A killing like no other.
A killer more twisted than he’s ever seen before.
A case that will test him to the limit.
Has Robert Hunter finally met his match?
‘Do you believe the Devil exists, Detective?’ the officer at the end of the line asks. ‘Because if you don’t . . . I’m sure you will once you get here.’
Robert Hunter is called to the most vicious crime scene he has ever attended. It is made even more disturbing when the autopsy reveals a poem, left by the killer, inside the body of their victim.
Soon, another body is found. The methods and signature of the murder differs, but the level of violence used suggests that the same person is behind both crimes. Hunter’s fears are confirmed when a second part of the poem is found.
But this discovery does more than just link the two killings – it suggests that this is the work of a serial murderer.
With no forensic evidence to go on, Robert Hunter must catch the most disciplined and systematic killer that he has ever encountered, someone who thrives on the victims' fear, and to whom death is a lesson that needs to be taught.
From #1 Sunday Times and multi-million copy bestselling author, Chris Carter, comes the most compelling and ruthless Robert Hunter thriller yet.
I'm delighted to be taking part in the epic Chris Carter blogathon organised by Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers. This month it's the turn of the Genesis, the twelfth book in his Robert Hunter series. Many thanks to Tracy for inviting me and to Simon & Schuster for my digital copy of the novel.
I have read a lot of dark, grisly crime fiction and I'm not squeamish but the horrific deaths in Genesis even made me exclaim out loud. In a series known for its gruesomeness, this latest case for Robert Hunter and Carlos Garcia is particularly disturbing. However, it's not just the imaginative cruelty of the killer that made such an impression on me because Chris Carter also examines some important, difficult topics here.
Thanks to their positions as detectives in the LAPD's Ultra Violent Crimes Unit, Hunter and Garcia have seen more than their fair share of nauseating crime scenes but even they are shocked when they receive a call to the home of a murdered woman. The monstrous ordeal inflicted on the victim is beyond words and Hunter quickly realises that this was no random killing – this murder was personal. However, the victim had no obvious enemies and with no forensic evidence, they have the slimmest of leads to follow. Subsequent murders complicate matters still further; the killer's methods are different and arguably even more sickening but there are important similarities between the deaths too.
Chris Carter always makes sure the victims are more than their deaths and by giving us an insight into their lives, the awful sense of foreboding as their inevitable end draws near is nerve-shreddingly tense. He is also the master of nailbiting cliffhanger chapter endings and Genesis is no exception. This is a compulsive pageturner of a thriller but for all its graphic violence, it's the moving exploration of what lies behind the murders and what drives the killer to visit such fear and barbarism on the victims which really makes an impression.
The partnership between Hunter and Garcia is always a vital element of this series but perhaps never more so than in Genesis. Hunter is no stranger to heartbreak in his personal life and while it makes him a more understanding, insightful officer, the case weighs heavily on him at times and it's in these moments that Garcia shines. They are part of a wider team too, of course and the skills of their colleagues working in forensics and in pathology feature strongly throughout Genesis too.
The story doesn't end when the killer's identity is revealed and the closing chapters are almost unbearably tense. They are also desperately poignant as Chris Carter guides us towards understanding what drove them to want to inflict such abject fear and pain on others. This is a necessarily sombre read and there is a warning at the start of the book that some readers may find some of the themes upsetting. I have personal experience of one of the issues portrayed in Genesis but with enough distance between my own loss and what takes place in the novel, I am pleased I was able to continue reading this superb thriller. Genesis is an intense, exciting rollercoaster of a read and an empathetic, compassionate depiction of the destructive ripples of a tragedy. I highly recommend it.
Genesis is published by Simon & Schuster, purchasing links can be found here.
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