Anne Frasier

The deranged serial killer/grizzled detective/psychological profiler is hardly a new genre in the world of thrillers and suspense. What sets one apart from another is the depth of the characters and how adept the author is at getting the reader into the head of the serial killer. Anne Frasier it batting a thousand on this one.

Ivy Dunlap now lives in Canada when she gets a call from an old acquaintance in Chicago with a cryptic message: "It's happening again". 'It' is the resurfacing of The Madonna Murderer, someone Ivy has intimate knowledge of from 16 years past. How does Abraham Sinclair know Ivy? He worked the case when she, the soul survivor, was assaulted by the serial killer.

Ivy has had one thing on her mind for 16 years: Kill the man responsible for killing her newborn and changed the entire scope of her life forever.

Enter Max Irving. Single father, one of the best on the force..grizzled veteran. Almost sounds cliched but his back story is as interesting as Ivy's when considering his adopted son, Ethan, was born by a woman Max only knew for several weeks. She died and Max adopted him and has treated him like his own son ever since. Ethan is 16 now and Max is waging a personal war of attrition:that of dealing with a teenage son who wants to know about his real father.

It's that depth of characterization that really sets this book apart from other thrillers that follow a similar formula. Hush is filled with many great characters, even the bit players having their own emotional baggage that made me interested in them, even if they had minimal page time.

Of course the serial killer is super deranged. Convinced that he's saving people and is acting righteously. But when the point of view shifts over to him Frasier makes it chillingly apparent how deranged the inner workings of his mind are.

I really can't say enough good things about this book. It flows great, is paced fantastically, has just enough police procedure in it but not enough to bog the story down in technicalities and jargon. The character interactions are believable and the subplots are great.

I've been reading through my backlog of kindle downloads recently (Pilfering as many new, recommended, free and deal e books as I can) going from author to author but I think I'm going to spend a little more time in Anne Frasier's neck of the woods before moving on to the to be read pile, hush was that good.… (mer)

The Night I Died by Anne Frasier

This wasn’t easy for me to get into, so I read reviews for the book and found a mixed bag that included some that were glowing and some that were quite the opposite…so…I read the end and took time away from the story and then went back in to try again rather than giving up as I thought about doing. And I did finish the book and came away feeling better about it than I did in the first few chapters.

What I liked:
* Olivia Welles: survivor of a train wreck, flat-lined/died more than once, private investigator, actress, dog lover, has holes in her memory, intelligent, liked her but also felt a bit sorry for her
* Will LaFever: journalist, has big writing goals, one-time swimming athlete, interested in the possible multiple child killings that took place in Finney County, intrigued by Olivia
* Dorothy: a rescue dog that Olivia takes under her wing
* Ezra: a young man that Olivia took responsibility for who know works for and with her
* The creep-factor of the Kansas town and its citizens - how can so many be clueless and blind to some of the goings on in town
* The way the story unfolded…it definitely grew on me as Olivia started to piece things together
* Wondering if there is something in the air or water in some places that increases the number of killers
* Wasn’t sure about the many references to The Wizard of Oz and True Blood. For some they might be wonderful but for others a bit much. I also thought of murders in cornfields and had to look up the movie Children of the Corn and found its setting was neighboring Nebraska and not Kansas
* Thinking about LONG rides from Des Moines to California that went through the flatlands of the Midwest but also remembering some beautiful scenery, too.
* That I actually finished the book

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about killers and what motivates them
* That I felt I needed more backstory on Olivia and Will and wondered if this is the beginning of a series and more will be provided later or if I will be left wondering

Did I enjoy this book? Eventually
Would I read more by this author? I think so

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars… (mer)

I had some major issues with this book. It probably doesn't help that I'm pregnant with my first child and reading this book was like scraping every raw nerve and exposing every fear I've ever had as a mom-to-be. But aside from my emotional issues coming into play, I found the plot rather contrived and coincidental. I also didn't much care for the characters. Max's instant dislike of Ivy grated on my nerves, as did Ethan's sudden initial hatred of his step-father for no good reason that I could see. Sure, maybe it's a realistic portrayal of a teenager's behaviour, but I still had to grit my teeth every time his character showed up on the page. Ultimately, I struggled to finish this book… (mer)