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mcdawn73's review against another edition
4.0
First I'd like to thank the author, Susan May, for graciously sending me a copy of her book in return for my review.
I was very intrigued with the synopsis of this book and was very eager to read it. In the beginning I had a hard time staying focused on it. I also had many things going on in my life so I put it down for a bit and came back about a month later. Once I got more into the story and saw what was happening I couldn't stop. The subject matter that came about is such a touchy topic. So all in all for me it was slow in the beginning but picked up and had a wham ending.
Thank you again Susan for sending me a copy.
I was very intrigued with the synopsis of this book and was very eager to read it. In the beginning I had a hard time staying focused on it. I also had many things going on in my life so I put it down for a bit and came back about a month later. Once I got more into the story and saw what was happening I couldn't stop. The subject matter that came about is such a touchy topic. So all in all for me it was slow in the beginning but picked up and had a wham ending.
Thank you again Susan for sending me a copy.
asbookreviewsforfun_alicia's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you Susan for letting me read an advance copy! I LOVED this book because it pretty much starts in the middle of the action. It also is a page turner. It's very shocking most of the time. For most of the book I had no idea what was going to happen. I like that a lot. Susan May should be famous. Everything about this book is solid. Her characters are amazing so fleshed out. I really came to care about them all. that's a mark of a great writer in my opinion. the story goes places that a lot of these kinds of stories don't go. I highly recommend this book to anyone. Especially those of you who like murder mystery or crime fiction in general.
foxclouds's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book from the author in exchange of an honest review.
Personal rating: 4 stars
(The review is spoilers free.)
Summary: Seemingly unrelated mass killings are happening in town. A freelance journalist Kendall Jennings gets caught in the middle of investigation as she tries to make sense of what's happening while battling some demons of her own and her attraction to the investigative detective Lance O'Grady.
I really enjoyed the book. It is moderately fast paced and engaging with interesting shift in perspective between the characters. The idea behind the killings is also a rather unique one and the thought that anyone could be manipulated like that is chilling.
I love detective stories and I usually rank them based on how far into the novel I am when I manage to guess the killer. I was almost half way through Deadly Messengers when it all clicked in my head. Good thing that the second half of the book was still very engaging.
I found the reasonings and actions of Detective O'Grady in the last few chapters a bit rushed. He seemed to be making lots of wild guesses and some of that seemed, to me at least, less believable. I also couldn't really feel the attraction between him and Kendell. It was superficial and I was slightly surprised by the way things turned out at the end.
I did enjoy the antagonists though. I must say that it is really hard to write a believable villain that is not simply evil for the sake of being evil but an ordinary man with extraordinary circumstances. The creativity of the murders really appealed to me.
Even though I was left feeling rather indifferent towards Kendell, I liked the detectives and the antagonists. I must say that Susan managed to write the voices in their heads particularly well.
Some issues that I had with the story (including the way the story ended - I liked it but would have preferred a more dramatic ending, yes, MORE) didn't prevent me from enjoying it and even though I can't give it more than 4 stars on GoodReads, I recommend you go and read it. I think it makes for an excellent October read.
Thank you, Susan, for giving me an opportunity to read and review your novel.
Personal rating: 4 stars
(The review is spoilers free.)
Summary: Seemingly unrelated mass killings are happening in town. A freelance journalist Kendall Jennings gets caught in the middle of investigation as she tries to make sense of what's happening while battling some demons of her own and her attraction to the investigative detective Lance O'Grady.
I really enjoyed the book. It is moderately fast paced and engaging with interesting shift in perspective between the characters. The idea behind the killings is also a rather unique one and the thought that anyone could be manipulated like that is chilling.
I love detective stories and I usually rank them based on how far into the novel I am when I manage to guess the killer. I was almost half way through Deadly Messengers when it all clicked in my head. Good thing that the second half of the book was still very engaging.
I found the reasonings and actions of Detective O'Grady in the last few chapters a bit rushed. He seemed to be making lots of wild guesses and some of that seemed, to me at least, less believable. I also couldn't really feel the attraction between him and Kendell. It was superficial and I was slightly surprised by the way things turned out at the end.
I did enjoy the antagonists though. I must say that it is really hard to write a believable villain that is not simply evil for the sake of being evil but an ordinary man with extraordinary circumstances. The creativity of the murders really appealed to me.
Even though I was left feeling rather indifferent towards Kendell, I liked the detectives and the antagonists. I must say that Susan managed to write the voices in their heads particularly well.
Some issues that I had with the story (including the way the story ended - I liked it but would have preferred a more dramatic ending, yes, MORE) didn't prevent me from enjoying it and even though I can't give it more than 4 stars on GoodReads, I recommend you go and read it. I think it makes for an excellent October read.
Thank you, Susan, for giving me an opportunity to read and review your novel.
melaniejayne35's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you Susan May for sending me a copy of your book, I enjoyed reading it! There were a lot of nail biting moments. The ending especially! The subject matter is very unique (for me at least, I've never read a book with this premise). The only qualm I had with it was the "romantic" aspect of the story. I could have done without it. I will definitely read more of Susan May's novels.
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing, that's the only word to describe this heart-stopping thriller. From the very beginning, this book will grab you and won't let you go until the very end.
A great idea superbly executed, a fantastic writing and a mystery that will keep you on the edge of your chair, this is a totally recommended read for every mystery lover. Susan May delivers, again, a marvellous book
A great idea superbly executed, a fantastic writing and a mystery that will keep you on the edge of your chair, this is a totally recommended read for every mystery lover. Susan May delivers, again, a marvellous book
biblio_beth's review against another edition
3.0
I was provided an ARC by the author for an honest review. I am rating this book 3.5 stars.
Deadly Messengers is a quick, suspenseful read. The characters are likable. The typical boy meets girl, instant attraction yet don't like each other, is a bit of a cliche. The theory proposed surrounding the reasons for several mass killings is, while interesting, a stretch. I did like this book as it was entertaining and a fun summer read. I will definitely read more from this author.
Deadly Messengers is a quick, suspenseful read. The characters are likable. The typical boy meets girl, instant attraction yet don't like each other, is a bit of a cliche. The theory proposed surrounding the reasons for several mass killings is, while interesting, a stretch. I did like this book as it was entertaining and a fun summer read. I will definitely read more from this author.
kerveros's review
4.0
Disclaimer: I got this book free and was asked to review it in return.
I'll be honest, this book was shorter than I thought it would be - the edition I was given had a hefty 'thank you' section at the beginning, some pages from a different story and a short story at the end of it. I've nothing against shorter stories but in this case part of me wishes that Deadly Messengers had been longer and there had been less 'filler' things.
The main reason I wish this was longer is that when you hit the books climax things barrelled along (as they tend to do at those points) but I felt that perhaps a bit more time could have been spent there - either on the build up or the climax itself and would have made it just a bit more satisfying.
I also didn't buy into the relationship that developed between Lance and Kendall - I much preferred the Trip/Kendall relationship (possibly because the book spent time on it). To me the Lance/Kendall bit was based far too much on looks as opposed to personality. But still - that could just be me.
These niggles aside this was a very very good book. I liked the way the plot developed (I'll admit I was surprised when the identity of the mastermind was revealed), it seemed pretty natural and the mention of 'real world' things helped ground the book.
I may not have bought into the relationship development between the above characters but generally the character development was good - there isn't a lot of it as this is very much a plot driven book but what you get is solid.
The writing style is decent, I did get thrown out of the narrative at one point but I think that was down to the formatting and a sentence being split awkwardly over two pages but apart from that this really drew me in and grabbed my attention from the off.
I really liked seeing into the minds of the victims, I want to say this isn't something you see often and helped to add to the intrigue, but I don't read that much Crime/Thriller any more so I could be wrong. I also liked the motivation of the killer - it certainly struck me as something that could happen (though perhaps not in the way explored here!).
Overall, this is a really nice quick read. I would certainly re-read it again and shall keep an eye out for other books by this author.
As an aside - the short story "The War Veteran". I really wasn't sure about it at first but when I got to the end... very nice storytelling, an interesting take. It reminded me a lot of theFinal Destination films and actually... writing this out it makes me think of a plot line from Seven Psychopaths as well. In Final Destination (for those who have not seen the films) 'death' follows you so if you somehow avoid your destined time it will keep coming for you until you die (please note I saw the first... three films, I think a good number of years back so if later films change the reasoning and the above is incorrect I apologise). In Seven Psychopaths Christopher Walken's character is trying to help out Colin Farrell's character with his screenplay. Walken comes up with this idea that a character from the screenplay has just imagined his actions - his future life. To me this could be what the end of The War Veteran did as well - though it isn't stated explicitly. Interesting and clearly somewhat thought provoking I'd give this a 4 star rating also.
I'll be honest, this book was shorter than I thought it would be - the edition I was given had a hefty 'thank you' section at the beginning, some pages from a different story and a short story at the end of it. I've nothing against shorter stories but in this case part of me wishes that Deadly Messengers had been longer and there had been less 'filler' things.
The main reason I wish this was longer is that when you hit the books climax things barrelled along (as they tend to do at those points) but I felt that perhaps a bit more time could have been spent there - either on the build up or the climax itself and would have made it just a bit more satisfying.
I also didn't buy into the relationship that developed between Lance and Kendall - I much preferred the Trip/Kendall relationship (possibly because the book spent time on it). To me the Lance/Kendall bit was based far too much on looks as opposed to personality. But still - that could just be me.
These niggles aside this was a very very good book. I liked the way the plot developed (I'll admit I was surprised when the identity of the mastermind was revealed), it seemed pretty natural and the mention of 'real world' things helped ground the book.
I may not have bought into the relationship development between the above characters but generally the character development was good - there isn't a lot of it as this is very much a plot driven book but what you get is solid.
The writing style is decent, I did get thrown out of the narrative at one point but I think that was down to the formatting and a sentence being split awkwardly over two pages but apart from that this really drew me in and grabbed my attention from the off.
I really liked seeing into the minds of the victims, I want to say this isn't something you see often and helped to add to the intrigue, but I don't read that much Crime/Thriller any more so I could be wrong. I also liked the motivation of the killer - it certainly struck me as something that could happen (though perhaps not in the way explored here!).
Overall, this is a really nice quick read. I would certainly re-read it again and shall keep an eye out for other books by this author.
As an aside - the short story "The War Veteran". I really wasn't sure about it at first but when I got to the end... very nice storytelling, an interesting take. It reminded me a lot of the
melsbookshelf's review
4.0
I've been having such good luck with thrillers lately! Deadly Messengers is another great one to add to the shelf!
Kendell Jennings is a freelance writer, mostly for magazines doing fluff pieces so she can pay her rent! When she takes a job interviewing a survivor of a mass murder, she thinks it's just going to be a quick, easy buck. Two more mass murders occur and Kendell suspects they may be connected. Fate intervenes to put her right in the middle of the investigation, and into the path of the serial killer.
I really enjoyed this book. It pretty much had everything I enjoy in a novel, action, blood and gore, a little splash of romantic tension and some awesome likable characters with an intense crazy bad guy!
I found the premise extremely original and refreshing. Without giving anything away, the story is not all it seems, and there are some awesome twists and turns throughout. The ending was slightly predictable, however there was still enough action and twists to keep me hooked right to the very end. I barely put this book down, even to sleep!
The characters were great! Kendell had a very troubled past and I enjoyed how she had conflicted feelings about the story she was writing and her own experiences. I loved investigators O'Grady and Trip and their partnership. And I loved that they both had a thing for Kendell even though O'Grady wouldn't recognise it. I only wish that O'Grady and Kendells relationship had a bit more "oomph". I felt that more could have been done with their feelings towards each other earlier in the book. But that's just the romantic in me!
The murder scenes were exceptionally detailed, perhaps more so than your average thriller. Lots of details about the death, blood and gore. I don't mind blood and gore. However I understand that not everyone does. I personally thought the detail worked really well and added an extra intensity to the story. I really enjoyed that aspect.
This was a lot more than a simple "who done it" thriller. It delved a lot into trauma and mental health, and had some extremely interesting pharmacology aspects. Do certain drugs make you more susceptible to kill? Or is it the mental illness itself? Are there drugs that can make you a puppet? Fascinating stuff!
Overall, thoroughly enjoyed it!
Would I recommend it?
Yes, absolutely! A great thriller from a very talented AUSSIE author :) I am looking forward to reading and reviewing her other work!
Many thanks to author [a:Susan May|173617|Susan May|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1389056921p2/173617.jpg] for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For other reviews visit my blog at
www.booksbabiesbeing.com
You can also find me on twitter
www.twitter.com/BBB_mel
Kendell Jennings is a freelance writer, mostly for magazines doing fluff pieces so she can pay her rent! When she takes a job interviewing a survivor of a mass murder, she thinks it's just going to be a quick, easy buck. Two more mass murders occur and Kendell suspects they may be connected. Fate intervenes to put her right in the middle of the investigation, and into the path of the serial killer.
I really enjoyed this book. It pretty much had everything I enjoy in a novel, action, blood and gore, a little splash of romantic tension and some awesome likable characters with an intense crazy bad guy!
I found the premise extremely original and refreshing. Without giving anything away, the story is not all it seems, and there are some awesome twists and turns throughout. The ending was slightly predictable, however there was still enough action and twists to keep me hooked right to the very end. I barely put this book down, even to sleep!
The characters were great! Kendell had a very troubled past and I enjoyed how she had conflicted feelings about the story she was writing and her own experiences. I loved investigators O'Grady and Trip and their partnership. And I loved that they both had a thing for Kendell even though O'Grady wouldn't recognise it. I only wish that O'Grady and Kendells relationship had a bit more "oomph". I felt that more could have been done with their feelings towards each other earlier in the book. But that's just the romantic in me!
The murder scenes were exceptionally detailed, perhaps more so than your average thriller. Lots of details about the death, blood and gore. I don't mind blood and gore. However I understand that not everyone does. I personally thought the detail worked really well and added an extra intensity to the story. I really enjoyed that aspect.
This was a lot more than a simple "who done it" thriller. It delved a lot into trauma and mental health, and had some extremely interesting pharmacology aspects. Do certain drugs make you more susceptible to kill? Or is it the mental illness itself? Are there drugs that can make you a puppet? Fascinating stuff!
Overall, thoroughly enjoyed it!
Would I recommend it?
Yes, absolutely! A great thriller from a very talented AUSSIE author :) I am looking forward to reading and reviewing her other work!
Many thanks to author [a:Susan May|173617|Susan May|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1389056921p2/173617.jpg] for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For other reviews visit my blog at
www.booksbabiesbeing.com
You can also find me on twitter
www.twitter.com/BBB_mel
amia's review
5.0
Susan May has once again created a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller. But, the most terrifying part is not discovered until AFTER you finish the story and read the behind-the-scenes tale of the truth embedded in the novel. I highly recommend it and all of Ms. May's work. I hope you get started early in the day so you don't miss a night's sleep. Or, will you?
Read via Kindle Unlimited
Read via Kindle Unlimited
perri's review
4.0
Three different senseless massacres by non-violent people?-the mystery kept me reading. There were pacing problems and some writing could have been cleaned up, but it was an interesting premise with a thought provoking resolution. Three and half star rounded up to 4 cuz Susan is terrific :)
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