Helpful Score: 2
This is not my first Jean Bedford book, but it is the first one of the author's that I didn't absolutely love. Some of it, I will blame the subject matter ... it's not a pleasant one.
Young abused children are being abducted, abused even more, then killed. In all the cases, the father or stepfather or mother's boyfriend is accused, physical evidence is found and the men are sent to prison.
However, there is one reporter who sees a pattern and thinks maybe there is more going on than what the cops see. She believes there is a serial killer out there who is planting evidence on family members.
The story line / plot is good. And while the book deals with a hard-to-think-about subject, there are no graphic descriptions. Every other chapter or two, the reader is gifted with the real killer's thoughts .. written almost one would write in a diary.
I have never seen so many dysfunctional characters in one book. It's several people who have known each other since their college days. It seems like they've all slept with one or the other at some point in time. Those who are married are having severe problems. Several are seeing the same therapist ... and worried about what secrets are being told. One man goes from woman to woman ..one is his wife, the other is an obsession. The reporter has an intimate relationship with one of the cops investigating the childrens' deaths. One is a woman cop having an affair with an attorney who has prosecuted the men charged with the crimes.
And there are way too many characters to even come close to guessing the who-dun-it part of the story. The ending is somewhat ambivalent .. and not very satisfying.
I gave it a 3.5 rating. Because the other books I've read by this author were really good, I'm hoping this one was just a bump in the road ... and I look forward to reading others by her.
My thanks go to the author / Endeavour Press / NetGalley who furnished a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Young abused children are being abducted, abused even more, then killed. In all the cases, the father or stepfather or mother's boyfriend is accused, physical evidence is found and the men are sent to prison.
However, there is one reporter who sees a pattern and thinks maybe there is more going on than what the cops see. She believes there is a serial killer out there who is planting evidence on family members.
The story line / plot is good. And while the book deals with a hard-to-think-about subject, there are no graphic descriptions. Every other chapter or two, the reader is gifted with the real killer's thoughts .. written almost one would write in a diary.
I have never seen so many dysfunctional characters in one book. It's several people who have known each other since their college days. It seems like they've all slept with one or the other at some point in time. Those who are married are having severe problems. Several are seeing the same therapist ... and worried about what secrets are being told. One man goes from woman to woman ..one is his wife, the other is an obsession. The reporter has an intimate relationship with one of the cops investigating the childrens' deaths. One is a woman cop having an affair with an attorney who has prosecuted the men charged with the crimes.
And there are way too many characters to even come close to guessing the who-dun-it part of the story. The ending is somewhat ambivalent .. and not very satisfying.
I gave it a 3.5 rating. Because the other books I've read by this author were really good, I'm hoping this one was just a bump in the road ... and I look forward to reading others by her.
My thanks go to the author / Endeavour Press / NetGalley who furnished a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
