I want to be fair. Peter Nichols did the best he could with something that’s been done countless times before. Plus, thrillers are bound to be unbelievable. Whether the absurdity of it all seems silly or chilling depends on the execution.
I think we got a little of both here.
First of all, Nichols aimed for strong character development, and while those characters felt a bit overbaked, I can respect his desire to give readers more than just a plain old serial killer story. There were some sad histories, some dramatic ones, and some things I just did not care about at all.
He also provided a backstory for the killer, which was interesting, but it made me feel sympathy for someone I did not wish to offer sympathy to. It did help build the novel’s suspense, though.
One of the biggest issues I found in this was that it seemed like there were only two outlier characters. Both were suspicious, but it was eventually clear that one was a red herring. I like putting the pieces together and found the puzzle a little too simple here.
For the most part, the killer was incredibly creepy, and the details of the first murder revealed in the book will haunt my imagination for a long time. But I do feel that his story moved into cheesier territory toward the end, and I wasn’t sure I was buying it. But maybe serial killers just operate on cheesy motives. Maybe this is something I should buy into.
So, really, this was fine. It didn’t blow me away, but I wouldn’t tell you to steer clear of it, either. It definitely had its strong points, and those are worth savoring.
I am immensely grateful to Celadon Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.
I think we got a little of both here.
First of all, Nichols aimed for strong character development, and while those characters felt a bit overbaked, I can respect his desire to give readers more than just a plain old serial killer story. There were some sad histories, some dramatic ones, and some things I just did not care about at all.
He also provided a backstory for the killer, which was interesting, but it made me feel sympathy for someone I did not wish to offer sympathy to. It did help build the novel’s suspense, though.
One of the biggest issues I found in this was that it seemed like there were only two outlier characters. Both were suspicious, but it was eventually clear that one was a red herring. I like putting the pieces together and found the puzzle a little too simple here.
For the most part, the killer was incredibly creepy, and the details of the first murder revealed in the book will haunt my imagination for a long time. But I do feel that his story moved into cheesier territory toward the end, and I wasn’t sure I was buying it. But maybe serial killers just operate on cheesy motives. Maybe this is something I should buy into.
So, really, this was fine. It didn’t blow me away, but I wouldn’t tell you to steer clear of it, either. It definitely had its strong points, and those are worth savoring.
I am immensely grateful to Celadon Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.