Book Review: Split

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Split     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Tara Moss
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller   Woman Main Character   Amateur Sleuth   Forensics
Series: Makedde (Mak)
Leisure, Jul 2006, $6.99

She appears to have gotten her life together, working as a model to pay for her Masters in Forensic Psychology at the University of Vancouver, but Makedde Vanderwall has never gotten over being kidnapped by the Stiletto Slasher in Australia. She knows she was lucky to have escaped thanks to the last minute rescue by her lover Detective Andrew Flynn. However, unable to cope with the near tragedy, she returned to her Vancouver home wanting nothing to do with her lover, who saw her at her most vulnerable.

A year later Makedde is unable to sleep and when she does snooze she suffers horrific nightmares. She ahs not been with a man since she left Andy, but campus security guard Roy Blake persuades her to step out with him a few times. Andy comes to the school to attend a symposium and to help the locals with a serial killer case in which college students are the victims. Makedde realizes she remains vulnerable with Andy and decides to avoid him and see Roy, but their paths will soon cross as she is the next target.

The heroine is a spunky, assertive person who readers will care about as she tries to get over the trauma that still haunts her. Warm and caring Andy, who still loves her, seems too passive when it comes to persuading his beloved that they belong together so they never come across as a pair. Tara Moss creates a terrific protagonist starring in a suspenseful well written story line with a shocking and unforgettable climax.

Harriet Klausner

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