Good job you didn't turn on the lights . . .' A student nurse has the shock of her life when she discovers her patient, prosecutor Derek Nicholson, brutally murdered in his bed. The act seems senseless - Nicholson was terminally ill with only weeks to live. But what most shocks Detective Robert Hunter of the Los Angeles Robbery Homicide Division is the calling card the killer left behind.
For Hunter, there is no doubt that the killer is trying to communicate with the police, but the method is unlike anything he's ever seen before. And what could the hidden message be?
Just as Hunter and his partner Garcia reckon they've found a lead, a new body is found - and a new calling card. But with no apparent link between the first and second victims, all the progress they've made so far goes out of the window.
Pushed into an uncomfortable alliance with confident investigator Alice Beaumont, Hunter must race to put together the pieces of the puzzle . . . before the Death Sculptor puts the final touches to his masterpiece.
It's my pleasure to be taking part in the epic Chris Carter blogathon, this month it's the turn of the fourth book in his Robert Hunter series, The Death Sculptor. Many thanks to Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for inviting me and to Simon & Schuster for my digital copy of the novel.
Chris Carter's books have been on my tbr list for far too long; as somebody who enjoys dark, disturbing crime fiction, I suspected I'd love them. I'm now four books into his Robert Hunter series and thrilled that I still have lots to look forward to. Like millions of other readers, I'm definitely a fan! The Death Sculptor is possibly my favourite book in the series so far – while the gruesome nature of the crimes committed is what grabs the headlines in the series, it's the mystery behind the murders which I found particularly compelling here.
The brutal murder of Derek Nicholson seems especially cruel because the former prosecutor for the State of California was terminally ill with cancer and had only weeks to live. However, rather than a dignified, peaceful end to his life, Derek was subjected to a horrendous ordeal at the hands of his killer. The crime scene afterwards shocks even Robert Hunter and his partner, Carlos Garcia. They have seen the worst atrocities one human can inflict on another but the murderer's actions after killing Nicholson leave them in no doubt that they wanted to convey a macabre message.
Exactly what the killer wants to communicate baffles the detectives, who are joined by Alice Beaumont, a researcher for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation. Alice is supremely confident in her abilities and I enjoyed seeing a strong, successful woman who was allowed to be just that. During the course of the novel she plays an important role in the investigation and rather than being silenced or ridiculed, her input is given fair consideration by the detectives.
A second murder confirms their suspicion that this killer has a grisly plan but also confuses the investigation further thanks to the ambiguous nature of their sickening calling card. Although this series is renowned for its goriness, most of the actual horror actually takes place off the page. Nevertheless, there are some incredibly tense scenes where the terror of the victims as they realise their situation is hopeless and that their appalling ordeals have only just begun. It's certainly the stuff of nightmares and not for the more squeamish reader.
As I mentioned before though, it's the puzzle that Hunter, Garcia and Alice need to solve which really propels The Death Sculptor. As demands for a swift resolution increase, they desperately try to figure out how the victims are linked and who might be seeking their terrible revenge. It all makes for an addictive, exciting read, particularly as so many of the chapters end on a fiendish tempting cliffhanger – I would recommend setting aside a few uninterrupted hours to read it!
The conclusion is shocking and quite emotional; I've enjoyed seeing Hunter's character develop during the course of the series so far and his empathetic principles comes to the forefront here. His intuitive intelligence is always fascinating and while I continue to enjoy his partnership with Garcia, the chemistry between him and the driven Alice Beaumont is most interesting in this instalment. The Death Sculptor is a pacy, cleverly plotted and gripping thriller which is chilling on both a visceral and psychological level – I highly recommend it.
The Death Sculptor is published by Simon & Schuster, purchasing links can be found here.
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