Simon & Schuster Ltd|ISBN1471128210|2009

Chris Carter was a new author to me when I bought this book. I bought it based on the blurb and the cover. I am NEVER ashamed to say that I buy a book based on it’s cover, and I generally find that I can’t go wrong if I have been drawn in this way.

I like to read a series from the start, so if I know that I am likely to enjoy a book then I won’t read it until I can start from the beginning. Luckily for me, this one was number one, so I was all set to go!

I really enjoyed this one, it was gory, gruesome, plot heavy and character driven. It had everything really. A fabulously interesting main character and really well fleshed out secondary people too.

We start off at the end, of course, and find Detective Robert Hunter’s new partner, Garcia, strapped to a bomb. Hunter is investigating a string of gruesome murders, and he has apparently pissed off the bad guy so much that he needs to be taught a lesson.

When bodies start turning up with a distinct symbol carved into them, Hunter gets a horrible sense of Deja Vu. He put a killer behind similar murders, away a long time ago, and that guy was executed for the crimes. Was he wrong? Did they catch the wrong guy? It would seem so, and it is a race against time to catch them before they can do it too many more times.

I loved the newly formed relationship between Hunter and Garcia, they have a strong connection even with Hunter’s mental fragility and Garcia’s naivety. They work well together, and Carter paints them both well enough that I can envisage them in my mind as though they were real people. All the secondary characters are good and well written, they are necessary for the plot.

The murders are gross. Skinning people? Torturing them? Blowing people up? Why not, hey?

I didn’t guess the killer until very late on, in fact it was only a short while before the actual reveal that I cottoned on, and then I was pretty awestruck at how long Carter had kept me guessing, as I’m usually there in an instant!

The writing style here is fast paced, and you’ll need to keep reading. There is so much going on and all at once, and before you know it you’ll have finished this book and craving more. Thankfully, this is part of a series and the next one, THE EXECUTIONER, is available as soon as your eyes have the left the pages of THE CRUCIFIX KILLER behind.

If you want a gruesome but detailed police procedural, a serial killer thriller, and a binge worthy read then pick this one up. You won’t regret it.

Happy reading

Becca