Those of you who follow me on social media may have seen me mention some tough times. Things have been difficult in my wee world for the last while, and will likely continue to be for some time going forward. As a result my reading (amongst other things) has suffered and this poor wee blog has been severely neglected. I have tried, and occasionally failed, to keep the few commitments I had made, but didn't have the bandwidth to post anything extra. And, honestly, I still don't know if I have the capacity to do more but I'm really gonna try because this is something I love, and is a positive thing for me. So it might be a bit up and down but I'm gonna try to run with it and be more present on here. Hope you come along with me.
Right, now all of that is out of the way, welcome to today's post, which is part of our epic Chris Carter blogathon. We're up to book six, An Evil Mind. My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the invitation. I read and reviewed from my own bought copy.
The Blurb
A freak accident in rural Wyoming leads the Sheriff's Department to arrest a man for a possible double homicide, but further investigations suggest a much more horrifying discovery – a serial killer who has been kidnapping, torturing and mutilating victims all over the United States for at least twenty-five years.
The suspect claims he is a pawn in a huge labyrinth of lies and deception – and he will now only speak to Detective Robert Hunter . . .
My Review
In An Evil Mind, Hunter, who was about to head off on holiday, is seconded by the FBI, and meets an old friend. But this is no warm, fuzzy reunion. Far from it. And Hunter is pushed to the limit...
Those off you who have been following my reviews of this series, or anyone who has read Carter's books will know by now that the deaths in these books are dark, twisted, horrifying and very creative. The crimes described in this book are no different. Here, though, some have taken place in the more distant past, and I found these easier to read than some of the crimes in previous books which have more immediacy about them. Is that bonkers? I don't know. Because they are no less horrific. But for whatever reason, this was a less difficult read for me than some of the earlier books in the series.
What I loved about this book was that we get loads of psychological stuff and discussions about criminal behaviour. The author's experience and knowledge clearly shine through but it's never preachy or dull - I found it all fascinating. And we learn a lot more about Robert Hunter's past, stuff that hadn't been shared previously, so that was really interesting.
Carter is a master at building tension and threat, and every denouement of his I have read has made my heart beat faster and louder. And here we were again. It's dark, scary and messy - I don't think I took a breath the entire time I was reading it!
an Evil Mind is another great entry in the series, although it works well as a standalone too. As we move on to book seven, I'm keen to see if Carlos comes back. I missed him in this one, so hoping he'll be back next time. We'll see...
The Author
Born in Brazil of Italian origin, Chris Carter studied psychology and criminal behaviour in the USA. As a member of the District Attorney's Criminal Psychology team, and working together with the Police Department in numerous cases, he interviewed and studied many criminals, including serial and multiple homicide offenders with life imprisonment convictions. He now lives in London, UK.