Age: Adult
Category: Mystery, crime
Rating: 5 stars
Category: Mystery, crime
Rating: 5 stars
Helen Thinks: As part of the Robbery Homicide team, Detective Robert Hunter is called by his rookie partner, Carlos Garcia, to a horrifying crime scene in the middle of nowhere. Hunter is used to nasty, it’s the job description, but the sight of the poor woman skinned alive on a bed in front of a mirror is even enough to turn his stomach. However, nothing is as mortifying as the signature carved on to the back of the victim’s neck... a double ended crucifix. The signature used by a serial killer that Hunter had already caught, a serial killer that had confessed to all the crimes and had been executed; a serial killer that Hunter had never really believed was guilty. The Crucifix Killer is back.
It’s not a big secret that I absolutely love the grittiness that is the world of crime but eventually the novels tend to all become a blur. The same procedural formula is used time and time again - which is not a bad thing as crime fiction is the biggest selling genre in the world. However, Chris Carter has shook things up with his debut novel “The Crucific Killer”. The first scene is a flash forward where we see Garcia - the rookie partner - is caught in one of the killer’s traps and Hunter only has so long to save not only Garcia’s life but his own too. It draws you in perfectly. From the first chapter, I was on the edge of my seat and determined to finish the book just so I could know who the killer was!
Using his experiences as a criminal psychologist, Carter has managed to create three dimensional characters as well as a fluid plot with just the right amount of twists and turns to keep the audience guessing. Hunter is your typical flawed but genius detective. He graduated school years earlier than he should, his paper from college is a textbook that all new FBI agents must read as a set text and he just knows everything - because he reads a lot. However, he is flawed due to his dependency on alcohol. Despite it being trademark characteristics for a fictional detective, I adore Robert Hunter and can not wait for more of his cases with Garcia.
My copy of Crucifix Killer has been read that much - from me rereading and me sharing it out amongst my family and friends - I’m on the second copy and I’ve just downloaded it on my kindle. The Crucific Killer is one of my favourite novels, and I happily re-read the series every time Carter releases a new novel so I hope you enjoy it just a fraction as much as I do.
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