Provocation

Recompense #0.5

by Michelle Isenhoff

No body, no evidence, no motive. Only my guilt remains.

Opal Parnell has grown up on the rocky shores of Tidbury Bay, where winds and waves and freezing winters have carved the world into something wild and beautiful. It’s so far out of the way that strangers need a reason to come here. But beyond her safe harbor, the North American Republic has been plagued by an epidemic of disappearances. There are no crime scenes. No bodies, no evidence, no motives. Thousands have gone missing without a trace. And eventually, tragedy finds Tidbury.

Plagued by guilt for the part she played in her sister’s vanishing, Opal sets out to find her and stumbles onto evidence that suggests the disappearances aren’t as mysterious as the media would have her believe. Meanwhile, the crisis causes power shifts and corruption that reach into the upper echelons of government. Beneath Opal’s feet, Tidbury is changing forever.

What’s happened to the missing? Who’s covering up the truth? And will the Republic survive the upheaval?

Provocation is a novella-length prequel to the Recompense series (Opal's story).

131 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

MICHELLE ISENHOFF writes for women, teens, and tweens. Her work has been reader-nominated for a Cybils Award, the Great Michigan Read, and the Maine Student Book Award. She's also placed as a semi-finalist in the Kindle Book Review Book Awards, a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, and earned multiple Readers' Favorite 5 Star seals of approval. A former teacher and longtime homeschooler, Michelle has written extensively in the children's genre and been lauded by the education community for the literary quality of her work. More recently, she has enjoyed writing historical romance for older teens and women. Currently, she is relishing the creative freedom of branching out into adult speculative fiction.


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Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Ruby Parnell disappears on the night of her high school graduation, she's merely the latest in a string of young women who have mysteriously disappeared around North America. For her older sister Opal, life is forever changed. And it will be up to future generations to discover the sinister truth behind the Provocation that changed the face of an entire nation.

A well written intro to a fantastic series. This lays the groundwork for the entire Recompense series. Isenhoff's characters are engaging, and the pacing of her stories always keeps me coming back for more.

[Stephen Merritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the prequel to the series but after reading it after book 3, Retribution, I think this is the best order. Read the trilogy then the prequel then book 4. The prequel is Opal's story. How did her sister Ruby dissappear, what was the world like at that point and how did it start down the path toward the world Jack knows with the caste system and military control. A very good read, short, but does explain the origins of a number of the older characters in the trilogy. A definite good read.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read anything by this author before, but after reading this prequel I will be reading more in the series. It is a quick read, but it is a well told and gripping tale that I couldn't put it down. A plausible future that could happen, with characters that are believable and mostly likeable.