Happy Halloween Eve! I thought I’d pre-game tomorrow night’s creepy mood by sharing two reviews of novels about serial killers. You know, the kind of books you want to read with the lights on. In the middle of the day. And not alone.
Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney
Published by Henry Holt & Company
Publication date: February 15, 2024
Genres: Debut, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
Bookshop
Marie Tierney’s Deadly Animals is set in a small town near Birmingham, England. Ava is a teenage girl with a troubled family, who’s bullied in school, but steadfastly refuses to be anything other than herself. Which means, when the novel opens she’s sneaking out of the house at 2am to go to what she calls her “body farm”. A secluded area where she takes dead animals to document their decomposition. Not a hobby I’d choose, but Ava neither kills these animals or touches them. She has a quirky mind that’s curious about the natural processes of death. On this night, she discovers something far more disturbing—the mutilated body of the neighborhood bully.
After anonymously notifying the police Ava begins her own unofficial investigation into the murder which turns into a string of murders; a serial killer focused on young boys. Her scientific and curious mind, her lack of friends, and very little parental supervision means she finds and sees things others don’t. And she’s not squeamish. I won’t drop anymore clues about Deadly Animals’ path, but the character of Ava is the draw here. She’s smart and quirky, my favorite kind of protagonist.
Given the serial killer’s methods the novel does get gory, bordering on horror, and towards the end requires a suspension of disbelief, but it’s so well balanced between the darkness of violent death and the realities of ordinary life that it wasn’t a problem. I was glued to the pages of Deadly Animals right up until the last one.
Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney
Published by Henry Holt & Company
Publication date: February 15, 2024
Genres: Debut, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
Bookshop
I used to be obsessed with Particia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series but it’s been years since I read one. Given that mysteries and thrillers are working so well for me now, I thought I’d give her latest, Sharp Force, a try. Kay is still the chief medical examiner in Northern Virgina, but now she’s married to a Secret Service official and both are being pulled into the hunt for a brutal serial killer terrorizing the area. They’re joined by Kay’s niece Lucy who is a technology specialist for the FBI.
As if murder wasn’t enough this killer also utilizes technology to force even more fear into his victims. They’ve managed to create a speaking hologram that can be transmitted through walls, sending a ghostly, ghastly image of a red-eyed ghoul into the victims’ homes prior to the day they die.
Cornwell marshalls her considerable storytelling skills to incorporate a former insane asylum, a long dead relative, and an enemy from Kay’s past in this solid thriller. But while there was suspense, many of the novel’s elements felt a bit recycled and the ending left me disappointed. The increasing role technology, especially AI, plays in crime was the freshest (and almost the scariest) aspect of Sharp Force.
I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org where your purchases support local bookstores. I will earn a commission (at no cost to you) if you click through and make a purchase.
Leave a Reply