‘Gallery of The Dead’ by Chris Carter

Published by Simon & Schuster,
8 February 2018.
ISBN: 978-1-4711-5634-2 (HB).
ISBN: 978-1-4711-5635-9 (TPB)

Whilst giving a lecture on murderers, Detective Robert Hunter of the LAPD and part of the Ultra Violent Crimes Unit is called away.  The body of a young model, Linda Parker has been found and she appears to have been horrifically murdered, her bedroom is smeared with blood. The team attending has never seen a crime scene like it.

However, the post mortem shows she was asphyxiated before her injuries were inflicted and would not have suffered. When the F.B.I arrive with information of two previous similar murders, a twenty-year-old Kristine Riversand an eighty-four-year-old Albert Greene, they fear there is a serial killer on the loose. Sure enough it’s not long before there is another killing.

To add to the mystery, the team are baffled as to the meaning of messages carved in Latin on the backs of all the victims. Also, the way the bodies have been arranged they almost look like works of art. What on earth is the killer trying to convey?

Another puzzle is the fact that the murders take place in different parts of America, how does the killer choose his victims and what possible connection can they have to each other?

The combined efforts of Hunter and his team and the F.B.I. Reveal a sick mind and lead to a horrendous completely unexpected ending.

Well, Chris Carter certainly knows how to write a suspenseful book. Each chapter ends in a way that makes the reader rapidly turn over the page to see what happens next. It's very well written and is obvious the author has a great knowledge of behavioural patterns of certain criminals. I see from the notes about him that he was a member of a Criminal Psychology team, it all seems to make the story more plausible. 

Highly recommended, it grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go!

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Reviewer:  Tricia Chappell

Tricia Chappell. I have a great love of books and reading, especially crime and thrillers. I play the occasional game of golf (when I am not reading). My great love is cruising especially to far flung places, when there are long days at sea for plenty more reading! I am really enjoying reviewing books and have found lots of great new authors.