lovemurder

LoveMurder is one sick, slick, puppy of a book.

Even the book cover exudes what’s inside the pages with its tactile black velvet feel and the bright red artwork. LoveMurder is the second book from Saul Black (pen name for Glen Duncan) whose previous thriller, Killing Lessons is where we first met workaholic homicide detective Valerie Hart. Hart has been instrumental in solving notorious, gruesome murders, and the pinnacle of her career came by putting away one-half of a high-profile, serial killing torture couple for life. These aren’t your usual depraved degenerates; this couple are extremely intelligent, highly educated and incredibly good looking. Hypnotising Katherine Glass happens to be the one that got caught by Valerie Hart and put away for life in a high-security prison. Six years pass and the headlines have long faded away, the names of the poor girls tortured and killed long forgotten.

Then a body shows up. Stuck to the body is a message for Valerie. The murders have begun again, and Valerie has to choose whether to use the help of the psychopathic Katherine Glass to stop any more torturous murders.

I read this over two nights; it’s fast paced, gripping, intelligent and quite hard to stomach in parts. One scene definitely had my fight or flight mode kicking in and screaming in my head ‘run, RUN!’. This book is not for the faint of heart, but if you love a scary, smart thriller, this should be in your black stocking.

Yes, the questions are in French, but the answers are in English, and quite insightful.

If you loved charming killer Joe in YOU and Natural Born Killers, you will devour LoveMurder

Share this post with anyone you know who loves a good thriller!

4 out of 5 from me.

Out November 29th – Buy for the thriller bookworm in your life.

 

 

The Book Jacket

The second spine-chilling serial-killer thriller featuring homicide detective Valerie Hart from the author of the critically-acclaimed THE KILLING LESSONS.

Troubled San Francisco homicide detective Valerie Hart is planning a rare weekend away from the job when she gets the call. A body has been found. A woman, brutally murdered. And the cryptic note left by the body is addressed to Valerie.

The victim is unknown to her, but as Valerie analyses the scene, the clues begin to point in a deeply disturbing direction: to a maximum security prison where a woman called Katherine Glass is awaiting execution for a series of gruesome killings. And Valerie was the cop who put her there.The last thing Valerie wants to do is re-enter Katherine’s twisted world, but when a second body is discovered, with another puzzling clue, she realises she has no choice. Katherine Glass holds the key to the killings, and Valerie needs to find out what she knows before the murders come even closer to home.Even if it means playing a deadly game where once again, the psychopathic killer holds all the cards.

Biographical Notes
Saul Black has written numerous acclaimed novels under his real name Glen Duncan, including The Last Werewolf trilogy and I, Lucifer. He lives in London.