Book Review: Messiah

Reviewed By: Luke Croll - RAM

Messiah     Amazon US PB Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB
Boris Starling
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Horror   Serial Killer
HarperCollins; 1999; £5.99 (English pounds); pp. 483
Classification: Adult fiction (Police thriller)

There is a serial killer stalking London, leaving only silver spoons in the mouths of his victims - all wealthy men. Detective Superintendent Red Metcalfe is under pressure to track the killer down and he suddenly finds his own past coming back to haunt him.

'Messiah' started off well and got better and better, the story getting more and more confusing and the solutions being really surprising and not what I had expected. However, it was too good to be true. When the final revelation about the killer's identity came, the killer's motive for his final victim just seemed a little bit too bizarre. All this for his own purposes and to incorporate a bit of revenge as well? I thought it was stretching the bounds of belief.

Also, the very last chapter had me crying out with disbelief. It's very difficult to discuss it without going into spoilers, but how the character acted here seemed totally wrong. Also, his actions early on in the book made it very hard to understand and identify with him. He just seemed false and I can't imagine someone else behaving like that.

Apart from that, 'Messiah' was a good thriller and certainly an interesting first novel. Starling tried to make it as authentic as possible and he certainly did a great deal of research. However, I cannot rate it very highly as I feel that the points I have outlined above weigh against it too heavily.

Luke Croll - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Luke Croll - RAM

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