I’m a sucker for a good revenge plot. If I’m honest, I’m also a sucker for a bad one. Revenge is one of my favorite tropes; it comes already packed with a ton of conflict and emotion. Unless you are a truly transcended person, I think most of us find satisfaction in characters getting payback, especially since real life tends not to always work that way. That’s why I chose revenge to be one of the driving forces behind Killian Delaney, the heroine of my latest book, Seven Crows. It’s also the motivation that drives the villain of the story as well. And both of them have good reason to want to make the other pay. I have a lot of favorite books that use this plot. Here are some of my favorites.
Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone
Jane’s a fabulous sociopath with one thing on her mind—avenge the death of the only true friend she’s ever had. That means taking down the man Jane holds responsible for her friend’s suicide. Jane’s intent isn’t to simply end the SOB—that’s too quick and easy. No, Jane’s going to ruin him and make him suffer. This book hits all the high notes and builds to a truly satisfying conclusion. I absolutely adored Jane. I rooted for her and wished her well on the last page. There’s a sequel coming out soon and I simply can’t wait.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Chances are you’ve read the book or watched the movie. If so, you already know the story, but just in case you aren’t familiar with the story, Amy Dunne disappears and her husband, Nick becomes the prime suspect. As the plot unwinds, you learn the truth about Nick and Amy, and the lengths some people will go to get revenge. I know a lot of people hated this book because they found both Nick and Amy unlikable, but I don’t really care if I like a character or not. I just have to find them interesting, and this book delivered. If anyone else finds the ending amusing, please let me know, because I was positively tickled by how the characters end up.
Carrie by Stephen King
The ultimate girl-revenge plot. I know it’s supposed to be horror, but frankly I’ve always thought of Carrie as one of the original Girl-Power plots. Show me a teenage girl who wouldn’t want to get revenge on those who tormented her, and I’ll still be a skeptic. The only people who didn’t root for Carrie were those who bullied her, and we all know how they ended up. Love the book and love the movie. I read this book as a teenager and I hold great love for it, and its titular character, decades later.
Sadie by Courtney Summers
This is a Young Adult novel, but the theme is just as powerful. Sadie is on a quest to avenge the death of her younger sister, Maddie. Sadie is bent, but not broken, despite the instability of the world in which she grew up. Maddie was a bright spot in her sister’s life and someone took her away. They need to pay for that. Told in Sadie’s POV as well as through a podcast about the girls, Sadie is a beautifully written, compelling story about how far we’ll go for the people we love.
If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon
I first read this book when I was too young to quite understand all the nuances of it, but I still fell in love with Tracy and her determination to right the wrongs done to her. Sent to prison for a crime she didn’t commit, forced to endure emotional and physical torture inside, she eventually takes command of her situation and makes a plan. Once free, she completely shucks her ‘good girl’ skin and becomes a woman of confidence and power. She was probably the first adult fictional-character I wanted to inhabit.
Confessions by Kanae Minato
I just recently discovered this author. Turns out this multi-point-of-view book is her first. I certainly hope to read more from her in the future. Yuko Moriaguchi is a woman who seems to live for her child, and when that child is taken from her, she has nothing left. But, before she leaves the school where she teaches, she gives one last lecture, unraveling a quest for revenge. Confessions is a study in the darker sides of humanity and the cruelty of which even the youngest of us is capable. The plot leads you one way and then another until arriving at an end I didn’t see coming, and a revenge complete.
