The Punishment Doctrine by Rebecca Grace Allen – B- This novella is book 3.5 of the Portland Rebels series and is available free to subscribers to the author’s newsletter. I figure those who want to read it won’t mind signing up for the newsletter. (I would have but I was already a subscriber.) Besides, if readers change their minds they can always unsubscribe. Although the author’s note at the front says this novella can be read as a stand alone (though she doesn’t recommend it) I’m not sure I agree with her. The complicated backstories of Krissy, Mikey and Rafe are more fully fleshed out in The Theory of Deviance.  I said in my review of that book that I thought Rafe was a little shortchanged. Not much of the story was about him. Pretty much all of The Punishment Doctrine is about Rafe though so I feel the balance has been redressed. There are perhaps some simple answers to complicated questions here and a swift resolution to a major cause of angst for Rafe. However, sometimes a simple conversation can actually have that effect and sometimes the best answers are simple. I’d have liked a little more exposition but regardless, I ended up thinking Rafe would be okay. Continue reading