Retribution

 Author's Summary

Follow San Francisco homicide detective Vince Torelli as he tries to outwit and capture an elusive, murdering vigilante in this award winning mystery novel.

MWSA Review

MWSA 2007 Silver Medal for Fiction, Mystery

Vince Torelli in another police adventure! John Schembra has written a follow up to the adventures of Vince Torelli. However, this does not take place in Vietnam like John’s first novel, “MP”. Torelli has returned home and is now an inspector with the San Francisco police department where he gets involved in a serial killer investigation and the search for the “Retribution Killer”. The author’s 30 years of being a police officer shines through in the book. It’s rich with detail, especially when describing the horrendous crimes and crime scenes. These particular things are very vivid to the reader. It’s more an expose on our disintegrating over burdened court system where deals are made leaving the men who do the work in the field stressed out at the results.

I liked this book a lot, and it’s a definite compliment to his first book about Vince. The author leaves you hanging in this one. What will be Vince’s next move. Will he also succumb to the folly that is justice? It will be interesting to see how the author follows this up. In his third book? Hope so.

Reviewed by: Jim Stewart (2007)