Dead Ringer

Description from Fantastic Fiction:

Beside each body, he leaves a simple charm bearing a woman's name. Ruth, Martha, Judith. The victims were strangers to each other, but they have been chosen with the utmost care. Each bears a striking resemblance to Kendall Shaw, a local anchorwoman...each brutally strangled by a madman whose obsession will never end...In front of the cameras, Kendall is the picture of stylish confidence. But at night she's haunted by nightmares in which she is young, alone, and filled with fear. Are these memories - or omens? Despite warnings from Richard Detective Jacob Warwick, Kendall can't stop investigating the recent string of murders. She knows she holds the key to catching an obsessed psychopath - if he doesn't get to her first...The deeper Kendall and Jacob dig into the victims' backgrounds, the more terrifying the discoveries. For from the shadows of the past, a legacy of evil has resurfaced. Every murder, every moment has been leading to Kendall. And this time, nothing will stop the killer making her his final victim...

My Thoughts:

Penguin books have claimed this is the perfect thrill for fans of Karen Rose or your money back ! Well Penguin I thought as I started this book can I have my money back please.

However as I carried on reading this book I started to enjoy it more and I can actually say that at the end I quite enjoyed it. The story is a romantic suspense in the vain of Karen Rose/ Erica Spindler/ Sandra Brown but I felt not quite as good. I would have liked the two main characters to have connected a lot sooner in the story to give the book a little bit more sizzle.

Overall it was a very good read eventually with the story picking up a least half way through. ( )

This was a good book, full of suspense and the characters were very believable. When Kendall Shaw keeps having nightmares, she would never have thought they were real. Helped by Jacob Warwick, policeman, she begins to unravel her dreams and you'll never guess the ending! ( )

Reporter Kendall Shaw nearly died at the hands of a serial killer last summer. Since returning to work, she’s done her reporting from the safety of the anchor’s desk. But when a young woman is found strangled by the James River, Kendall feels compelled to cover the story. She wants to prove that she can handle the tough stories – not only to herself, but also to her demanding boss and former boyfriend, Brett.

Homicide detective Jacob Warrington and his partner Zack Kier have little to go on at the murder scene. The killer left no physical evidence and the only clue they have is a small gold charm engraved with the name ‘Ruth’.

When more victims are discovered, each with a gold charm of their own, an unsettling pattern emerges. Each victim was killed in the same manner, and they all bear an uncanny resemblance to Kendall Shaw. As Jacob tries to keep Kendall from becoming the next victim, he finds himself fighting a growing attraction to her.

Does the killer have his sights set on Kendall? And could a mystery from her past be the key to solving the crime?

While I enjoyed Dead Ringer, I felt two of the subplots should have been more fully developed. One promising subplot with Kendall’s boss Brett saw no real resolution. Another subplot, this time involving Kendall’s roommate Nicole and one of her photography clients, was more fleshed out, but it didn’t feel believable to me. However, Dead Ringer offered up some great twists, an interesting protagonist, and a terrifying killer. These three elements made it a difficult book to put down. ( )

There is a serial psychopath on the loose. He is killing off women one by one but this killer loves his women. Each body is found with a necklace engraved with the names of Ruth, Martha and Judith. There’s just one small thing…each of the women have a strong similarity to Channel 10 news anchorwoman Kendall Shaw. Kendall loves to cover the top stories but she never thought she would end up becoming one herself.

Kendall has always been the picture of a successful, independent woman but she has a secret…a secret so terrible that she keeps having nightmares. It seems this psychopath wants to dig out all of Kendall’s skeletons in the closet for the public to see. Police detective, Jacob Warwick is on the case and he will go to great lengths to protect Kendall. However Warwick was planning on shielding Kendall I don’t think death came into the picture, because Warwick just might need to sacrifice his life for Kendall in order to save her.

I really liked Dead Ringer. It grabbed my attention from the first page and held it till the very end. The plot had some great twists and turns that I felt helped build up the suspense throughout the storyline, which really helped with the ending of this book. Let me tell you this ending even took me by surprise. This doesn’t happen often to me but when it does it means the author did their job. I liked all the characters in the book but the star for me was the killer. He had this really strong presence throughout the story in addition to the fact that when he did appear it was like I was experiencing everything through his eyes. Usually the killer starts out strong and then dwindles till the end but not in Dead Ringer. I give Mary Burton an “A” plus! Fans of suspense will fall in love with Dead Ringer. ( )