There are predators lurking in the shadows searching for the next prey. They can be anyone, people you are well acquainted with, someone whom you see everyday or even a person who looks innocent on the outside but has ulterior motives. Sexual crimes are happening at an alarming rate and more often than not, the survivors are blamed. The perpetrators derive sexual gratification even after the act whilst that unfateful day haunts the survivors and affects their life.
Annabelle wakes up in a rented room and glances around only to find it unkempt by the previous inhabitants. She has come to a new town in search of survivors and in hot pursuit of her perpetrators. By interrogating the survivors, she wants nothing but justice and closure.
Grace is physically abused in front of Annabelle’s eyes while her children watch the act helplessly. It doesn’t take long for her to form a bond with this stranger woman and she takes arms against the man who violated her.
The plot moves back and forth between multiple timelines. She experiences traumatic flashbacks when she drifts off to sleep. The decrepit town where the story unfolds sucks you into her journey of vengeance. Annabelle is a vigilante on the prowl. She cares for other victims violated by lecherous men whilst there is pure blood on her hands. I had to pause in between, just to collect myself. The evocative words made me root for the main character eventhough she was on a killing rampage. The message is clear underneath the gore, violence and blood, that the survivors are innocent and they should be brought to justice.
The plot almost had all the elements of a psychological thriller. The story gave us a peek into the messy mind of a morally grey protagonist. The POVs shifted between past and present. But as an ardent fan of thrillers, I longed for multiple characters, more messed up minds to study about and lastly I didn’t want Annabelle to be defined by one incident, I wanted a detailed character sketch.
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