The Stalking Man

William J. Coughlin

Apr 2011 · Sold by St. Martin's Paperbacks

About this ebook

In a twisted trail of blood, he spelled out his name, The Stalking Man, hunting women in cities across the country the way his father had once taught him to hunt deer. He loved the moment of terror frozen on their faces when the all-too-horrifying realization would hit them-they were going to die a death more violent and ghastly than their worst nightmares...

They had caught him once-he did his time and now he was "cured." But he'd been sloppy then. This time he slithered through the country, striking with cunning and precision, laughing at the law as he outran them again and again. Now two men must piece together his macabre clues and stop a sadistic killer who's about to strike too close to home...

Ratings and reviews

Edward Teague, also known as the Stalking Man, is back! After being found guilty by reason of insanity for killing innumerous women, he was sentenced to a hospital for the criminally insane under the care of Dr. Rose. When a series of brutal deaths of young women appear across the Midwest, Lieutenant Anthony Russo's first thoughts go to the Stalking Man, the man Russo had hunted down and brought to justice. Still angry at the defense attorney, Thomas Knapp, for keeping his client out of prison, he becomes even angrier when he learns that Dr. Rose has quietly discharged Teague as being "cured" a year ago. Russo immediately starts looking closely into the recent reported deaths and comes to the conclusion that Teague is out there and he is still torturing and killing, spelling out clues to his identity in a gruesome game. But no one seems to believe him ... not his supervisor, not his partner, not the investigating officers of the recent murders and not his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Teague is working his way closer to Russo ..... First published in 1979, this is a well written serial killer thriller ... using nothing but a detective's gut feelings and intuitions. There are no forensic AHA moments anywhere to be found. Edward Teague, as he continues his country-wide search for new victims, takes the reader back to his younger days, when his father would take him hunting. He is applying all those helpful hints to stalking, substituting women for the bear or deer. And each kill is more brutal than the last. Lt. Russo is a good cop ... and he knows his instincts are correct when it comes to Teague. And he's going to prove it one way or the other. The reader gets a glimpse of his personal life, which up to now how mostly his life consists of police work. He now has a girlfriend and he is terrified that she may become the Stalking Man's next victim. The Stalking Man certainly kept me turning the pages to see what happened next. Many thanks to the author / Endeavour Press / Netgalley who provided a digital copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

About the author

William J. Coughlin, a former defense attorney and judge in Detroit for twenty years, was the author of sixteen novels. He lived in Grosse Point Woods, Michigan, with his wife, Ruth, an author and book critic.