Written In Blood by Chris Carter

Written in Blood by Chris Carter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time take to read - 3 days

Pages - 496

Publisher - Simon & Schuster UK

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

IF HE WRITES YOUR NAME DOWN, IT'S A DEATH SENTENCE . . Los Angeles, December 4th - exactly three weeks until Christmas day. Angela Wood, a master in the art of pickpocket, has just finished for the day - six hundred and eighty-seven dollars – not bad for less than fifteen minutes work.

As she celebrates her profitable day with a cocktail, one of the patrons in the lounge she’s in catches her attention by being rude to an old man. Angela decides to teach him a lesson, and steals the man’s expensive-looking leather bag.

Inside is no money ... no laptop computer ... nothing of any value ... at least not to Angela. Just a black, leather-bound book, surprisingly heavy. Curiosity takes over and in the comfort of her apartment, Angela quickly leafs through the pages.

That is when the worst nightmare of her life begins.
This is no ordinary book.
Read it at your own peril.



My Review

An exceptional thief decides to punish someone for their rudeness and steals something that puts her life in danger. A serial killer that wasn't on anyone's radar, killings follow seemingly no pattern or victimology. When Angela tangles with a cold calculated killer and takes what is his she tries to offload to the police and go about her business. Unfortunately for her she has no idea who she has robbed and Hunter and co may have to face a killer like none they have faced before.

This is book eleven, you could well pick this up as a standalone but the books are so good I would say go read them. Hunter is one of the best detectives, he has been head hunted by the FBI he is that good. Him and partner Garcia are up against a killer that has no fear, no set pattern and a unique insight into the killers crimes.

Brutal in how some of the killings are yet one or two have vibes of previous book kills or themes. I still really enjoy Carters books, the chapters are short, the storyline engaging and in this one very much cat and mouse yet it isn't always the police playing the role of the cat. Always interesting to hear from a cold killer and the *motives* of this killer is chilling, 4/5 for me. Looking forward to book twelve, can't believe that is me caught up with the whole series!

View all my reviews

Written in Blood by Layton Green

Written in Blood by Layton Green
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off over 4 days

Publisher - Seventh Street Books

Pages - 320

Source - Review copy, author

Blurb from Goodreads

Detective Joe "Preach" Everson, a prison chaplain turned police officer, is coming home. After a decade tracking down killers in Atlanta, and with a reputation as one of the finest homicide detectives in the city, his career derailed when he suffered a mental breakdown during the investigation of a serial killer who was targeting children.


No sooner does Preach arrive at home in Creekville, North Carolina--a bohemian community near Chapel Hill--than a local bookstore owner is brutally killed, the first murder in a decade. The only officer with homicide experience, Preach is assigned to the case and makes a shocking discovery: the bookstore owner has been murdered in exactly the same manner as the pawnbroker in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.


With the help of Ariana Hale, a law student and bibliophile who knew the victim, Preach investigates the local writer's community. As their questions increase, a second body is found, this time eerily resembling the crime scene in a famous Edgar Allan Poe novella. Preach and Ariana realize that their adversary is an intelligent, literate killer with a mind as devious as it is disturbed--and one or both of them may be his next target.



My Review

Preach is back in his hometown, with quite an impressive past behind him he is now a cop and a crime needs solved. Preach has to deal with his past, leaving his people and problems, being a priest and now returned a police officer. The killer is smart ^ the crime scene mirrors that of a famous book, what is the message and why did they kill that particular person? With the help of Ariana who works in the bookstore, the bookstore where the murder happened, together they have to piece it together.

This is a very mixed bag to be honest, I loved the authors turns of phrase, I find because I read so much I see and hear a lot of the same terms. I loved the crime scenes that brought about other famous works and authors, in fact I went off and bought one after reading some of the stuff mentioned in the book. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, for your information, only 49p on Amazon kindle at time of posting. The crimes are clever as are the references and there is subtle humour throughout the book. There are also kickbacks to Preach's past, his breakdown and the case that caused it, the strained family history and the conflicting feelings he has whilst working the case.

It is a busy wee book and I felt it could have been so much longer and gave more scope and depth to Preach, his past and the decisions that followed rather than small reflections. I guess it is a testament to the authors writing that he has left the reader absolutely wanting more. I hope he does a throwback book and takes us back to Preach, the case that near broke him and his journey through Priesthood until going into being a man of the law. I think that would work really well and probably give more scope for enjoyment with this book. I found I just had a fair few questions I would have liked answered in relation to Preach's past and what made him who he is now.

The pace is good although I felt the end came far too quickly, I absolutely wanted more. This was my first time reading this author although I see he has written quite a lot prior to this, I will be seeking out more of his work. 3.5 stars for me for this one, thanks to the author for introducing me to his work, it will not be our last dance. Written in Blood is out to buy now in ebook and treebook format.

View all my reviews