J.A Schneider is back with the 3rd instalment in her Detective Kerri Blasco series. This time her case becomes a little too close for comfort!
New York Detective, Kerri Blasco is on the case of a young homeless mission worker, Leda Winfield, who has been found shot dead in an alleyway. This is no ordinary murder though, Leda was found with an old fashioned hat pin pushed into her back, securing a note stating, ‘Watching You’. The same message is also found on Leda’s phone.
Kerri has a few suspects in mind for the murder, including one of Leda’s ex boyfriends, and her brother. But then another young woman is killed, this time in a busy part of New York, during early evening. The same calling card had been left on the body, and on the victims phone too. It looks like Kerri has a serial killer to find.
The killer isn’t satisfied yet though, he has a bigger and more dangerous target in mind. He wants Kerri. Can she discover who the killer is, before she becomes another one of his victims?
This is the third book in the series, but the first one I have read. I didn’t feel that I had missed anything, nor found that the plot, or the characters hard to follow. This book works just as well as a standalone.
Detective Kerri Blasco, is hard working, and will go above and beyond the call of duty to catch her killer, even if that means putting herself in harms way. She isn’t perfect though, with her past haunting her, giving her nightmare. But with the comfort of her partner Alex, in both senses, she manages to get through each day.
The plot is exciting, and fast paced. You feel that you are immersed in Kerri’s world, trying to work out who the culprit is. There are plenty to chose from, and lots of curve balls thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately for me, which I put down to the amount of thrillers that I read, I had guessed pretty early who the killer really was. This didn’t affect my enjoyment, as I was eager to find out how Kerri would connect the dots.
Watching You, grabs your attention from the very first page, it is suspense-layered and at times will have you forgetting to breath. I love how Ms. Schneider has also given you a taste of what is going through the killer’s mind, with pages dedicated to him, (knowing the killer is male isn’t a spoiler, as you find that out right after Leda’s murder).
This book is almost impossible to put down. It psychologically taunts you, and holds you captive in its pages. It is perfectly executed, superbly written, and includes very realistic characters, in very realistic situations. This is pure enjoyment from beginning to end.