Vigilante Nights by Erin Richards

Publisher: Merit Press
Pages: 304

 (Release Date: June 18, 2013)

From the Cover:

A \good boy\" will do anything for vengeance when a gang rite kills his twin sister. Will Lucas win, or follow his sister Silver into the darkness?

After a hideous car wreck, Lucas wakes from a coma to find that his world is gutted. Not only is his beloved twin sister, Silver, gone forever, but Lucas is broken in body and spirit. He will never be a college athlete, and is robbed of what he now realizes was the most important bond of his life. Although they weren't identical twins, Lucas and Silver shared a bond so fierce it defied reason, and was nearly supernatural.

After her death, that bond seems to endure when Lucas sees Silver everywhere he turns. Either he's crazy, or Silver is trying to tell him something about the California gang initiation they stumbled into that cost Silver her life. Lucas is bent on revenge, turning on Raymond, Silver's former boyfriend; the one Lucas never wanted her to date. He forms a posse of vigilantes to take out the gangsters responsible for Silver's death, but he risks not only his own life, but the love of the new girl on his block, who knows more about Lucas and Silver than can be accounted for by mere chance.

Lucas and Silver are twins, two halves of the same whole. When tragedy strikes in the form of a horrific accident, ripping Silver from life, Lucas is left clinging to life and with Silver's lingering presence. Could she have really left him? Why? How could she leave him when he needs her the most? It nearly tears his family apart to lose Silver, his mother and father can't deal, and Lucas really doesn't want to live without her. As he's forced to come back to life, Silver's presence surrounds him, keeping him sane at times, but a constant reminder of what's he's lost. He needs her, but what he really needs is Silver, back in the living. But, no matter how bad life is, it does go on, regardless if you want it to or not.

New neighbors move in, and Tara steps into Lucas's life, helping to relieve the empty hole left by his sister's loss. Tara is everything Lucas didn't know he wanted, she's life after football, life after the accident. His one time friends ignore him now that he's off the football team and no longer part of their crowd. His true friends are the ones that matter, Kevin, Chris, Mikey D., and his new friend, Denny, Tara's brother. But, there's one thing no one but Silver knew, and that's who caused the accident. Lucas forms Silver Ghost, his vigilante group that investigates gang happenings, alerts the police, and ultimately, to have retribution for his sister's loss. But, retribution isn't what he thought it would be, or as costly, to himself and those around him, those he loves.

Vigilante Nights by Erin Richards is both poignant and endearing, a tale of struggling through life after a loss. Lucas starts out as a brother, looking out for his sister and ends with having to grow up faster than he wants or needs to, but with that growth, he becomes a stronger person. He learns to see beyond his own needs and that of his lost sister, Silver. If you enjoy YA reads that deal with the complexities of life, I would definitely recommend this one, it grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. Excellent read, five fairy kisses for this reader.

I received this ebook for review from the author. Thanks Erin Richards, an excellent read. All opinions expressed are my own.