Review: Elicit (#4, Eagle Elite) by Rachel Van Dyken

My Thoughts

Dark, dangerous and irresistibly addictive with an intensity that had me biting my nails from beginning to end.

• Related Posts: Romantic Suspense | Dark & Intense | Read USA Today column on Elicit

Synopsis

Cursed, numb, rejected, scorned, wicked, sinister, dark, twisted…my name is Tex Campisi and this is my legacy. I killed my father in cold blood and lost my soul right along with him. 
I crave war more than peace, and I’m about to take my place in history as the youngest Capo dei Capi in the Cosa Nostra…that is until someone stops me, saves me from myself. 

But the only person able to do that…is my best friends sister, Mo Abandanato, and she just ripped my heart out and asked me to hold it in my hands while she put bullets through it. 

Im cursed so I did it. 
I’m numb so I held it. 
I’m wicked so I liked it.
I used the pain Mo caused as a catalyst to turn into my biggest nightmare–the five families greatest enemy. It’s my turn to take a stand, knowing full well I’m going to lose my mind to the madness that is the American Mafia. I’ve always been told Blood is thicker than life. I wish I would have listened. Because regardless of who you love? You will betray. You will kill.
Blood Always Wins. 
The only way out is death…yours.

Welcome to the Dark Side of the Family.

My Review

If you’re looking to ratchet up your blood pressure, this is your book! The best word to describe it is INTENSE. Rachel Van Dyken expertly got my heart pumping and my pulse racing with Tex’s story. It’s a dark one, defined by danger, violence, shame, responsibility, power and blood.  It’s a story about choices. About standing up for what you believe in, who you love, and what needs to get done no matter the price. Because once you’re in the family, there’s one thing that is made abundantly clear…

“Blood in, no out.”

When Tex shot his father—the Cappo di Cappo—at point blank, he wasn’t left with his legacy… he took it in cold blood. And what he took on were endless problems, a warring family, reprehensible business dealings, and a list of impossible, life-altering choices he needed to make. The prologue starts with a bang, literally, and I was left with my mouth agape in total shock. It sets the expectation that nothing from that point forward would be anything less than total chaos.

“In the end… he would choose Campisi. In the end… she would choose Abandonato. In the end… there would be bloodshed.”

Tex loved Mo Abandonato with every fiber of his being. He had messed up, made choices that were irreversible, but Mo had betrayed him too and had then asked him to carry the burden of her own indiscretions. Their relationship is volatile.  Brimming with hate and desire and love and many unsaid words that could and would destroy their fragile rapport. On top of their crumbling relationship, Tex knew that in the end, he would need to choose between blood and death, between family and love. And as much as he loved Mo, she didn’t share his blood.

“I was the worst type of person. Because I craved blood like a drug. I craved death. I craved war. I craved it like an addict.”

Tex is an intense, complex character. With an awful father that claimed he was cursed, he never felt he belonged. Even when his friends, the Elect, took him in, he struggled to find his place. Over the years, the rage intensified, the hurt deepened, the anger multiplied. The dark side of Tex was indeed dangerous and it craved power and retribution. Mo was the light in his life, the only one that made him feel wanted, made him want to be better. Yet, the find themselves in a critical situation that not only affected the two of them, but also involved Nixon, Chase, Luca, Frank, the girls and the rest of the families. Everything hung precariously in a balance.

“We rise together, we fall together.”

The story unfurls in a way that delivers one shock after the other. The pacing never relents with blood, action, murder and mayhem. I was constantly trying to figure things out as the plot was cleverly layered in secrets and connections we couldn’t yet see.

“Time to put on a show. Time to fool them all.”

It was heartbreaking to see both Tex and Mo love each other deeply with no foreseeable solution or future in sight. The feeling of being consumed by their troubles was palpable. And just as Tex’s intensity ran deep when it came to mafia matters, his passion burned just as fiercely.

“I could never hate you as much as I love you. That type of hate? That depth of hate? Doesn’t exist baby, believe me, I search for it every night that you lay next to me and I refuse to touch you. I crave it every minute of every day when I see your beautiful face.”

As we inched closer to the story’s culmination, I was fearful and nervous and anxious and I can assure you that the surprises that are coming will shock you. This story brings more bloodshed, more plot twists, more heartfelt moments than any other Eagle Elite installment. Get ready for the unexpected.

“It was time to take my place. Time to bring the nightmare to life, to wake the beast, to be what I was born to be. Vito Campisi’s son.”

Reading Order and Links

Click each image below to order from Amazon U.S. Each book can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed as a series.

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