I loved this from the jump and I think that this was a wonderful addition to the Mystery/Thriller genre. Can't wait to see what else this author comes out with in the future.

I love this book...the plotting is taut and kept me at the edge of my bed (not seat, since i read it at night).
I loved the characters, especially Bruno and Janet.
While not a classical good guy, Bruno evokes sympathy, and i rooted for him.
This book has a little bit of everything - assassins, crooked investment bankers, characters to root for, Mafia, cops,...
The only thing the hangover series had that this did not was Mike Tyson and a tiger...but maybe that's too much to ask for
Mr. Badal has written a very good, thrilling book, and i recommend it highly

Thank you, Net Galley, for an advance copy for an honest review.
Bruno Pedace learns that his investment partners are setting him as the fall guy for a large fraud, he escapes with incriminating documents. After nine years he surfaces in California.
He meets Janet, a lady who works at a battered women’s organization
As the book continues, he is found by a private eye who is sent by his former partners. Several people are killed which make Bruno turn from always running away to going after them.
There are a lot of twists and turns in this story which kept me reading –the writing was particularly good, and I really enjoyed meeting each person who helps Bruno take his partners down.
I recommend this book highly and give it 4 and half stars which I rounded up – I liked learning about each character- everyone had a story.

A story the grips you from the start. Beginning with the subprime mortgage, Bruno learns from his assistant that the top partners are setting him up to take the fall with the feds. Once he receives the information he begins to act. Next, it is nine years later and you are taken to Janet Jenkins house who is dealing with her mother in the morning. Then she deals with the cases that come up with St. Anne’s, she is a social worker dealing with families. Mainly abused women who don’t leave their husbands. Now, this afternoon she is dealing with on who put his wife in the hospital and killed his children. That man later is after Janet and she fights for her life.
Meanwhile, you are introduced to two detectives working the cases with Janet. One you can tell has the street smarts and the other Andrews is just wet behind the ears. Now you are brought back to Bruno who has come up on the radar of one of the old partners. He is looking to find him and be rid of the so-called problem once and for all.
All of these life’s intro sects throughout the story. You are taken from New York to L.A. then to New York back to L.A. and even to Vietnam. This is all done in a way that keeps you the reader going. You are constantly wanting to know what happens next. That is until the end. I was sad in the parking lot for the story was over, I was looking forward to the next page of the book was denied because it ended. Though I knew it would I wanted it to continue I was so wrapped up in the story I was not ready for it to be over.
This book for me was a journey of action with twists and turns. With different characters added and some were taken away. Each one though served a purpose for this story. I will say I was really surprised at just how much I really liked this book and for other people who like action you will not be disappointed. A very good book from start to finish.

This was an action packets thriller nu Jospeh Badal. I liked the way out protagonist Bruno Pedace changes from being a runner and losing 9 years of his life to former partners who wanted to frame him for investment fraud to a guy that uses his unusual intelligence to fight back. Inspired by a social worker he meets by chance he takes charge and that is the start of a thrill ride to the satisfying end.

For readers who like a strong plot, assassins, the mob, SEC and the police this is well worth a read!

*** An ARC was provider by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. ***

Payback is a standalone book by thriller and mystery author Joseph Badal.

In the midst of the subprimes financial crash, Sy Rosen, the head of an New York investment banking company, and his two senior partners, forge documents to have Bruno Pedace, a junior partner and investment genius, take the fall for their misdeeds. Warned by his assistant, Pedace steals documents and disappear.

Nine years later, Janet Jenkins, a social worker for a women’s shelter in California, saves a disheveled but courteous man from a mugging in a back alley. This man later appears in front of her place of work to thank her in an unexpected manner. After Janet Jenkins falls victim of a vicious attack by one of her charges’ husband, Bruno Pedace patiently waits for her to get out from the hospital. Changed by her ordeal, experiencing anger at not being able to help more, she prompts Pedace to mount a scheme to profit the shelter. This relationship changes Pedace as well. After having hiding for years, a killer on his trail, his anger finally gets the better of his paralyzing fear, and Pedace decides to fight back against his former partners. Then begins one of the most thrilling con jobs I’ve had the pleasure to read, involving cops, organized crime, SEC, hired killers, hackers, and a financial genius.

Narrated in the third person, Payback let us follow an ensemble cast of rich characters, and two protagonists changed by catastrophic events taking back control of their lives. The book feels fast paced, even when it isn’t. Words flow from Joseph Badal’s pen weaving a tapestry as complex as his character’s revenge plan, while never losing the reader on the way. The evolution of the relationship between Bruno Pedace and Janet Jenkins, while not the main focus of the book (it’s titled Payback, after all) is quite a wild ride itself as, having a definite goal in sight for the first time in years, Pedace rebuilds himself from the ground up, and keeping pace with him quickly appears impossible. It better be, too, as many moves are made to bring him down, and the reader is constantly in fear of him missing a step.

Putting down this book is quite difficult, and I’ve surprised myself with bursts of frustration in not being able to pick it back up for a few days. I don’t remember having read a story of this kind since John Grisham’s The Firm, and it sure was refreshing.

Thanks to Suspense Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.

Bruno Pedace is the heart of the novel Payback. Although I thought that author Joseph Badal did a great job building his characters, Pedace was the one I followed the most. With all of the evil and double crossing in this novel, it was a battle of the good guys that I rooted for. Naturally, I was not disappointed. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Free ARC from Net Galley allowed me to review

Thank you Mr. JB for an intelligent thriller with a great main character who learns you can run but when you can't you have to fight. This becomes clear when the assassin shows up. Good relationship angle with Bruno and Janet too. I think y'all will like this one.

Excellent book from start to finish. The meek, mild-mannered protagonist is “the smartest man in the room”, so when he finally decides to take action, beware. Framed for a crime many years ago, he decides to go after a major investment firm. Along the way, he gains a love interest who gets threatened. Plots and sub-plots abound, and the action is non-stop, including organized crime, assassins, the SEC, Southern California police, NYPD police, and more.