Book Review: The Murder Artist

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Murder Artist     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
John Case
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller
Ballantine, Oct 2004, $25.95, 448 pp.

International TV news correspondent, Alex Callahan covers all the hot spots around the world becoming immune to cruelty, abuse, and death. His biggest fear is not getting killed, but that his twin six year old sons will not know him as he struggles to see them periodically. That is why Alex enjoys his time with them as they wander a Virginia medieval fair.

However, the quality time together ends when he receives the phone call with the voice of a frightened tentative child crying out "Daddy.” The police investigation goes nowhere so Alex employs his investigative reporter skills in cesspools to make inquiries. He finds a pattern that a voodoo crazed individual dubbed The Piper has been abducting and killing twins for years as part of a quest to fulfill a dark dream. Alex’s only hope is to find a voodoo master hidden away in the backwaters of Bayou country. If he locates the master, Alex will pay a price to obtain help; the cost is being buried alive for a night by someone who might prove to be THE MURDER ARTIST or perhaps the twins’ killer.

This is an exciting thriller that grips readers from the moment Alex receives the devastating phone call. The story line never slows down as a desperate Alex, filled with guilt even before the abduction, is just about over the edge with a frantic need for penitence by saving his children and stopping the monstrous Piper. Fans will be stunned by the level of tension that grows to an unbelievable crescendo in what is going to be recognized as one of the best thrillers of the year.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner