3 out of 4 stars
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This tale is not only about the foolishness of youth, but also about a perverted friendship between two men spanning decades. Their brinkmanship masked as friendship, was born out of their need to outdo one another. In their duel for supremacy, the two men narrow their world to a population of two where they compete with each other via bizarre games. To lose is unacceptable, and there can only be one winner.
Andrea Francis finds herself the trophy that Max Roarke and Robby Trask must win at all costs. Ignorant of their perpetual rivalry, Andrea revels in the attention of both men and is unable to choose. A choice is ultimately made for her when both men decide her fate in one of their games. Eventually, Andrea marries one of them only to file for divorce years later to marry the other.
Once their trophy, Andrea becomes a reluctant spectator to their devious games, and in time, is reduced to their unintended victim. The realization of this devastating fact, and the pain Max and Robby’s contrived contests have caused her, leaves Andrea determined to exact retribution. What she has planned is deadlier than their games.
Revenge Served Cold by Bob Ford had an unusual yet compelling plot. First, there was the story of Max and Robby’s never-ending rivalry; then there was Adrea’s story of how her life was impacted by the actions of these two men. The writing flowed well, although some parts dragged a bit. The story had ample plot twists and proved to be an entertaining and suspenseful read. I applaud the author’s imagination, character development, and his vivid and spot-on descriptions of how and where the wealthy live and play.
My favorite character was Andrea. Although I was initially impatient with her for not following her heart when she first had the chance, I grew to appreciate her character evolution. Like she said in the book, how would any woman of twenty-three react if two of the world’s most sought-after bachelors had fallen in love with her? Her inflated ego simply squashed her common sense. She later matured into a strong, self-assured woman who wasted no time in taking the necessary steps to change the course of her life when the situation called for it. I was also impressed with how she went about exacting her revenge on Max and Robby. She demonstrated that she could play their games better than they could ever have imagined.
Robby’s character was not as easy to love. I believe Max’s character could have been saved if not for Robby’s toxic influence. He was usually the instigator of whatever new game he felt they needed to play, and he often never played fair. For instance, during their Tour de Francis game, he rigged Max’s bike to make sure it would never reach the finish line when they were competing for who would get to stay and woo Andrea. Their rabid competitiveness only intensified with time and seemed to provide them with a euphoria unmatched by anything else in their lives. They humiliated each other in ways real friends never would, yet they could not stop. They became trapped in an ever-tightening circle of their own creation, and nothing else mattered but the tally.
On the downside, several formatting and editing issues proved to be a bit of a distraction. There were more than a handful of grammatical and typographical errors. However, these issues did not necessarily detract from the quality of the story. If you enjoy a good mystery novel, this is the book for you. The amount of foul language in the book makes it unsuitable for children. I don’t recall ever reading a book quite like this and, I enjoyed how different it was. I rate Revenge Served Cold 3 out of 4 stars. I am compelled to deduct a star due to the issues mentioned above.
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Revenge Served Cold
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