” Death Wish ” by Brian Garfield is a vigilante thriller novel originally published in 1972.

In this novel we follow a middle aged liberal CPA named Paul living in the dangerous city of New York in the 1970’s . His wife and daughter are brutally beaten one day by random thugs looking for something to steal . His wife dies from the beatings and his daughter is psychologically traumatized to the extent that she has to depend on her husband to take care of her . The detectives assigned to the case seem not to be able to get any leads and soon after someone attempts to mug Paul . Heavy with grief , filled with anger , he buys a gun illegally and begins to deliver his own brand of justice .

This is a solid thriller . In fact , it’s pretty damn good at times . Following Paul on his journey from peace loving liberal to vigilante is interesting . All that being said … the movie is better in my opinion . It mainly comes down to dialogue and pace . It’s worth a read , was just needing a little bit more out of it .