Valerie J Brooks

Revenge in 3 Parts Valerie J Brooks

She fought for justice. Now she seeks revenge.

In this gripping psychological thriller and debut noir that takes the reader from Paris to Portland, Oregon, and finally to Kauai, criminal attorney Angeline Porter is forced to fight crime outside the law. Angeline thrives on crime--righting wrongs, fighting for justice, putting away murderers. But after rebuking the sexual advances of the head of her firm, plus putting away his friend, a serial rapist, Angeline is disbarred.

When Angeline's beautiful, but troubled sister Sophie commits suicide, she seeks to right the myriad of injustices that provoked her sister and acts to avenge her death.

Guilt for not protecting Sophie drives Angeline to investigate, and after discovering Sophie had a secret life, Ang knows she's in danger. She will lose everything, including her husband, as she battles an FBI agent, a stalker, an international crime extortionist racket, and an obsessively friendly neighbor. To maintain her grip on reality, she drinks, pops meds, and smokes in order to battle secretive, powerful forces that will do anything to stay on top.

Taut and intense with heart-pumping twists, Revenge in 3 Parts uses classic noir language laced with modern tropes--a hacker named Snoop, the Ashley Madison dating site, and Snapchat--and burns with contemporary femmes-noir energy creating a new crime genre and heroine for a disturbed modern age.

Finalist for the 2019 Nancy Pearl Book Award



"Val Brooks has crafted a cunning tale of revenge, grief and unwanted desire."--Paul Skenazy, former thriller reviewer Washington Post, and author of James M. Cain



"... a whirlwind of deceit, theft, blackmail, and worse."



"... genuinely surprising plot turns."



"... a striking and complicated protagonist."



--Kirkus Review



"With its breakneck pace, intriguing cast of characters, and unabashed eroticism, Revenge in Three Parts is a wild, wicked, and utterly delightful ride." --Tim Applegate author of Fever Tree



"... a strong, intelligent, gutsy woman who writes her own rules."--Wendy Kendall, "Kendall and Cooper Talk Mysteries" podcast



"With a whip-crack voice and delicious twists, Revenge is a thoroughly engrossing page-turner."--Bill Cameron, author of the award-winning Skin Kadash mysteries