Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Breakneck by Erica Spindler

I have always enjoyed Erica Spindler's books, so when I realized she had a new one out I had to place it on hold from my library. It came in quickly using my trick of placing the Large Type on hold though it took me awhile to read it. I started it on Friday and just finished it now. I felt this book wasn't as good as other Spindler books and was a bit disappointed. I give it a B.

From Amazon:
A remorseless killer. A string of innocent, clean-cut victims. Detectives M.C. Riggio and Kitt Lundgren must race against a cold-blooded predator who moves at breakneck speed in this heart-pounding thriller from New York Times bestselling author Erica Spindler.
Hot on the heels of their last case, partners Mary Catherine (M.C.) Riggio and Kitt Lundgren, detectives in the police department's Violent Crimes Bureau in industrial, blue-collar Rockford, Illinois, are called out to a college student’s apartment where a young man with no criminal record, not even a noise complaint from his neighbors, appears to have been murdered in his sleep.
The trail seems cold, until another victim turns up, and then another… each one striking closer to home for M.C. The growing list of seemingly emotionless kills leaves M.C. and Kitt little to follow—like the first victim, all the targets are young adults, kid-next-door types who’ve never taken a step outside the law. Meanwhile, the case starts to take its toll on M.C.’s personal life, setting her on edge with her partner and putting their hard-earned friendship in jeopardy. As M.C. and Kitt hunt a faceless killer, they are led deep into the cyberuniverse, where no one is who he seems and you never know who's watching. At the heart of this mesmerizing thriller is the relationship between two headstrong women as they struggle to balance their dual roles, to learn to trust, and to walk the fine line between upholding the law—and taking it into their own hands.


The main character, M.C., kind of grated on my nerves. Some of her decisions she made where so foolish, especially for a hard-nosed police officer. I guess part of it helps build the suspense, but I thought it could have been handled differently. I think part of the reason why I may not have enjoyed this book more if I had more time to read more of the book in one sitting. There was also so much killing in this book that it almost seemed like overkill (no pun intended). It seemed like a lot of coincidence that all of those that are killed were so close to each other. That being said, the premise of this book was compelling since identify theft is such a hot button topic nowadays, especially with the way the economy is. It is kind of scary to think about how vulnerable our identity is and all of the problems that can be caused by it. I recently was sent a letter from my local credit union telling me that my debit and credit card numbers were compromised. It is quite scary and this book covers the topic well.

I really need to squeeze some more time in for reading. This month's reading has been so slow and low and it is something that I enjoy so much so I need to find the time. I continue to be busy, but even if I fit in a half an hour a night, I think it would really benefit my mental health and my mood. I hope everyone is finding more time for reading than I am and that you are surrounded by great books! Happy Reading!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I came so close to getting this book, but the new Andrew Gross won out. I still haven't read his last...better get busy!

Kristie said...

I read one of his books... but I don't remember which one but I remember really enjoying it. I should look at some of his other ones too...