Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The Breathtaker by Alice Blanchard

The Breathtaker by Alice Blanchard
Thriller

Charlie Grover is the Police Chief of small town Promise, Oklahoma. His wife has passed away and he's left as a single father to his teenager while he tries to balance being a father, his career, and the demons he wrestles with from his past when his father beat him and he almost died in a fire.

As the tornado season winds up, Charlie comes across three suspicious deaths. A family is impaled with debris, which is typical to a tornado scene, but it looks like they were impaled multiple times, possibly dragged, and had teeth removed. As Charlie examines further he finds more inconsistencies and then finds previous deaths during tornadoes with a similar MO. Charlie tracks a serial killer while the killer tracks the tornadoes, a deadly combination.

This book was a very easy read and unfortunately I think it was more due to the fact that it's not the best written book than it was a page turner. Having a murderer that commits crimes during a tornado adds a new dimension to a murder mystery. It wasn't that complex of a mystery and there was much about the family dynamics of Charlie's family than there was about the murder. I also felt the book was rather poorly named. I don't equate breathtaker with tornado killer, but what do I know?

First Line: "Rob Pepper stepped into the cheery yellow kitchen, ready for a fight."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

No comments: