Cruel to be Kind by Joseph Souza

Non-stop action and thrills abound in this twisty and twisted tale of a serial killer’s life. The second book in the Bad Choices series follows Gwynn Denning as she copes with one issue after another, following the recent murders she committed. Too many people know her secrets. The book starts off as a tangled yarn of complications and unravels with increasing knots. So many problems to deal with—a controlling husband and a cheating boyfriend; added to that is a cop waking from a coma and a grown-up child whose father Gwynn killed reappearing in her life. All four hold the power to expose her as a killer.  

Gwynn is a complex character with gray morals. Her calling is to rid the world of bad people. You can hardly help but root for this woman who not only justifies murder, but views it as justice for those who have been wronged by the victims. A victim herself (of her husband’s emotional and sexual abuse), Gwynn is in a situation where she chooses to put up with Tom’s treatment for two reasons: he is blackmailing her with proof of her crimes, and he is threatening to take their child away from her. Gwynn will do whatever it takes to keep her son, including killing Tom and preventing her son from becoming the kind of man his father is.

The added point of view of Peters, her detective boyfriend, as well as Gwynn’s therapist, Dr. Kaufman, provides the reader with insight into Gwynn’s mind and what motivates her to kill. Background information about her life and previous victims is woven into the narrative so that this book can be read without having read the first in the series. Subplots revolving around Gwynn’s work with abused children and her new career writing fiction based on her own life, add to her character development.

With so many surprising reveals about the characters and shocking turns of events, all moving the plot forward at breakneck speed, Cruel to be Kind is a deliciously dark psychological thriller with an ending that leaves the reader craving the next book in the series.