Avenue of Regrets by R.J. Pineiro - There is more beneath the surface of revenge.

“There is a very thin membrane separating purity from the worst form of depravity” was one of the character’s lines in the novel. It pretty much mirrors how the author, R.J. Pineiro adeptly wrote the commonly-used psychological suspense genre to his advantage. The line seemed to have been his guiding principle as the plot unfolded. If he pushed or stretched the membrane of writing's purity from simplicity and clarity to complexity for the sake of drama, the whole thing would have been ruined without a chance at redemption.

All the clichés were present in the novel: the brooding male protagonist, David; the supportive best friend, Ryan; the female love interest, Margaret; the mysterious characters; strings of murders; arrogant detectives; ultimate devil incarnate antagonist, Caporini; and the highly-organized prostitution ring that ruined the protagonist’s life. However, with Pineiro’s clear and concise narrative, the plot became an intriguing and engrossing read.

In the story, David runs a halfway house for abused women. He was charged with murder as a result of one night of indiscretion 7 years ago. The charges were dropped after some pieces of evidence magically appeared before his trial. His wife and son also died right around the time of his trial. He carried the blame for his family’s death for 7 long years. Then he met a mysterious woman in a conference who told him that what happened 7 years ago was not as simple as he believed, thus his desire to start uncovering the truth. Along the way, Margaret, a domestic abuse survivor who now works for the halfway house was abducted. This makes David more eager to uncover the tangle of mystery and deception to save her.

The surprise twists in the story kept piling on. In the hand of an ineffective writer, this technique would have been confusing thus would make the reader abandon the story. Yet in Pineiro's careful but adept writing skill, the technique worked wonderfully and efficiently. I have gasped, "What the heck!" several times, and the twists and turns made an addictive page-turner. If you love to be on the edge of your seat while reading, then this book is for you.

In the first chapter, the author was still unsure of how the plot should move forward and how the characters would develop. His description of the protagonist in the 1st chapter was a bit trite. The momentum, or in this case, the author's confidence in his story grew at the start of the 2nd chapter. After that, each chapter was a rollercoaster ride of surprise twists and turns.

Pineiro’s skills in using simple yet haunting words to describe physical and psychological abuse were disturbingly accurate. He didn’t need to use highfaluting words to describe the grotesque results of physical abuse because his simple words could really paint the picture for you. The cold-blooded murder scenes, described with calm demeanor made my skin crawl in fear and disgust. Pineiro wrote the book not to show his mastery with words, but he wielded his writing skill as a weapon to illicit unsettling emotions from his readers. The beauty of his narrative was all about simplicity.

The humor that the author attempted to inject in the narrative was not forced. The dark humor actually worked on the narrative's advantage as it gave me a slight relief from the shock and surprise the story offered.

The characters were not one-dimensional including the antagonist. Despite his diabolical acts, his evil character still had a depth that made him an impressive one. The complexity of each character was believable because, in reality, everyone is a confusing combination of good, bad, and everything in between. The characters’ thoughts and actions were all anchored on the basis of human psychology. If there was one twist in the story that I found unbelievable, it was the relationship between David and Margaret. Although their chemistry was obvious in the narrative, especially on Margaret’s part, the author jumped the gun in turning them into a couple in a matter of 24 hours. Even without the love story angle, David would be still as eager to save Margaret from the bad guys because of her experience with abuse.

Overall, this book is highly recommended if you wish to be disturbed and scared. This book is also a wonderful read for people who are interested in organized crimes, police and detective work, recovery from psychological and physical abuse, or just plain old simple murders.

To R.J. Pineiro, continue to write books in this concise yet elegant manner. I just simply love it.