets up to!

A brilliantly dark and unforgettable novel full of twists and turns that keep you captivated until the very last page! I highly recommend this to anyone that loves a thriller/crime novel!

5/5 stars