Mike Omer

8 year old Kathy is abducted, but manages to escape a year later. She does not speak and is terrified all the time. A child therapist Robin agrees to help Kathy learn how to handle and how to live with her traumatic memories. During the sessions Kathy seems to playact recent murders.

I really liked this book. The story is told from several points of view, but Robin is clearly the main character. She's recently divorced and also grieving after the death of her father. In addition to that her show more mother is unstable and demanding and makes her life really difficult. Robin still manages to be a sympathetic and likable charater.

It takes a while for the author to set the stage for the story. I was anxious to get it going. Fortunately the build up was really worth it. The chapters are short and end in cliffhangers. There was a sense of urgency that kept me reading and turning pages. I thought I had the killer figured out, but I was totally wrong, which is nice. I usually don't care for romance in thrillers, but here it was quite cute and subtle and I actually liked Nathaniel too. There are many references to Covid-19, which is something I would not care to read about. I eventually got over it, though.

This is the first book I read by this author, but definitely not the last.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a copy of this book. show less

I'm hooked on this new series!

For me, characters come first. I need to feel their emotions, and care about what happens to them. That can mean I want them to succeed with a happily-ever-after ending or die violent deaths, but either way I have to feel the intensity. Mike Omer brought me characters I immediately connected with and cared about. They're realistic and quirky and unique. Even the minor characters stand out. I absolutely loved Marvin, who is Tatum's grandfather and had me show more laughing out loud.

The plot is complex without being overly complicated. Omer doesn't overload us with gruesome scenes, but instead gives us just enough to be repulsed by and get a clear sense of the killer's actions.

Pacing is steady, with a good mix of humor to offset the dark topic.

I have one grumbling point. The author drastically overuses the words 'bit' and 'very', to the point where I was editing the sentences as I read. Each word appears roughly 100 times in the book. This cheapened his writing 'a bit'. It's an easy fix, because his writing is quite strong, and I only mention it in the hopes that the author and/or his editor will catch and correct this habit in book 2.

I'm looking forward to spending lots more time with these characters! show less

This was a new author for me...but I hope he's a fast writer because he has just become one of my favorite authors. I've already ordered the next book in this series. I really liked the two main characters...Zoe Bentley and Tatum Gray. They got started off wrong but by the end they were working well together to bring down a monster. The story actually featured two monsters...one from Zoe's past and one that is very much alive in the present. Another thing that was very satisfying about this show more writer is that he tied up loose ends but left just enough dangling to make you HAVE to see where this was going to go in the next one. Believable, well developed characters that you could actually like and root for. Write faster Mr. Omer...it won't take me long to get through book #2. show less

This is the second book that I have read in this series and again I was very impressed with the writing style of Mike Omer. I love the characters of Zoe Bentley and Tatum Gray along with Tatum's whacky grandfather. He even throws in the cat from Hell and the goldfish that swims around his bowl with a beer bottle in it. I believe the creepiest part of it though...is one that isn't written but screams it's very existence. The killers... from both the first book and this one are people that the show more average person would never suspect. They move through society, blending in and interacting with the townspeople's everyday life. Now that's scary! Overall...another well told tale with a more than chilling plot. I'm Looking forward to #3 and hopefully many more to come. show less