Review: Slow Start, Fast-paced Middle, Satisfying End
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 28, 2014
In Short List, author L.R. MacAllister takes us into the twisted mind of a serial killer. Not your usual ‘abused as a child, mind wired differently’ serial killer, but one with a specific motive, and a specific list of victims.Richard Calder is a tormented soul who has hit bottom, and who blames others for his downfall. He plots a macabre revenge, and thus begins the saga of the Dart Man.The story starts at a slow, almost leisurely pace for the first few chapters, and then, like a roller coaster that pauses at the top before plummeting toward the ground, it takes off at a breakneck pace that will leave you breathless.I received a free copy of Short List for review, and I have to commend MacAllister for his twisted imagination, and his ability to suck me into his convoluted plot, and keep me reading for over 380 pages. I was a bit confused at first by the prologue, but by the end it finally became clear. I usually prefer dialogue earlier than MacAllister introduces it, because it moves the tale along faster, but in this case, the first chapters of a sort of inner monologue and description added to the dark tone of the story. My only real complaint – and this is minor in the greater scheme of things – is the switching back and forth on point of view, especially the insertion in places of a second person point of view. I understand the author’s reason for doing it – and it worked, sort of – but, I still found it a bit disconcerting.Having said all that, I still thoroughly enjoyed Short List.