Penance

Rick R. Reed
Backinprint.com (2006)
ISBN 0595399150
Reviewed by Tyler R. Tichelaar for Reader Views (4/07)

Rick R. Reed's "Penance" is an action-filled novel about a man whose sexual addiction and guilt over that addiction become so terrible that his twisted religious beliefs make him seek revenge on those who tempt him. He begins to pick up and punish the children and teenagers who walk the streets to sell their bodies. He abducts, tortures, and kills them, telling them this way they can receive penance from the Lord for their sins and the wrongs they have committed by tempting him.

Dwight Morris is the sexually-tormented killer of child prostitutes. He tries to overcome his addiction by going to sexual addicts meetings, but he finds the addiction is too powerful. Dwight abducts attractive Jimmy Fels and tortures him, but Jimmy manages to escape by setting Dwight's clothes on fire. As a result, Dwight's wife divorces him, and Dwight decides to get his revenge on Jimmy. In the process, Dwight kidnaps and holds in bondage many of Jimmy's friends, trying to get to Jimmy himself.

Jimmy becomes friends with a priest, Richard, who also has a sexual addiction. Richard is sexually attracted to Jimmy, but he is trying to overcome that attraction to be Jimmy's friend and earning his trust. The building of trust between Dwight and Jimmy brings the strongest scenes and the best descriptions of how sexual addiction can make a person feel powerless and tormented. When Jimmy tells Richard about Dwight, Richard realizes he knows Dwight from the sexual addicts meetings, and he then helps Jimmy track down Dwight's whereabouts.

The story becomes intense when Dwight sends Jimmy a letter stating he is going to find him, and in the meantime, that he is hurting Jimmy's friends. Jimmy and Richard have to put aside their trust issues to rescue Jimmy's friends. In the process, many twists and turns occur where it looks like Dwight will get the upper hand.

Rick R. Reed has written several other suspense novels. His character development for his killer was stronger in "IM" because he used first-person narration to get inside the killer's head, whereas in "Penance" the entire work is in third-person. However, "Penance" did a thorough job of exploring the truly helpless feelings a sexual addict has. The novel was also very descriptive and well-thought out in depicting the lives of the children who sell their bodies to survive. The depictions of poverty, drugs, and sexual exploitation were all well-conceived and effective in adding to the setting and plot. Toward the end, the book seems to carry on a bit too long in its plot twists, although it was a fast read for its 369 pages.

The novel's strongest asset was the character of Father Richard Grebb. Catholic priests have appeared in the media frequently for child-molesting, but rather than make Richard a stereotypical character, Reed succeeds in depicting the struggles the priest undergoes between his addiction and his desire to serve God. Since Richard's sexual addiction issues are not resolved at the end of the novel, I would be interested in a sequel depicting his continuing struggles with his addiction and what is the effect of this novel's shocking end upon his future life.

I recommend “Penance” to those who enjoy fast-paced action and lots of plot twists, and those who are not easily offended by religious and sexual material. After reading "IM" and "Penance," I am becoming a Rick R. Reed fan.

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