petra_reads 's review for:

The Killing Lessons by Saul Black

4.0

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I am not even going to attempt to summarize the plot. I think it's suffice to say The Killing Lessons was an outstanding serial killer thrill ride. Saul Black aka Glen Duncan clearly has superb writing skills. The Killing Lessons was utterly frightening, tense and suspenseful. The first chapter really pulls you in. There were a lot of characters, and Saul Black did an amazing job of fully fleshing out each one, which was great. But (and I'm sure that this will make no sense to anyone but me) there was so much depth to each character, I occasionally found my mind wandering while listening to the audio version and then having to rewind, ... never a good sign. It went through phases of adrenaline extremely high and then it would even out and give you plenty of information I wasn't sure I really needed. So this is probably a book that really needs to be savored and appreciated in small installments. There were some incidents that were just a tad silly and far-fetched, e.g. that helicopter scene and the Russell Crowe thing. But overall, a solid thriller and one of the most terrifying ones I have read in a while. 4.5 stars