Tag: California

CTG Reviews: The Samaritan by Mason Cross

Leave a comment
cover image

cover image

What the blurb says: “When the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in the Santa Monica Mountains, LAPD Detective Jessica Allen knows she’s seen this MO before – two and a half years ago on the other side of the country. A sadistic serial killer has been operating undetected for a decade, preying on lone female drivers who have broken down. The press dub the killer ‘The Samaritan’, but with no leads and a killer who leaves no traces, the police investigation quickly grinds to a halt.

That’s when Carter Blake shows up to volunteer his services. He’s a skilled manhunter with an uncanny ability to predict the Samaritan’s next moves. At first, Allen and her colleagues are suspicious. After all, their new ally shares some uncomfortable similarities to the man they’re tracking. But as the Samaritan takes his slaughter to the next level, Blake must find a way to stop him … even if it means bringing his own past crashing down on top of him.”

Since reading the first couple of chapters of The Samaritan in a teaser sampler last September I’ve been dying to get my hands on this latest book by Mason Cross. And let me tell you, the wait has certainly been worth it!

The Samaritan is packed with all the trademark heart-stopping action, break-neck pace, and twisting-turning plotlines that made Mason’s debut novel – The Killing Season – such a huge success.

In The Samaritan we also get to find out more about the past of mysterious ‘people finder’ Carter Blake (although don’t worry, he’s still pretty damn mysterious!). Jessica Allen is a great female lead – strong, determined and courageous in the face of extreme danger. She reluctantly accepts Blake’s assistance, but is less inclined to completely trust him. As they each follow their own lines of enquiry, gradually closing in on this most brutally sadistic of serial killers, they both become targets. Question is, can they get to the killer before the killer gets them?

Set in Florida and California, The Samaritan showcases some great locations (including one very creepy and atmospheric one that I can’t mention – sorry, it’d be too much of a spoiler) to create a vivid backdrop to the story.

With great characters, fab locations and a super-twisty plot, The Samaritan is an absolute page-turner. And I already can’t wait for the next Carter Blake novel – I think this is a series that’s going to run and run.

A fabulous must-read for thriller lovers – and one of my top reads of 2015 so far – I can’t recommend this book highly enough!

 

[with thanks to Orion Books for my copy of The Samaritan]

 

 

CTG Reviews: COLD MOON by Alexandra Sokoloff

2 Comments
COLD MOON cover image

COLD MOON cover image

What the blurb says: “The hunt for mass murderer Cara Lindstrom is over. FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke has been working for this moment: the capture of a killer who savagely hunts the worst of humanity. But Roarke remains traumatized by his own near-death at the hands of the serial killer who slaughtered Cara’s family…and haunted by the enigmatic woman who saved his life.

Then the sixteen-year-old prostitute who witnessed Cara’s most recent murder goes missing, and suddenly pimps are turning up dead on the streets of San Francisco, killed with an MO eerily similar to Cara’s handiwork.

Is a new killer on the loose with a mission even more deadly than hers? In the pulse-pounding third Huntress/FBI Thrillers book, Roarke will have to go on the hunt…and every woman he meets, even those closest to him, may prove deadly.”

COLD MOON is the latest instalment in Alexandra Sokoloff’s fabulous The Huntress FBI series and it’s published today.

This is a serial killer story with a difference – this killer is female. Driven by the need to confront ‘It’ – evil – Cara Lindstrom targets those in society who prey on the innocent and the helpless. The story starts with her awaiting trial for murder, but it soon becomes clear that she may not be the only person fighting back against those men who prey on vulnerable women. Detective Roarke – the man responsible for Cara being in jail – is conflicted about the upcoming trial. On the one side he knows Cara is a killer, on the other he is becoming increasingly sympathetic to her cause. And he cannot deny that he’s attracted to her either.

As the trial gets closer, the media and bloggers pick up the story, igniting a growing group of protestors against Cara’s incarceration to take to the streets. Then some new evidence comes to light which changes everything.

Set in California, COLD MOON shows the glamour and the grime, the privileged (and those who abuse that privilege) and the disadvantaged. It’s highly atmospheric, with compelling, dynamic characters and vivid, rapid-paced action.

It also puts real issues front and centre – human trafficking, child prostitution, and corruption and abuse within the prison service – which makes for a gritty and thought provoking read. Like Jeff Lindsay’s DEXTER, Cara only kills those that have committed unspeakable crimes – and so although she is a serial killer, she’s a highly compelling character who I wanted to spend time with.

With super-charged tension and nail biting suspense, this is a real page turner of a read.

Highly recommended for all thriller lovers.

 

And be sure to stop by on Thursday 10th July when we’ll be hosting a tour stop on the COLD MOON blog tour in the form of an interview with Alexandra Sokoloff about her books and her writing process.

In the meantime, check out the other fabulous stops in the blog tour here:

Cold Moon Blog Tour Poster

Save the Date: Bouchercon 2013 and 2014

2 Comments
English: Downtown Long Beach, California at ni...

English: Downtown Long Beach, California at night Photographed and uploaded by user:Geographer. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With the highly successful Bouchercon 2012 mystery convention recently finished, don’t forget to put the the 2013 and 2014 dates in your diary.

Bouchercon 2013: A New York State of Crime will run 19-22 September 2013 in Albany, NY at the Empire State Plaza

Bouchercon 2014: Murder on the Beach will run 13-16 November 2014 and be hosted downtown at Long Beach, California

For more details visit the websites at:

http://bcon2013.com/

http://www.bouchercon2014.com/ 

Related articles

Review: S is for Silence by Sue Grafton

2 Comments

 A real page-turner of a mystery

In July 1953 Violet Sullivan, a local good-time girl living in Serena Station, California, drives off in her brand new Chevy, leaving behind her husband and young daughter, Daisy.  Violet is never seen again.

Thirty-five years later, Daisy wants closure.

Reluctant to open such an old, cold case, Kinsey Millhone agrees to spend five days investigating, believing at first that Violet simply moved on to pastures new.  But a lot of people shared a past with Violet, one that some are still desperate to keep hidden.  And in a town as close-knit as Serena there aren’t many places to hide when things turn vicious …

S is for Silence is the nineteenth novel in Sue Grafton’s “alphabet” series, featuring her female PI, Kinsey Millhone.  The story is told from two points in time: 1953, when Violet goes missing, and 1987 when Kinsey picks up the investigation.

Grafton uses the two time points to great effect – showing the reader what life was like for Violet before her disappearance, the community she lived in, and the things that where troubling her.  She shows Violet through the eyes of different characters, and we see not only the ‘good-time’ aspects of Violet’s life, but also how the web of relationships she’d become entangled in could provide a motive for several people to wish her gone.

With the interconnected 1987 story, the reader is able to see how the years have changed (or not) the characters from 1953, and as the story progresses it becomes clear that several characters aren’t as honest and truthful as they’d like Kinsey to believe. For me, this ‘insider knowledge’ added to the feeling of suspense.

The story moves at a quick pace and I found myself compelled to keep on reading. The element of mystery, of not knowing if Violet (and her little dog) had run away, or if something more sinister had occurred, was key to this.  As a reader, I wanted to figure out the puzzle along with Kinsey. And if something bad had happened to Violet, I wanted to work out who had done it and how.

I found Kinsey Millhone is a sassy, dynamic character. Riding shotgun as she worked the case, and watching her dealing with the situations and people she encounters with her practical, non-nonsense approach, was fun.

This book is not as noir as I would usually read.  But that said, it’s an interesting and cleverly told story that kept me interested and turning the pages right to the end.

Recommended.

Related articles