Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes

Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesomely narrated by Paul Holes; this audiobook covers Holes' time solving cold cases, serial killer captures and rapist cases. His stories are compelling; his need to solve cases to help the families was pivotal and affected his life, his marriages and his relationships with his children. A must read!

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Down Time (I Hunt Killers #0.1) by Barry Lyga

Down Time by Barry Lyga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh did I love this I Hunt Killers prequel!!! Billy Dent, the serial killer is mesmerizing as he discusses his life, his son, Jasper and in this prequel - how he shows the world outside Bill - normal and taking a vacation. Reading this reminds me how much I loved this series and want to revisit Jasper - definitely not Billy. A great teaser, Lyga is the best when it comes to describing serial killer crazy and demented!

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Till Death by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Till Death by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read this awesome book for the August twitter chat to be held Sept 6 at 8PM EST with #yearofYA, come join us, in so many ways this book featured empowered females Sasha and her best friend support one another) and Sasha overcame overcame many challenges young girls face - she survives and returns HOME strong. Such a great thriller and lots of twists in this mystery from one of my fave authors!!! Sasha was one of the Groom's captives who got away. She was so traumatized she leaves her home for 10 years, abandons her friends and boyfriend, goes into therapy, has a great job that her travelling. But Sasha returns to help her mom run their inn and almost immediately she is a target BECAUSE she got away - but she doesn't know...but we sure do. What I liked about Sasha was that the 10 years away made her into a strong empowered female fighting back. If you love romance, suspense, mystery and serial killers - this book is a must read!

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Bad Blood (The Naturals #4) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Bad Blood by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved The Naturals series and was very happy with this final book, story, and the many heart stopping twists and turns it took! Cassie has always blamed herself for her mother's murder and she continues to try to find the killer(s) but she and her team and the FBI are also dealing with a cult that kills people (certain amounts, certain dates, etc), looking for a missing person (who one of the profilers grew up with) and interspersed with chapters narrated by YOU, which is super horrible with gore, torture, blood, death, and forces beyond YOU's control. I loved the continued "family" feeling of these naturals (they are flawed, have bad backgrounds and specialties hones to solve heinous crimes) and I liked the addition of new characters (Laurel, Celine, Kane) as the plot thickened. Barnes really knows how to write mysteries, psychological thrillers, dealing with serial killers, murderers, people gone bad and the Naturals trying to save the world one step at a time. Highly recommended, read this book & the whole series!

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Beautiful Maids All in a Row (Iris Ballard #1) by Jennifer Harlow

Beautiful Maids All in a Row by Jennifer Harlow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley, Random House Publishing Group – Alibi for the ARC, Beautiful Maids All in A Row by Jennifer Harwood. This first in the Iris Ballard Series is a sure fire winner and I look forward to more books in this mystery series. Two years ago Iris Ballard was the supreme serial killer profiler with the FBI before she lost her husband and her grip on life. She is now a pill popping professor suffering from PTSD. When a new serial killer, known as The Woodsman is kidnapping, torturing, and killing young mothers, Iris’ old partner, Luke, and the FBI, ask for her help. As she begins to probe this killer’s mind, Iris quickly adds more facts and details to the serial killer profile with her own brand of forensic pathology and insight. For a rocking roller coaster ride that begins with page one, the mysteries keep unfolding as the tension mounts. You will root for Iris, she is determined, knows her business, and keeps on digging until she totally outs the killer. This is a highly recommended psychological thriller, I can’t wait for the next Iris Ballard mystery!!!

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All In (The Naturals #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this 3rd book in The Naturals series and I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes' writing. It is suspenseful, psychologically thrilling and disturbing and the teens in this series just keep getting better as the reader gets to know them more with each book. As the teens profile a series of serial killings in Las Vegas, they uncover so much more than the FBI ever thought was involved in the case. Also Cassie's mother's remains are discovered and this adds another layer to Cassie's anxiety but also reminds her that these teens are her friends and "home" which means everything to Cassie. Also Sloane who finds patterns in numbers is really helpful with Fibonacci spirals and patterns. Sloane also meets her brother, Aaron (who wants to get to know her) & her father who just wants her gone from his sight and his casino. I am really looking forward to #4 but I am also going to read her new book in a series, The Fixer. All these mysteries will be discussed 4/26 in a twitter chat #yearofya at 8PM EST. If you like mysteries (my fave genre) read some in April and
join in the discussion!

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Die For Me by Jack Lynch

Die For Me by Jack Lynch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Brash Books for Die For Me by Jack Lynch, a superb serial killer mystery. This is my first Peter Bragg thriller and I am most certainly going to read the seven other Brash books by Jack Lynch. Peter Bragg’s voice is human yet knowledgeable and believable. Bragg does not judge and seems to know how to keep his thoughts to himself. Bragg is adept at handling psychic Maribeth (with whom he has past history). Taking the psychic’s visions to the police, Bragg convinces them as well as himself that there really is some psycho who has killed and buried a good number of people. Why? is not so easy to figure out. As more and more bodies are discovered in various parts of Jack London State Park, Bragg races against time trying to locate a calculating killer who is a threat to Maribeth. I enjoyed the pace of this novel and the mystery was compelling. Bragg easily carries this book to a riveting showdown. I highly recommend this crime thriller to those who love serial killer books.

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Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga

Blood Of My Blood by Barry Lyga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You know how sometimes the final book is not always as great as the others in the series? Well, not this one!!! I could not put this book down. It was full of tension, anger, hatred, as well as love, friendship, and humor. Billy Dent has his hooks in Howie, Connie and Jasper and he delights in telling them they will all die horrible deaths. If you like serial killer books, this last book will make you sick, but I couldn't stop reading it---I was mesmerized by what these lunatics did without a care for others. Will Jazz rid himself of his father or will his father claim his son as the Crow King he thinks is his son's just title? Lyga's books will entice you, repel you, and give you lots of gore.

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My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Backderf's graphic novel about his high school years and "friendship" with serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer is truly creepy. Dahmer was an outcast and made fun of his whole life. He was bullied in school (but never retaliated)had no friends, drank to cover his to cover his torment. Dahmer was gay in a time when it was kept a secret. His parents fought constantly and bitterly. It was this horrid life that propelled Dahmer to satisfy his urges and begin to kill. The black and white comics, the climate of his high school life and Dahmer's isms are perfect Derf Backderf. The Sources contain even more information and notes on a sick, twisted Dahmer.

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Game by Barry Lyga

Game by Barry Lyga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG, I couldn't put down this 2nd installment from Barry Lyga's I Hunt Killers. Jasper and Connie go to New York where murders are taking place and they are mimicking some of Billy Dent's and since he has escaped, Jasper is hoping to catch the killers and his father. But what he doesn't ever suspect is that there seem to be a few killers at work; each taking their instructions via throw away cell phones. When they are both sent home; Connie is forbidden to ever leave town and Jasper is now getting to know his aunt who came to take care of Jasper's grandmother while Jasper was in NY. When Jasper returns to NY; Connie is contacted by text and begins to sort out clues about Jasper's dad. When he finds out alarming information about Jasper's father; she returns to NY without her parents' permission. Things spiral out of control and the ending is crazy and I can't wait til the next book comes out; it is so not fair to have to wait to find out what happens. Read it and you WILL agree with me!!! The same sickening mind games; just when Jasper thinks he has it figured out-----he so doesn't!

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I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow, what a heart-stopping thriller; imagine you are the son of a serial killer who has claimed 124 victims before being jailed. Jasper Dent’s father, Billy, made sure he schooled his son from a very young age in his evil inclinations. But the reader sees Jasper as a truly likable hero who is tortured by what his father did only wants to help law enforcement when it looks like serial killer is on the loose mimicking his father’s first victims. A true YA psychological thriller that is very, very disturbing, but oh so good.
Serial Killers, Fiction


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Ripper by Stefan Petrucha

Ripper by Stefan Petrucha
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks Sally for reviewing this for me for PSLA 2013! Carver Young, Finn Walker and Delia Stephens are all orphans living at Ellis Orphanage in the 1800s when they learn the orphanage is closing. All three are adopted, Delia by a New York Times reporter and his wife, Finn by the District Attorney and his wife and Carver by Albert Hawking of the New Pinkerton Agency. Finn finds himself living in an insane asylum with his mentor searching for his father. The only information he has is a letter sent to the orphanage that throws Carver into the middle of mayhem. Jack the Ripper has surfaced in New York and is killing wealthy socialite women, and scaring all New Yorkers. The New Pinkerton Agency is trying to solve the crimes. Carver realizes the letter from his father looks an awful lot like the notes Jack the Ripper is sending to the police and New York Times; a suspenseful adventure begins involving Carver, Delia, and Finn.

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