“Stronger than lover’s love is lover’s hate. Incurable, in each, the wounds they make.”
     – Euripides

“Revenge, the sweetest morsel to the mouth that ever was cooked in hell.”
     – Walter Scott

These two highly cynical and chillingly dark quotes introduce Steve Cavanagh’s new novel, KILL FOR ME, KILL FOR YOU. Set in New York City, it takes on serious subjects like revenge, grief and violence in a way that will have readers holding their own moral judgment in the face of what this narrative presents.

"Cavanagh has done the brilliant job of setting up a narrative that will have readers constantly on the edge of their seats. You may think you have it all figured out, but he never fails to fool you yet again."

Reading like an open wound, we dive directly into the utter darkness of grief --- especially of a parent losing a child. To make that reality even more intense, when the method of death is one of depravity, violence and human horror, it seems to be that much worse. Cavanagh pulls not a single punch nor does he telegraph anything in the plotting of this outstanding story that will leave you reeling by its finish.

The book opens with Amanda White, a young woman who is carrying a revolver. She is an anti-gun New York liberal who learns that death can change your sensibilities. Especially when your six-year-old daughter is abducted by a known pedophile while visiting the park, and her lifeless body is found inside a dumpster in another borough days later. The inability of her husband to prevent this tragedy causes him to take his own life just a week later.

Now, all alone and filled with both grief and vengeance, Amanda is defying the police restraining order and following the alleged killer --- who got off scot-free --- on his morning subway ride so she can take his life. The execution does not go as planned, and the intended victim, Wallace Crone, attacks Amanda, screaming, “I didn’t kill your daughter.” Although she is able to ditch the gun, Amanda is still apprehended by the police and admonished by the pair of detectives who have been working her case. She is forced to attend a grief support group, and Crone plans to sue her for more money than she is worth.

We then are presented with a parallel storyline involving Ruth and Scott Gelman that eventually will intersect with the main narrative in stunning and disturbing ways. One night, while in her uptown Manhattan apartment as Scott is out playing poker with the guys, Ruth is attacked by someone who assaults her with a knife and rapes her. When she eventually awakens in the hospital, she learns how close she came to dying and realizes that her life and psyche may be permanently shattered.

Meanwhile, Amanda begins her counseling, which is led by a nice man named Matt. He informs her that no one uses real names or discusses anything personal with each other, so he asks her for a fictitious name. She says Wendy but is told they already have a Wendy in the group. She ends up going with Jane. After one session, Amanda is most intrigued by Wendy; she finds her to be different and not happy to be there in much the same way as she feels about these mandatory sessions. It is not long before they violate Matt’s procedures and go out for drinks and coffee together.

Wendy shares that her daughter was abducted and killed by her pedophile high school music teacher. Similar to Amanda’s situation, Mr. Quinn got away clean, without any reprimand, and is still teaching. Following one of their bar nights, they stop by Wendy’s for a nightcap. Amanda wanders into the closed room that looks like a police case file, including the cork board filled with articles, maps and photos about Wendy’s daughter and Quinn. Wendy suggests that they do each other a favor and kill off the monsters who took their children from them by swapping potential targets.

Most astute readers will recognize how closely this follows the plotline of Patricia Highsmith’s classic novel, STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, which was later turned into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock. However, the conclusion here is much different, and Cavanagh assures us that the book is never predictable.

I refuse to add anything further, for Cavanagh has done the brilliant job of setting up a narrative that will have readers constantly on the edge of their seats. You may think you have it all figured out, but he never fails to fool you yet again. KILL FOR ME, KILL FOR YOU is Cavanagh’s most engaging work, and you will not forget it any time soon.