Joseph has finally put the past behind him. Life is everything he has ever envisioned. Justice has been meted out, the ones responsible for the crimes against him and the innocent have been made to pay, and he can finally end his life of violence. Then, in one moment, it is gone. Everything he values has been stolen from him by a criminal looking for a quick payday. So what can Joseph do when, after a life of tragedy, he finally finds happiness, and someone rips it all away from him? How can he go after a man, when he has no clue where the perpetrator is and only a vague idea of what he looks like? How does he find the will to survive when his whole world is gone and the only thing he has left is the need to make the guilty pay?
The chase is on, and Joseph will have to use every resource available if he’s to succeed. But what will he do if he actually catches up with the man he has come to hate more than anything?
TAYLOR JONES SAYS: In The Chase by Leonardus G. Rougoor, Joseph is back at it again. His new wife is killed in a robbery, and Joseph is determined to make the guy pay as the police don’t seem to be able to stop him. But since Joseph is unable to find the man, despite his best efforts, he takes out his anger and frustration on other evil people who hurt innocents. From pedophiles and pimps to drug dealers, Nazis, and the KKK, if they aren’t in jail, they’re fair game. And sometimes even being in prison won’t save them. His methods are ingenious, and his attention to detail acute. He’s a troubled man at the end of his rope who doesn’t think criminals should be allowed to continue hurting people. But how long can he continue before he gets caught himself?
Like the first book in the series, Waiting in the Shadows, Rougoor’s character development is superb, and you just can’t help rooting for Joseph, even if you don’t agree with what he does. A well-written and thought-provoking book.
REGAN MURPHY SAYS: The Chase by Leonardus Rougoor is the story of a good-man-turned-vigilante due to some tragic events in his life. When his mother and then his first wife were both brutally murdered, his mother when he was just a teenager, the cops don’t seem to be able to do anything about it. Even if they eventually catch the perpetrator, he only goes to jail, which doesn’t seem like justice to Joseph. Deciding that if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself, Joseph becomes a vigilante in his spare time. A steel fabricator by day, he becomes a predator at night and on weekends, seeking out bad guys and putting an end to them. He tries to give the life up when he marries his second wife and hopes that he can finally be normal. But it is not to be. While he is out of town, his new wife and unborn child are murdered, and Joseph is devastated. He decides that a normal life is not in the cards for him and takes up the cause again. But the cops are sniffing around and Joseph fears his secrets might be exposed, until he begins to think that the cops might have a very different reason for sniffing around—one Joseph isn’t sure how to handle.
Although the book is written in present tense, which I don’t really care for, I quickly got over that and lost myself in the story. With a clever and dedicated main character, some unique gadgets, intriguing techniques, and plenty of fast-paced action, The Chase is one you’ll hate to put down.
Preface
I wait and wait as the neighborhood slowly quiets down and everyone has long since gone to bed. Finally, he drives into his driveway and parks. His music is booming inside the closed windows for a minute and stops as he opens the door. People here must just love this inconsiderate bastard.
He gets out of the car and, as he closes the door with a slam, I raise the tranquilizer dart gun and sight down the rifle barrel. As he comes around the back of the car and heads toward the front door, I shoot and the dart hits him right in the ass. He screams and jumps as he reaches behind him trying to grab what has just bit him.
The rifle is gas powered so there is no noise to disturb the neighbors. The only noise is Adam as he tries to make it to the front door.
He gets there, but before he can open the door and get into the house, he collapses in a heap unable to move as he loses consciousness.
I wait for a while to see if anyone around looks to see what the commotion is about. Nobody has taken any notice at all. He must always come home and make a racket the way he did before I shot him, so no one cares about it anymore.
When I’m sure there is no one watching, I cross the street and go to the front door, kneeling beside him. I pick up the dart that he managed to pull out and put it away. Dragging him to the back yard, I tie him up nice and tight with his arms strapped to his sides under a large tree.
Throwing a strong rope over a large branch, I tie it around his chest and under his armpits with the knot at the back. Lifting him up and tightening the rope over the branch suspending him in the air, I tie it off. I take two of those dog anchors that screw into the ground and place them in position. I fasten each leg to one of the anchors, thus holding him facing the street. When he awakes, he will be very uncomfortable but not seriously hurt.
At this time, I undo his belt, lower his pants and underwear then use my knife to cut the pants and underwear completely off. Taking off my backpack and opening it, I take out a zip tie and tighten it around his “banana.” This done I reach in the pack again and pull out a can of black undercoating spray and give his genitals a good coating. This stuff is like tar and will be fairly difficult to get off.
With him tied up and hanging from the tree, he’ll have to call out to the people he has irritated for help. Who knows, maybe someone will call the police for him. With any luck, he’s been drinking a lot and will have to relieve himself soon but with the zip tie so tight he won’t be able to.
This man is a pimp, and he better learn his lesson this time and get out of the business. If he doesn’t, a more drastic measure will be taken—one he won’t survive.
© 2017 by Leonardus G. Rougoor