Eye of the Beholder

I love Ellis's Kolarich series and was excited to find this book at a used bookstore recently. I didn't love this as much as the Kolarich series and I would attribute it to maybe be one of his earlier books. I was very turned around through the early stages of the book with the storyline going back and forth to a series of murders years earlier to the most recent event. But I have to say that when things started falling together towards the end of the book I was blown away by how exactly the events were all connected and the various characters played their role. I'm not usually this dense when it comes to mystery/thrillers but this one totally caught me off guard.

Five gruesome murders of five girls brutally slayed emulating the first verse of a deranged song. The conviction comes quickly since there is no room for doubt as to who the killer is. Or so it seems... Years later, after the original killer has been executed, the second verse of the song is being reenacted again and dead people start to turn up. People who are connected to the first five murders. Coincidence? Ruthless lawyer Paul Riley, who convicted the first murderer, thinks not. He embarks on his own little private investigation that lands him as a suspect. Is this a copycat or a cover up from the first murders? Mr. Ellis will let you know no sooner than the last page of the book. Loved it! A true thriller.

I've read a few of the Ellis & Patterson co-written books as well as Jury of One by Ellis alone and I had found his writing to be quite crisp and compelling yet Eye of the Beholder was not quite up to those standards. There's a fair bit of action in there with quite a few plot twists, yet for the most part it didn't really resonate with me and I found the ending to be rather cliched.

Overall, it was an okay book but I wouldn't be in a rush to recommend it to anyone.

Paul Riley became famous after convicting a serial killer who acted out the lyrics from a violent song. Terry Burgos received the death penalty for killing six young women, including the daughter of billionaires Harland and Natalia Bentley. Years later killings begin to act out the second verse of the song. Is it a copycat? Did Burgos have a partner? Or did Riley convict the wrong man?

The premise is fine, but the actual book is just okay. You definitely have to suspend belief and make some odd leaps in logic in order for everything to fit. The story was fine as a distraction while I worked, but I won't remember it a few months from now.

A little obvious, but the characters are compelling, and the story is interesting (if far-fetched). A quick and easy read.