Secrets of a Serial Killer

Rosie Walker

jul 2020 · Verkocht door HarperCollins UK

Over dit e-boek

An edge-of-your-seat serial killer thriller that you won’t be able to put down!

There it is: FEAR. It’s crawling all over her face and in her eyes, like a swarm of insects, and it’s all because of HIM.

A serial killer has been terrorising Lancaster for decades, longer than should ever have been possible. The police are baffled, eluded at every turn by the killer whose victims span generations. Speculation is rife among the true crime forums; is someone passing on their gruesome trade?

Every local mother's worst nightmare has become Helen Summerton's reality; he’s taken her daughter, Zoe. As the clock runs down so do her chances of survival. Can Helen unearth the secrets of the killer before it’s too late?

A gripping serial killer thriller that you won’t be able to put down. Perfect for fans of The Whisper Man, What You Did and Don’t Even Breathe.

What readers are saying about Secrets of a Serial Killer:

“Who saw THAT ending coming? A masterful debut from an author with huge potential. More please!” Stephen Edger, author of Detective Kate Matthews series

“WOW! Let me catch my breath! A chilling and atmospheric read that will give you goosebumps galore! But that ending – OMFG More please!” Noelle Holten, author of the Maggie Jamieson series

“Fast-paced! Exciting! Addictive! A very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters, the suspense builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds... nail-biting suspense that kept me guessing the whole way! “

“Beyond amazing. I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming. Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing.”

“WOW. My brain is still spinning (because I stayed up until 3 am with this one).”

“Prepare to sleep with your lights on... From the first few pages, I was utterly gripped. A few more and I was horrified. Up until the wee hours, I was reading with my Kindle under the covers, suspicious of the slightest noise outside my window.”

Beoordelingen en reviews

Leonard Mc Vitie is a (fictional) serial killer that got caught in 1959 after killing at least 48 people. He had a very peculiar MO: first, he would select someone he would frame and incriminate this person by leaving evidence and taking over their identities before he killed his victim. Several of those people got convicted for his crimes. Mc Vitie was considered insane and never stood trial but spent the remainder of his life (he died in 1985) in Lancaster Lune Asylum. He turned out to be a prolific writer and somehow managed to collect ‘students’ whom he tutored in his speciality, manipulation and serial killing. Helen is an architect that doesn’t live far from the now derelict asylum and is commissioned to convert the building into luxury flats. They’re only in the preliminary stages trying to get the appropriate planning permissions and such. Her daughter Zoe (17) has a boyfriend that’s 7 years older who makes her feel slightly uncomfortable for no obvious reason. When Zoe and her friends go out to the pubs one evening, she and her friend Abbie stay behind when their boyfriends go to meet other friends in another pub. Both girls get roofied, but only Zoe is taken and due to the particular circumstances no-one notices her missing until the next day. Abbie’s boyfriend Matt is obsessed with serial killers and has done research into Mc Vitie. He’s sure that in the 80ies, there was another serial killer in the area that was never caught and was dubbed Mr X by the cops. A local journalist writes an article about the unusual number of young girls that goes missing from the area over the last years. She’s certain that there’s a serial killer behind this but unsure whether this is still Mr X or a new predator. The police claim that there are no bodies and no evidence of crimes. A couple of brave 11-year olds explore the woods around the Asylum and discover an abandoned caravan that they claim as their ‘clubhouse’. They’re frightened by a piercing scream nearby and run like hell. But the girl lost her older brother’s ‘borrowed’ knife and they’ll have to return and find it. With nothing more than the title to go on, you do know that there’s a serial killer involved in this story. The author exploits that very cleverly by liberally sowing the seeds of suspicion. The book has a slow start with descriptions of a whole day filled with the activities and actions of the main characters (and there are quite a few of those). One of those voices belongs to the killer. If you look closely at the male characters, you’ll notice that as long as the identity of the killer isn’t revealed, they all look slightly suspicious. It reads like a solid psychological thriller where the creepiest moments are those everyday situations when you’re unsure what everyone’s motivation really is. But once you know who the criminal is, the book changes completely and it becomes fast-paced and more like an action/adventure thriller. The ‘big chase’ feels a bit obligatory and there are a few rather unlikely things happening in this part of the book but they certainly add to the suspense. When you think that all’s resolved, the psychological bit kicks in again and you’re left with a few unanswered questions as to what happens next/later. It can be an opening to write a sequel but it’s a fitting end for this story. In life, we also don’t know what’s waiting behind the corner. It’s very crafty engineered, this book. It makes you question everything and everyone. I thank Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC. This is my honest, unbiased review of it.