Colin Bailey is a killer and he has a list. His intention is to avenge the wrongs that were done to him. An interesting and intriguing journey on the life of Bailey. The characters that he interacts with, the ones he adds to his list and his relationship or lack of relationship with his mother ... all the things that he focuses on in his life. He is on a mission ... a well, planned mission, but nothing could prepare him for what lies ahead. This story pulls you in and makes it so you can't stop reading it ... and then you just want to pick up the sequel and start reading ... that's what I did. I would highly recommend this as your next read! ( )

Is the story plot or character driven? Plot driven because Colin’s actions fuelled the story more than the other characters. At times, it also felt as if the other characters could have been replaced or substituted with similar people but Colin was one of a kind.

Is the plot well-developed? When I started reading this book, the plot although well-developed seemed outlandish to me. Then I watched The Iceman which is the semi-fictional life story of Richard Kuklinski who was a professional hit man and The Final Straw made more sense than I thought.

Who in this book would you most like to meet? Karen because I want to know how she has moved on and the depths of how Colin has affected her. I did feel that this relationship could have been explored a little bit more as there was a sense of desperation about the two of them when they were together.

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book from the author via Orangeberry Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Does the premise make sense and is it engaging? The premise was engaging and held my interest but I’m not sure I fully understand Colin Bailey and his motivations. It was easy to understand Karen and Sue but Colin was a puzzle and it felt like he had more than revenge on his mind.

What did you think about the dialogue? It was colloquial and easy to understand. There wasn’t too much dialogue because the story read like it was studying / analysing Colin’s mind. I wonder if there’s going to be sequel where Colin’s relationships are explained from a different perspective? I highly recommend this book but it did feel as if some more resolution was needed for Colin.

Which characters do you particularly admire or dislike? I’m still not decided about Sue. The scene where she flirts with Colin after Eric’s funeral, it was weird. In all fairness, she did surprise me more than once in the book but she’s definitely not my favourite character in the story.

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book from the author via Orangeberry Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Do you find the characters convincing? Sue Owens was quirky but loved how her character was developed into the story and by the end she had become a central part in Colin’s life. Karen was the most convincing. She wasn’t sure how to go on after Sharron’s death and clung to whatever shreds of hope, lust and normalcy she could.

What did you think about the overall tone? Each character’s voice is significantly different from the other and the tone of the story changes as they each make an appearance. Karen’s tone and setting is gloomy and unappealing, Sue is over the top and Colin is dark.

Is the plot satisfactorily resolved? We discussed this in every way we could. The plot was satisfactorily resolved up to the point Colin and Karen but the police investigation and the way things ended with Colin leave the resolution to the reader. I really enjoyed this book.

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book from the author via Orangeberry Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Did anyone in the book do something you did not like? Colin killed and physically hurt people more than once. I definitely do not like him as a person but as a main character, he was extremely interesting and his lack of emotion was so well depicted to the point it can make your skin crawl.

Was there more than one conflict in the story? Each character was dealing with at least one major conflict in his or her life. Sue Owens found out what Colin was doing and then became conflicted about how to cover it up or conceal it, Karen was in desperate need of someone to talk to and heal after losing their baby but was so conflicted she started having sex with random men every Wednesday and Colin was just so conflicted he wanted to physically destroy the conflicts in his life.

Was the timeline easy to follow? Each scene flowed to the next scene in a cohesive manner and it was easy to understand time passing and the movement of the characters. Every page sucked me into the story more and more, and I always felt like I could everything that was happening in the book and I could easily feel the emotions of the characters.

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book from the author via Orangeberry Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. ( )