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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
A killer is on the loose in the South. Dubbed the Southern Strangler by the cops, he is grabbing women, murdering them and then dumping their bodies, each in a different state in the south. With each new victim the killer leaves behind the severed hand of a previous victim and another clue that goes undetected at first. Lt. Taylor Jackson of the Nashville police gets called in when a body turns up in her city. Can she and her FBI profiler boyfriend, bring the Strangler to justice before he kills again?
I’ve been looking for a new detective series and had heard good things about this one. However, I was disappointed by the flat characters and “same old” story. I plodded through the first half, although the second half went more quickly. Despite being unremarkable, there is a spark of something here ... I’ll try another one eventually and see where it lands.
I assume this is one of the author's early works. My introduction to her was through her first book featuring Sam, obviously written much later, and in my mind, more enjoyable. I struggled to get through this book, despite an unhealthy enjoyment of serial killer murder mysteries. Perhaps that was partly because this book was also about a serial rapist, police internal issues, relationship issues, FBI burnout, news reporting, Nashville high society, and anything else the author could think of to jam in. Not only did we have chapters from Taylor's perspective, but seemingly every other character too, including multiple victims, the killer, and several other people in the story. I lost all interest in Taylor after she did something, based on the idea that something was going to happen, that, based on her assumption at that moment, I found unforgivable. Whether that was really the truth or not, she acted on it, and I lost a lot of respect for her as a person. Same with punching a criminal already in custody and restrained, and questioning a suspect after he'd already asked for a lawyer multiple times. I'm tired of the glorification of police abuse in American culture.
So, overall, not a win for me. I didn't hate it. I figured out who the killer was about halfway through the book(it wasn't very subtle.), which always makes me feel smart. there were even a few parts that kept me wanting to turn the pages. For the most part, though, the book failed to truly engage me, and leaves me with no interest in following up with these characters in further novels. I'll stick with Sam's series, instead.
So, overall, not a win for me. I didn't hate it. I figured out who the killer was about halfway through the book(it wasn't very subtle.), which always makes me feel smart. there were even a few parts that kept me wanting to turn the pages. For the most part, though, the book failed to truly engage me, and leaves me with no interest in following up with these characters in further novels. I'll stick with Sam's series, instead.
I do love to read a good crime novel and this just got the right spot!
Thrilling and keeps you guessing who the killer is right until the end. Throw in a love interest and other police cases and it keeps you hooked from the start.
Thrilling and keeps you guessing who the killer is right until the end. Throw in a love interest and other police cases and it keeps you hooked from the start.
I could not put this down, I just needed and wanted to find out who had done the crime and how everything was going to pan out. The characters are believable and I think made the book all that more special. So much so that I have already started reading the second in the series.
2.5 stars
Good grief, this freaking book was all over the place. Normally, I can keep track of lots of things going on in a book, but this one went too far.
In this book:
1) A serial killer is murdering girls (at least 4 by the first 90 pages)
2) A serial rapist is on the loose (whole other case)
3) An up-and-coming drug dealer has hired someone to murder a witness? IDK, It wasn't fully explained.
4) There is some kind of backstory with the main character being assaulted but it never fully explains that either.
5) There is an intrepid reporter with a twin sister and they were both kidnapped when they were young.
I'm getting exhausted just typing all this.
The crimes were somewhat interesting and the author gave a few surprises throughout the book that I didn't expect. The main problem I had is that so much shit was going on that an adequate amount of time or investigation wasn't devoted to any one thing. It made me feel ADD as hell. The main characters were missing something and I wasn't all that invested in them. The ending was pure contrivance and I just skimmed it.
Still, it wasn't HORRIBLE. It wasn't good either. Hopefully the author was just working out the kinks in this debut novel. I have one more by her and I will give it a try. If it's not any better, then I'm done.
Good grief, this freaking book was all over the place. Normally, I can keep track of lots of things going on in a book, but this one went too far.
In this book:
1) A serial killer is murdering girls (at least 4 by the first 90 pages)
2) A serial rapist is on the loose (whole other case)
3) An up-and-coming drug dealer has hired someone to murder a witness? IDK, It wasn't fully explained.
4) There is some kind of backstory with the main character being assaulted but it never fully explains that either.
5) There is an intrepid reporter with a twin sister and they were both kidnapped when they were young.
I'm getting exhausted just typing all this.
The crimes were somewhat interesting and the author gave a few surprises throughout the book that I didn't expect. The main problem I had is that so much shit was going on that an adequate amount of time or investigation wasn't devoted to any one thing. It made me feel ADD as hell. The main characters were missing something and I wasn't all that invested in them. The ending was pure contrivance and I just skimmed it.
Still, it wasn't HORRIBLE. It wasn't good either. Hopefully the author was just working out the kinks in this debut novel. I have one more by her and I will give it a try. If it's not any better, then I'm done.
After hearing about this one on the Currently Reading podcast, I could not wait to check it out. I love a good series centered around crime - particularly those involving a serial killer. And this one truly delivered. I loved Taylor Jackson (a homicide lieutenant & the focus of the series) and her relationship with Dr. John Baldwin (an FBI profiler). The serial murders at the center of this book were quite well done. It was a really solid twisty and turny book. I can't wait to continue reading the series.
dark
fast-paced
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Mostly could figure it out.
Mostly could figure it out.