Redemption: The UNMISSABLE thriller now shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize 2025!
As seen:
By Jack Jordan
avg rating
2 reviews
The latest pulse-pounding thriller from master of the moral dilemma and Sunday Times bestseller Jack Jordan.
- SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE 2025 *
- LONGLISTED FOR THE THEAKSTONS OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025 *
- A RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK 2025 *
‘Sometimes I wonder if I have it in me to kill someone . . . what my tipping point might be.’
AARON has just been released from jail after causing the death of a boy in a hit-and-run. Now a free man, all he wants to do is leave his troubled past behind him.
EVELYN, consumed by grief and rage, has been counting down the days until this moment. After eleven long years, she is finally able to exact the revenge her late son deserves.
TOBIAS knows what his wife is planning, and as they embark on a breathless pursuit across the Nevada desert, he is determined to do everything he can to save her from herself.
Even if it means protecting the man who killed their son.
Locked in a blood-soaked collision course, they’re about to find out what waits for them at the end of the road.
RETRIBUTION . . . OR REDEMPTION?
Readers can’t stop talking about Redemption . . . (five star reader reviews *)
‘Hold onto your seat because this book is a wild ride from start to finish! It’s definitely one of my top favourites for 2024, and I can’t stop thinking about it.’
‘Oh my goodness, Jack Jordan can sure write a jaw dropping thriller, this well-written, powerful and emotional story has me riveted throughout.’
‘Oh my word, Jack Jordan has done it again. What an incredible read Redemption is. Truly mind-blowing. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions, I felt them all whilst reading this, and it even made me cry, which rarely happens with thrillers.’
‘My new favourite Jack Jordan book. This powerful and propulsive thriller was dark, brilliantly pacey, flawless, and refreshingly different. It was also unputdownable and unpredictable.’
‘This book was gripping and I couldn’t put it down. It intrigued me from the very first chapter, and this feeling lasted until the very end.’
Reviews
I read Redemption with Methley Book Club as part of the WILBUR SMITH Adventure Writing Prize. With thanks to the WILBUR SMITH Foundation (in conjunction with the Reading Agency) for copies of the book.
Redemption is not the sort of book which I would usually read but I very much enjoyed the experience of reading it, as part of the WILBUR SMITH Adventure Writing Prize, which added to the excitement. I found the novel to be somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster...I hated it at times (in the very brutal parts which I could hardly bear to read) but then loved it at the end, which I found to be very emotional and brought tears to my eyes!
The story is told through the voices of Tobias and Evelyn, whose son was tragically killed during childhood and Aaron...the killer. There is lots of action, lots of violence, lots of heartache and lots of emotion. The book is fast paced and a little far-fetched at times, but that makes it a great escapist-read!
Jack Jordan's writing is incredible, triggering ALL of one's senses with vivid descriptions of sights, sounds, smells, etc. Several characters, additional to the main three, add interest to the story.
The book generated a great discussion at our book club meeting so I would recommend you read it for yourself...you'll be surprised at the twists and turns along the way,
Redemption by Jack Jordan
Redemption has been put forward for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing 2025 prize and with good reason.
It starts in the past of a loving couple who live in London and their life seems to have been idyllic although the conversation about death and betrayal perhaps tolls for the future. The story switches to 20 years hence in San Diego where Tobias and Evelyn are in a mire of grief and loss over the tragic death of their beloved son Joshua. The couple have different ways of coping with the loss, Tobias by overwhelming his wife with his need and love and Evelyn plotting her revenge on the hit and run driver who killed her son and left him to die alone. She intends to kill Aaron Alexander (the driver) and Tobias doesn’t try to persuade her otherwise because she shuts him down and he is so scared he will lose the woman he loves. The moment Aaron is released on parole the story picks up speed towards the final retribution or will it be redemption and for whom?
Jack Jordan writes each protagonist in their own chapters which enables the reader to learn more about the motivations and backgrounds of each of them. The scenes of the unfolding chase against the backdrop of Death Valley with wildfires are brilliantly written and evocative and the tension builds continually and it becomes a page turner to find out what happens next!
He also writes of the emotional wreckages of each life and the couples reactions to loss are not really normal and Evelyn particularly is a little difficult to understand as she is a psychiatrist - should she know better? It seems that too little love and too much love can be equally toxic.
This is my genre and is a good read though I did find it a bit of stretch to believe that ordinary folks are capable of such actions and survive them.
Definitely recommended.
