Seven days after being abducted, the body of a twenty-year-old woman is found on a green patch of grass by the Los Angeles International Airport. She has been left with her limbs stretched out and spread apart, placing her in a five-point human star.
The autopsy reveals that she had been murdered in a most terrible way. But the surprises don't end there.
Detective Robert Hunter, who leads LAPD's Special Section, Ultra Violent Unit, is assigned the case. But almost immediately a second body turns up. Hunter knows he has to be quick.
Surrounded by new challenges as every day passes, Detective Hunter finds himself chasing a monster. A predator whose past hides a terrible secret, whose desire to hurt people and thirst for murder can never be quenched - for he is DEATH.
It's such a pleasure to be sharing my review of I Am Death for the Chris Carter blogathon. Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for my digital review copy and to Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for inviting me.
Chris Carter's Robert Hunter series is renowned for being dark and twisted but I found I Am Death, the seventh instalment, to be particularly disturbing. This is definitely not a book for the faint hearted and includes scenes of brutal attacks and torture as well as frequent mentions of sexual violence. However, despite often being a grim, harrowing read, it is also a perceptive, insightful exploration into what makes a person become a monster.
The opening chapters of I Am Death leave readers in no doubt as to the chilling nature of the book; a scene of domestic regularity suddenly becomes the terrifying site of a brazen abduction swiftly followed by the similarly distressing kidnap of a young boy. Chris Carter gives readers a glimpse into the lives of the victims, which although brief, is enough to elicit deep sympathy for them both. Nicole Wilson is an outstanding student whose caring nature is obvious as she looks in on the little boy she is babysitting. Meanwhile, eleven-year-old Ricky clearly has a far more difficult life and it's not surprising that he should be drawn to an apparent kindness...
After events in the previous book, An Evil Mind, which found Robert Hunter working with the FBI, he is reunited with his usual partner, Carlos Garcia here. The pair are barely given any time to become reacquainted, however, before Captain Barbara Blake tells them about Nicole who was missing for seven days after being abducted from the house. Her body has finally been discovered and although the cause of death isn't evident at this point, alarm bells are ringing because of the way she had been left positioned as a human star. It looks ritualistic and both Hunter and Garcia know ritual killers rarely only strike once.
The novel switches between the start of their investigation and the appalling ordeal being inflicted on young Ricky, who has been given a new name and is suffering the most heinous physical and mental abuse imaginable. These scenes are perhaps the most heartbreaking in the book, as the boy's visceral terror gives way to a sense of abject hopelessness and despair.
The killer leaves a macabre message announcing I Am Death and sure enough, another body is soon discovered. The case becomes more challenging than ever, however, after another woman is murdered. The method this time is very different and yet the perpetrator ensures the police know the two women are both victims of the same killer who he toys with the authorities, leaving cryptic notes and potential clues as to his identity – with Hunter singled out for a provocative personal message.
Although I Am Death can easily be read as a standalone, I have enjoyed following the development of the main characters and would recommend others to do the same by reading from the start of the series if possible. Despite their contrasting lives – Garcia is happily married whereas Hunter is an insomniac who lives alone, their friendship and the understanding they share means the partnership between them remains as strong as ever, with Garcia noticeably more confident in expressing his own theories about the murderer.. There are some more humorous moments too, which lighten what is frequently a horrifyingly heartrending read.
I've read several dark thrillers over the years and what makes some really stand out is when the author takes pains to try to explore the nature of evil and what drives a person to become a twisted killer – and Chris Carter does exactly that here. As a former criminal psychologist himself, his wealth of experience brings empathetic authenticity to proceedings and as much as this is a gripping read, packed with dramatic twists and turns, it is also an agonising tragedy.
Fast-paced and addictive, with fiendishly compulsive cliff-hanger chapter endings, I Am Death is a graphic, nightmare-fuelled thriller from start to finish. Another standout read in the always excellent Robert Hunter series – I highly recommend it.
I Am Dead is published by Simon & Schuster, purchasing links can be found here.
Check out some of the other blogathon reviews, details are below.
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