Revenge Gifts is a first for me by Cindy Cruciger, though not my first Tor Book. (I have enjoyed all Tor Books that I have read, as they are all unique and different in some way). Revenge Gifts appears to be a stand alone tale, though there is certainly room to develop a series from this one story. Currently Cindy’s only fiction novel, Revenge Gifts is sure to not be her one and only.

Revenge Gifts is a highly unusual tale of voodoo, curses and revenge set in the Florida Keys. At times a little difficult to follow, probably due to my lack of knowledge in the voodoo arena, Revenge Gifts is nevertheless a great tale with quirky characters, a different take on the Florida Keys than the vague positive picture I have always had in my mind and more action than you can shake a stick at. I am glad to have read Revenge Gifts, a book that falls outside the bounds of my usual reading material.

Tara Cole had worked her butt off to succeed in a man’s world. What had it gotten her? No sex for ten years. Yes, I did say ten years. But it looks like this will be changing with the advent of Howard Payne into her life. The trouble is, a chain of events kicks off round about the same time as he enters her life. Somewhere, she’s picked up a stalker. Not literally, of course. Someone’s watching her – and sending bizarre gifts. A black kitten. A black goat. A huge rooster. Terrible, huge floral arrangements. A possessed Doberman. She needs to contend with all of this in addition to the ghosts living in her house and the abuse she gets over her business (yep, she quit the man’s world and followed a different path). Revenge Gifts.com is thriving. Who knew there were so many people who wanted revenge on their nearest and dearest – and others? Tara is not alone in that respect. Though not one to believe in curses, her latest experiences have her rethinking her opinion. But who would want to do her harm – and why? Is Howard involved, or an innocent man who could prove to be the end of her celibacy - forever?

Cindy Cruciger’s Revenge Gifts is undoubtedly a must read for anyone who is into voodoo, curses, ghosts, the unexplainable, the superstitious and all things paranormal. If you haven’t a clue, like me, then you’ll still enjoy the tale, but you may be left thinking ‘huh?’ more than once or twice. I like the heroine, Tara. She’s bold, honest, kick-ass, unafraid, successful and friends with a couple of real hunks (*licking lips*). I’ll take Sam. No, wait. I’ll take Nick the UPS guy. Then again, Howard’s kind of cute…Choices, choices…Anyway, to get back on track (difficult with my mind on the guys, trust me). The characters are all pretty well developed, the plot is smoothly paced and seemingly well thought out. There is sex, but it isn’t described in much detail and certainly doesn’t contain any of the more adventurous acts, apart from a little voyeurism courtesy of the stalker and a few others. For an unusual paranormal tale with a delicious splash of revenge ideas and a little suspense, your best bet is sure to be Revenge Gifts.

Reviewed By Elizabeth
© October 2006