Mike Slavin has written a roller-coaster of a novel in Kill Crime. The story goes from 0 to 100 when Jeff Case, an oil company businessman from Texas, finally catches a pedophile that he’d been chasing ever since his niece had been victimized. Jeff finds himself getting closer to becoming a vigilante, as criminals hurt his friends and the people he loves. The choices only get tougher, and the villains he chases only get more dangerous. Will he survive?

Kill Crime is an exceptionally thrilling novel. The book starts with the main character catching a man about to molest a young child, I thought this was pretty extreme for the first 30 pages, but things only escalate for Jeff Case. This acceleration, and the realism with which it happens, is where Slavin’s writing excels. He makes Jeff’s decisions seem probable and reasonable through his amazing descriptions of grief, pain and anger.

There are many times in the book when I felt angry alongside Jeff, almost to the point of being blinded by it. Some will want him to exact his revenge and go for the kill, but maybe some will be begging him to move on. It’s a thrilling read from cover to cover because of this struggle that the reader faces with the main character, and it will keep the pages turning. If the internal conflict doesn’t entice readers, then the action sequences certainly will. The tense, violent moments are written excellently and play out like some of the best big screen movies.

If there is one weakness in the story, it’s that some of the elements border on cliché, such as Case jamming out to “Danger Zone” on his way home from work. However, Slavin only flirts with this line and never seriously crosses it, which he manages by keeping the story believable and emotionally raw.

The language that Slavin utilizes is fantastic. His writing is never boring, and the sentences he composes are fluid and natural, which makes for a smooth read. He may have gone a little overboard with the text breaks, but it doesn’t hamper the writing. I’ll definitely be looking forward to the next installment. This is especially true, thanks to the couple of nice little hints at where the Jeff Case story might be heading in the sequel.

Pages: 358 | ASIN: B07WQNQWXR