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Fractured (Will Trent, #2)
Fractured (Will Trent, #2)
Karin Slaughter | 2008 | Crime, Law, Mystery, Thriller
6
8.1 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
3.5 stars
Karin Slaughter goes straight for the jugular with her books! Nothing is sugar coated or wrapped up a pretty little bow. She comes by her work honestly and the picture she paints is dark, demented, and brutal. But it's so close to reality; much more so than books filled with fluffy unicorns and endless rainbows. As depressing and soul-wrenching as it is, Karin makes it work. She pulls you in and hypnotizes you with a fresh, albeit insidious, point of view. "Fractured" deals with the violent murder of a teenage girl, a seemingly-impossible-to-figure-out kidnapping, and a terrifying story of a serial rapist. Karin doesn't hold anything back and I, for one, don't have any complaints! I also enjoy the little snippets of the relationship between Will and Angie - though I must admit, I don't like Angie very much - because it appeals to my romantic side and proves that Karin can be sweet when she wants to be. Two books down, I believe six more to go!
  
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Dean (6926 KP) rated Harper's Island - Season 1 in TV

Aug 14, 2020 (Updated Aug 14, 2020)  
Harper's Island  - Season 1
Harper's Island - Season 1
2009 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Good cast (2 more)
Great remote location
Good gore effects
A good slasher series
I finally got round to checking out this series from 2009, currently available on BBC iplayer. Not sure why it's taken so long to be available again?
It's a good horror/thriller series that mixes the kills of a slasher film with the mystery of a good whodunit? Quite similar to the Slasher series and other related items.
A wedding party retreat to a small island for a week of events leading up to the big day. The island was the location of a serial killer and some murders 7 years before. With some people returning to the island for the first time since it's not long before guests start to meet a grisly end.
It's good fun if you like slasher films or a murder mystery with a decent cast. The overall reason for the killings was a little weak at the end. However the location really adds to the feel of the series. Only 13 episodes around 38 minutes long, you'll whizz through it in no time.
  
The Beautiful Dead
The Beautiful Dead
Belinda Bauer | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Eve Singer is a beleaguered TV crime reporter dealing with a pushy boss who wants Eve to be everything: younger, covering every story, and on top of every lead. In her personal life, Eve goes home to her childhood home and her father, Duncan, who is suffering from dementia. When Eve winds up covering the murder of a young woman, she doesn't realize she will soon be entwined with the girl's killer, someone who is obsessed with death, and the desire to be recognized for his "killing performances." As the killer pulls Eve deeper into his twisted web, she has some startling choices to make.

I have to say, my last book of 2016 surprised me. This novel was certainly creepy, but also had a certain nuance and depth to it that I wasn't expecting. Eve is a complicated and likeable character, and the book doesn't just cover murder and gore, it goes into her personal life, and the struggles she has caring for her father and his failing memory. The bits with her father are often both sad and humorous; they are very real and give the book a true humanity. Indeed, there's a real depth to Eve, who is stuck in a man's world and the pressures and unfairness that brings to to her career-wise (there's always a younger, prettier reporter waiting in the wings, as her boss never hesitates to remind her), as well as the burdens a woman feels as a caretaker. After all, it's not her brother taking care of her dad. Further, the book looks at an interesting psychological conundrum: how our society seems to need murder and the way it feeds on the social media aspect of it, as of late. Without society's interest in murder and death, Eve has no job.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It lost me slightly for a bit near the end, but managed to get back on track, and even threw in a very interesting twist I didn't see coming. Although I admit, I kept wondering where the police's behavioral scientist was. Why was the poor Lead Detective reading and deciphering everything from a serial killer alone? However, I digress. This was a well-done thriller with a different and engaging plot. I really found myself drawn to Eve, and her father, Duncan. It was an enjoyable novel with which to end the year.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!); it's available in the U.S. as of 01/03/2017.