Debi J. (mztrees) -
Helpful Score: 2
Excellent read. Thrilling and dark. Not for the faint of heart. Very violent and graphic stuff. If that is what you are looking for, look no further.
Marianne S. (sfc95) -
Helpful Score: 2
Excellent thriller. Very indepth, keeps you thinking and then changing the direction you are thinking and you are still interested. Worth reading!
Beverly H. (GainesvilleGirl) -
Helpful Score: 2
I have read Gregg Olsen's "True Crime" books and thought he was/is an excellent writer in that genre. This was my first of his fiction novels and I have to say that he's great in this genre too. In fact at times I felt I WAS reading non-fic. It's impossible to put the book down after reading the prologue. My blood curdled, and my heart skipped a beat or two. The interest level rises as the book goes on. It's all about a serial killer and the women he captures, tortures and eventually kills. But this is not just a blood and guts story, there's plenty of plot with many characters who provide interest on other levels. Olsen is an excellent writer, I'm just hoping that he won't be forced into the role of "hack" as so many good mystery writers are by their over eager publishers.
Vicki S. (curledupwithabook) -
Helpful Score: 2
This book is right in my favorite genres --> mysteries, serial killers, suspense, and I did enjoy it. A particularly sadistic and just plain nasty serial killer is on the loose and a couple of detectives (one more than the other) are hard at work trying to nab him before he kills again. Unfortunately, it takes them a while to figure out what's going on and several unfortunate women are violently murdered during the wait. A plucky and self-involved journalist impacts the chase by being less than candid with the police. And the impact of the murders on an innocent child pulls at the heartstrings. The child's mother is as sick as the killer, OR is she also his victim? We're left to wonder.
What took this book down a couple of stars for me was the feeling I got that this book was initially a lot longer than the end result and that, in the editing or rewriting, some important details were left out. The lack of these details doesn't affect the overall suspense or leave questions unanswered, but it makes the book flow a little less smoothly than it should. For example, at one point the detectives are in the journalist's home. The female detective notices a man's shaving accoutrements in the bathroom and says that she didn't know the journalist was living with someone. Now, this wouldn't be strange except that the detective had never met the journalist before, so she actually didn't know ANYTHING about her. Besides that, nothing ever materializes about the shaving equipment anyway. I felt something was missing - had been edited out. There are several other minor "jagged edges" such as that one that just left me wondering whether or not Olsen had been asked by his editors to make some cuts. If so, the pieces and parts that were edited out would have made for a richer reading experience.
I still recommend it for those who love a thriller, but aren't bothered by graphic descriptions of torture.
What took this book down a couple of stars for me was the feeling I got that this book was initially a lot longer than the end result and that, in the editing or rewriting, some important details were left out. The lack of these details doesn't affect the overall suspense or leave questions unanswered, but it makes the book flow a little less smoothly than it should. For example, at one point the detectives are in the journalist's home. The female detective notices a man's shaving accoutrements in the bathroom and says that she didn't know the journalist was living with someone. Now, this wouldn't be strange except that the detective had never met the journalist before, so she actually didn't know ANYTHING about her. Besides that, nothing ever materializes about the shaving equipment anyway. I felt something was missing - had been edited out. There are several other minor "jagged edges" such as that one that just left me wondering whether or not Olsen had been asked by his editors to make some cuts. If so, the pieces and parts that were edited out would have made for a richer reading experience.
I still recommend it for those who love a thriller, but aren't bothered by graphic descriptions of torture.
Regina M. (ginamig) reviewed Victim Six (Sheriff Detective Kendall Stark, Bk 1) on + 76 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is one of those murder/mysteries that stays with you. I'm not talking about being so incredibly good but rather it was in the disturbing sense. While I've come to expect some amount of horror while reading murder myseries I was not expecting the graphic nature or deviant behavior that was described. Not one of Mr. Olsen's better novels
