Title: The Power Potential
Author: Mark R. Rivard
Publisher: The Reading Glass Books
ISBN: 979-8894790367
Pages: 230
Genre: Crime Thrillers / Mysteries
Reviewer: Christina Avina
Hollywood Book Reviews
The relationship between a mentor and a mentee is unique. For some, mentors can impart wisdom and advice in a chosen career or life in general and guide the mentee towards the path they seek for themselves. For others, that relationship can become toxic, with the mentor’s influence on the mentee leading to dangerous and unforgiving paths which some rarely come back from.
In author Mark R. Rivard’s The Power Potential, the author explores the mentor and mentee relationship in a unique and twisted way. The story follows Randy Curtis, who, as a troubled youth prone to violence, is taken under the care of a well-known psychiatrist. Yet what could have been a beneficial relationship turns into a means of turning Randy into a homicidal tool, and as the years go by and the body count rises, Detective Rudy Augur engages in a cat-and-mouse game of deception and murder which will leave readers on the edge of their seats.
Twisted and engaging, the author does a wonderful job of layering the narrative with dynamic character development and chilling and atmospheric storytelling that will stay with the reader long after the story ends. The powerful imagery and shocking events that follow the rise of this killer, and the horrifying game between him and the detective, become almost cinematic thanks to the author’s superb writing style, capturing the emotional depth of suspense as each new chapter brings a different revelation. The opening chapter alone establishes the killer’s mental state, as well as the mask they wear around their victims to lure them into a false sense of security, and the twisted mind games that follow.
Readers who enjoy suspense novels, especially those with a crime thriller and murder-mystery element, will become fully immersed in the world the author has created. The connections the detective makes along the way, and the way the author develops relatable and immersive backgrounds and situations for each character, make the world feel more real as the story progresses. The relationship dynamics the author explores in this book are quite fascinating, and the twists that unfold along the way will both entertain and engage readers in this fast-paced narrative.