The Death Watcher by Chris Carter #blogathon

We've reached book 13 in our epic Chris Carter blogathon,and the last review for him for a wee while, but he has a new standalone thriller, Hide and Seek, coming out in July. Anyway, back to this one. The Death Watcher is the thirteenth book in the Robert Hunter series, and whilst I've sometimes struggled to read some of the more violent parts of some of the books, I will miss time spent with Robert and Carlos. My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for inviting me to take part, and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

FIRST HE TAKES YOU. THEN HE BREAKS YOU. The 13th adrenaline-packed Robert Hunter thriller and Top Ten Sunday Times bestseller . . .

It should have been a routine autopsy on a straightforward hit-and-run.
It should have been an open and shut case.
It shouldn’t have led them to a serial killer – or put one of their own in danger.

When the LA Chief Medical Examiner, Dr Carolyn Hove, discovers some inconsistencies in a routine autopsy, she calls in Detective Robert Hunter of the LAPD Ultra Violent Crimes Unit. Not only was the victim not killed in a hit-and-run, but Dr Hove also found signs that they’d been severely tortured prior to death.

Their investigation leads Hunter and his partner, Carlos Garcia, on the trail of a twisted and clever killer who hides in plain sight. A serial killer no one even knew existed – a killer who has always operated under the radar, expertly disguising every gruesome murder as an accidental death.

But how do you investigate a murder when you have no victims? How do you catch a killer who leaves behind no crime scene? How do you stop a ghost who no one can prove even exists?

My Review

Well, goodness, I can't believe we've been doing this for thirteen months - what a journey it's been. And we're ending it, for now anyway, with The Death Watcher - another fine entry into the Robert Hunter series. 

Robert Hunter and Carlos Garcia are taken aback when their boss hands them the autopsy report of a man who had apparently been killed in a road traffic accident. Except the autopsy showed that that wasn't the case, and the man had a slew of other injuries. Something else had happened to this man, something very, very bad...

I found this book to be a much easier read than some of the others. Don't get me wrong, the crimes are horrific, but there isn't so much detailed description of the violence, for which I was appreciative. But as in all these books, the crimes are awful, but creative. Thirteen books in and Carter is still finding new ways to do horrible things to people! 

I love Robert, but also Carlos, and I really like their partnership. We've really seen Carlos grow across this series, and now the pair work seamlessly together. Of course, Robert knows more - he reads a lot - but he never belittles anyone, he's never arrogant. He's calm and considered, even in moments of high tension. All of these things make him a fabulous central character that keeps me coming back time and time again. 

There has been a theme through these books that there is often sadness and hurt at the centre of these crimes, and I very much felt that here. The antagonist is complicated and clever and hard to find, and the denouement is tense and horrifying and shocking, but at the heart of it all there is pain. Physical, emotional and psychological. A great read.

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.