REVIEW for Scattered Leaves

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TITLE: Scattered Leaves

AUTHOR: Richard E. Roach

RATING: 3 stars

While Ben is trying to cope with this disaster, a bigger one looms back home. When he returns from his business trip, he finds the body of his wife brutally raped and murdered - this instantly triggers thoughts of revenge and despite his grief, he vows to find and kill the person who did this.



The first part of the storyline is about Ben and his plot for vengeance. He is a determined man and desperatly looks (through any means) for the man of killed his wife. He follows various clues that bring him through unknown worlds - those of drugs and murder and spans through half of the US. This works very well to propel the plot along and it is engrossing and intriguing. Just how far will he go???



Through his search, he happens upon a woman who has secrets of her own. They decide to work together - two people looking for revenge - to find those responsible for their pain and suffering.

This is where the books start to fall apart a little for me. In the first part of the storyline, you can feel the hatred, the pain and the violence that Ben has for everyone around him - but you can also feel the love that he had for his wife (although this often gets lost in all the violence). However, as soon as Ben meets his new partner in crime - you get the distinct impression that everything becomes about her.


Its as though Ben completely forgets about his wife and his commitment to her and now feels compelled to seek revenge on behalf of PJ.



Of course, the two of them end up falling in love and at this point, I no longer really felt committed to the storyline. Its as though I got a promise of one thing in the earlier part of the book and was let down in the second part.


The writing is fun and down to earth and I even really felt for Ben, but, in the end, this book felt more like a Harlequin Romance than a gritty, honest to goodness thriller.