Review: A fast-paced thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 29, 2012
This was a chilling read.  I'm glad my kids are older, because I don't think I'd let them go on any more sleep-overs ever again.  It's a great police thriller, with an extremely creepy serial killer.  I loved this story, even though some of the characters rubbed me the wrong way.Right from the beginning, we're introduced to the character Phil as he is abducting a young girl.  Phil's dark side is evil, but what totally creeped me out about his character, is that he is just an average guy.  He could be your neighbor, co-worker or your best friends' husband. I think why his character bothered me so much, is because he's a family guy, with a young step-daughter.  It was just a bit too real for me.  I enjoyed watching his character unravel as the story went on.Meanwhile, the lead investigator in the Chalk Valley murders is John McCarty.  I could not stand this detective, his character was too flawed.  I have too much respect for law enforcement officers, so I really disliked this character.  I just wanted him off this case.  He was in over his head with the murder case, too stressed out, a drunk and cheating husband. Not the best role model, but definitely kept the story interesting, to say the least.Officer Kreaver, on the other hand, I loved.  He was working on keeping an eye on Phil, because he just had a gut feeling there was more to him than anyone thought.  I loved the fact that he didn't give up and followed through with things and went above and beyond to get the answers he needed.The final character I'll mention is the reporter, Jamie Straka.  When she was first introduced, I thought `Ugg, another bad-assed female reporter".  But I was pleasantly surprised that she turned into a decent character with morals.  She ended up being my favorite character of the book.I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good police/serial killer suspense story.  This book has some gruesome and disturbing parts, but it's a fast-paced and action-packed enjoyable book.*I received a complimentary copy of this book for an hones review, and all opinions are my own.