Review: This series is just getting silly
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 11 27, 2012
So we have an opening segment that we already know didn't really happen and has no relationship or relevance to the rest of the story.  Then we are to believe any number of psychologically stable lawmen have been turned into killing machines by the antagonist from the early books in the series.  We have a female serial killer who suddenly repents and turns herself in and oh, by the way, this is really a story within a story that may as well have been added just to make the book longer.Given the premise of absolute mind control, any one could be the next nutcase within the "team" no matter how normal they may seem.  And speaking of normal, while the Sophie character was cute and endearing in the first few novels, she has become a major distraction and her likeability factor is plummeting.Then the every end of the book is a hint that we may be circling back to the very beginning of the series - come on!  The first few books in the series were excellent and then the story lines all started to blur so that you couldn't tell one novel from the next.  That trend, unfortunately, continues with this latest installment.  Time to move on!Fortunately, it's noted at the end that Murcer is working on a new book that has nothing to do with this series.  I think he's a very gifted writer, able to produce extraordinary work and I'm hoping the challenge of something other than this cookie cutter formula writing will stimulate his creative skills.  Unfortunately, there is also another in this series coming out which I will avoid buying as it is truly time to put a cork in the Williams sage and move onto more interesting writing.Why two stars instead of one?  I kind of have a tendency that if I actually finish a book, it must have had some redeeming qualities and so can't really be just a one.  Although I was ready to throw my Kindle at the wall while reading the very last paragraph of the book, I did actually finish it with my Kindle still intact so two stars it is.