Degrees of Retribution, Detective Inspector Stratton mystery 2 (ebook)

When Kori Dirks returns to her idyllic childhood town in Northern Tasmania with her partner, life seems perfect. In the historic farming hub of Longford, they restore a heritage home, celebrate her promotion, and plan for their future. But when Kori is found dead, apparently by suicide, her death is both shocking and inexplicable.  

The community grieves but begins to move on—until her partner, Renee, is discovered murdered beneath a disused rail bridge by Mill Dam. A cryptic poem left at the scene hints at a chilling pattern, but the motive behind Renee’s death remains elusive.  

Detective Inspector Terry Stratton and his team arrive to investigate, uncovering grudges and buried secrets beneath Longford's tranquil exterior. As they piece together the fragments, a sinister pattern takes shape, and the killer strikes again. With more lives in peril and the safety of his team at risk, Stratton races to unravel the truth before the killer exacts their ultimate retribution.  

Detective Inspector Stratton's journey continues in Degrees of Retribution, the third in the series—and the third that I've read. This time, I felt like part of Stratton's team, and that I was responsible for catching the killer before they could take more lives. There were so many moments while reading when I completely forgot it was fiction.

The intrigue from the start was palpable, and I was offered a series of events that in the best of ways, I couldn't figure out how it would fit into the overall story. I loved that the author held back Stratton's entrance, making me wait for the character I’d come to expect—then turning what seemed like a straightforward saga into a mountain of questions. The best crime novels always throw up random events and link them in unexpected ways and this was no exception.

This novel flips the crime genre on its head—not just in terms of narrative arc, but also in motivations and even the choice of victims. A reversal may be the best description Clues are cleverly woven through the story, and I appreciated how the author offered a mystery on the surface, only to make us dig deeper to uncover the real one.

DEGREES OF RETRIBUTION - I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well written, interesting story with its interesting characters and intriguing story lines. It was hard to put down for the night and easily picked up the next morning.