Revenge Runs Deep by Pat Young

I have had the pleasure of meeting Pat a few times, and she is just the loveliest person, so I am delighted to be taking part in the tour for this, her fourth book. My thanks to Sarah at Books on the Bright Side Publicity and Promo for inviting me to take part and to Pat for my review copy.

The Blurb:

Your boss is a bully. How far would you go to get revenge?

Thomas Smeaton is a powerful man who makes life a living hell for his employees. 

When his bullying drives a woman to suicide, three of her colleagues decide it is time to take action before Smeaton destroys any more good people. 

Six months later, a car is found submerged in a reservoir, with a single body inside. Suicide? Or murder? 

Two people were there the night that car rolled into the depths of Loch Etrin. And one is still missing.

Revenge Runs Deep was published on 1st May 2019, and you can purchase it from Waterstones or Amazon. 

My Review: 

I read a book recently where the victims of bullying were in their teens and some reviewers said it didn't ring true because the victims were too old. What absolute rubbish. Anyone can be affected by bullying, regardless of their age. Revenge Runs Deep  looks at bullying in the workplace, which I'm sure happens much more than most of us realise. And I can't think of another book I 've read which tackles this. 

Dedicated teacher Liz is bullied by Thomas Smeaton until she can take it no longer, and takes her own life. Three other people, who have suffered in different ways under Smeaton, decide they have to do something about him, before any more people suffer. And they are aided by a very unexpected ally. Their plan for revenge is a complex and interesting one, playing  on his strong Catholic faith and the idea of purgatory. 

Smeaton is a truly despicable character, who deserves a right good kick in the nuts! He's colourfully written and horribly believable.  Sheila's grief, following the suicide of her best friend, seemed very real, as did her desire to take action against the man she considers responsible for Liz's death. I wasn't entirely convinced about her in disguise in the nursing home, but Ruby was a delight. 

Joe was the character that spoke to me the most. He really cares about his job, and the young men he works with and his anger at Smeaton is for them and others like them. He feels without him, these boys have no hope for a decent future. His scenes with these boys were probably my favourite ones. 

The tension mounts steadily throughout the story as the friends put their plan into motion. There is no violence as such, but Smeaton certainly has his comeuppance, and the scenes with him in the bothy are intense. I thought the whole idea around purgatory was a really interesting one. 

This was a fab book shining a light on a very real problem, and showing how people can be pushed to terrible actions. Well written and an easy read. Very enjoyable. 

The Author: 

Pat Young writes psychological thrillers. Her debut Till the Dust Settles won the Constable Stag Trophy and an Amazon number 1 best-seller award. Her recent release, One Perfect Witness, sat for a while at number 2 in the Scottish Crime charts, nestled between Rankin and Cleeves and ahead of the mighty Val McDermid! 

But Pat never intended to be a writer. Then a story got inside her head, demanding to be told. She is fascinated by what happens when someone suddenly disappears and all her books have that theme. 

Pat loves meeting readers and has been on the programme at Bloody Scotland and Tidelines. She is really excited about appearing at this year’s Boswell Book Festival at Dumfries House in May where she plans to launch her fourth psychological thriller Revenge Runs Deep.

You can follow Pat on Twitter at @py321_young.