You are next by Katia Lief

An ex-cop with a death wish. A serial killer with a gruesome agenda....

Detective Karin Schaffer was a happily married moter until she got too close to catching a serial killer.
The press nickname him The Domino Killer because he systematically murders whole familie, leaving a trail of bloody dominoes as the only clues to his next victim. Having brutally slain Karin's husband and child, he had had left het a chilling message written in her daughters blood: You Are Next.
And now the Domino Killer has escaped prison and the police believe he's on his way to find her. But Karin is waiting..... (backcover)


After reading the back cover I was looking forward to reading this. This book was not I was expecting it to be.

The story is about Karin ex- cop who lost her child and husband to a serial killer. He killed them because she caught him by accident. The story starts off a while after these events. So what we are left with is a first person story told from a depressed and suicidal woman. So after he escapes she waits for him, she knows exactly how he will enter her house (and yes that happens just the way she expects it) but fights back ones she figures out he is going to kill the rest of her family. He escapes, she is hurt and now they are going to try to catch this guy.

This guy escaped not once but twice. leaves domino's at the scene to let them know who is next the problem with this is the numbers are in any particular order and can mean anything from an age, to a birthday, to the last number of a social security number or a house adress, which kind of makes them useless unless you know where to look. And of course they know where to look this time.

There wasn't a single moment when I read this I was on the edge of my seat not when the guy was there to murder her nor when her niece disappeared. There were no fancy twists or plots nothing made me go "What!" or "Wow". When the crimes of this guy were described all I thought was "Mwaw". It was predictable.
You should think that you feel something for this woman or her family but to be honest I couldn't care less if anything happened to anyone of them.

But I must say this is an easy read and I went true it no time. And I still picked the book up to finish it. Katia's writing style is good, the story was just way to predictable.

My rating: 2/5

In My Mailbox #2

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created and hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren for bloggers to show all of the great books or book related things that you have gotten over the past week! It can be books bought, gotten from the library, received for review ect.
Go HERE to read more about IMM.

So this week I didn't buy as much books as I did last week.

I got FEED and DEADLINE by Mira Grant.
Kitty and the silverr bullet by Carrie Vaughn.
And I got another dutch title Na zonsondergang (After sunset) by Stephen King.

Dragon's Pupils - Sword Quest by Martin Chu Shui












I also got some titles via Netgalley.

Eyewall by H.W. 'Buzz' Bernard
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Wolsbane (Discarded hero's #3) by Ronie Kendig
Cinder and Ella by Melissa Lemon
Fairhaven by Ken Coffman (no cover)

So this is what I got new this week. What did you get????

Wisp a small town nightmare by Kevin R Maze

There is a psychotic killer on the loose in Ellerton, Alabama. Sheriff Stan Murphy and his paranormal journalist nephew, Alex Fiedler, have their hands full keeping the townspeople calm while ensuring that the city officials remain satisfied with their progress. The killer shows no sign of stopping as the bodies pile up and the physical evidence defies explanation. Someting strange is afoot in Ellerton and Alex is not the only one considering otherworld answers. (Backcover)


From the moment I read the blurb of this novel I knew I wanted to read it. The story sounded really good and well give me a book with a serial killer and I'm all happy (yeah I know me and my twisted little mind)

Wisp is what you get when you put some gruesome killings, well developed characters, a dash of horror and a great plot together.

The story is told from different points of view. We hear from different townspeople so we get see what these murders did to these people and how they reacted to them. But the most part the main focus are Stan and Alex trying to fit all the puzzle pieces together. Stan from a cop’s point of view and Alex is trying to get Stan to look outside of the box.

So now to the murders.

We have a few clues here. A few misshaped footprints at the first murder that stop a few feet from the body. Than after the third murder we get some DNA, but the person has a solid alibi and definitely couldn't have done it.

The three victims don't seem to have anything connecting them to each other. The first victim, a real estate agent, is killed in the woods. The second, a teenage girl who snuck out of the house to go on a date with her boyfriend, on the street a few meters from her home. And the third, a no good, lowlife, girlfriend beating, bastard (sorry can't think of another thing to call him, well maybe worse) inside a locked bathroom.
Then there are the townspeople who all know each other, who have their own little secrets and cannot be connected to all of the murders.

So who's done it?????

Yes well for that you will have to read the book because I'm not going to tell you and Kevin saves that one for the end.

My rating: 4/5

In My Mailbox #1

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created and hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren  for bloggers to show all of the great books or book related things that you have gotten over the past week! It can be books bought, gotten from the library, received for review ect.
Go HERE  to read more about IMM.

I got a lot of new books this week and a lot of dutch titles and this doesn't happen a lot. I mosltly buy english titles but this month it's the mot of suspence novels (aka de maand van het spannende boek) I bought a few extra dutch titles and books by dutch authors.

I'll start off with the english titles
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* Die for Me by Amy Plum
* Finch by Jeff Vandermeer
* To Kill a Mockinbird by Harper Lee
* The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
 
And here are the Dutch titles I bought
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* De vrouw in de kooi (serie Q #1) by Jussi Adler-Olsen (English title: Mercy)
* Berlijnse trilogie by Phillip Kerr (English titles: March Violets, The Pale Criminal and A German Requiem)
* Zwart ijs by Anne Stuart (English title: Black ice)
* Tegenwerking (Myron Bolitar #2) by Harlan Coben (English title: Drop shot)
 
And I also bought a few books from dutch authors (so no English titles for these)
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* Harten Sara by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
* De Verbouwing by Saskia Noort
* Alles te verliezen by Esther Verhoef
 
So these are my new books this week what books did you get?

The Survivor by Sean Slater

The thruth lies behind the mask.

In his first hour back from a six-month leave of absence, Detective Jacob Striker's day quickly turns into a nightmare. He is barely on scene five minutes at his daughter's high school when he encounters an Active Shooter situation. Three man wearing hocky masks - black, white and red - have stormed the school with firearms and are killing indiscriminately. Striker takes immediate action.

Within minutes, two of te gunman are dead ans Sriker is close to ending the violence. But before Striker can react, Red Mask flees - and ecapes. Against the clock, Striker investigates te killings for which there is no know motive and no suspects. Soon hs investigation takes him to darker places and he realizes that everything at Saint Patrick's High is not as it appears. The closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous his world becomes.

Until Striker himself is in the line of fire. (backcover)

This is Sean Slater's debut novel and I must say I really liked it. You get pulled in right from the start and it doesn't let you go until you close the book.

I thought the story was great. We all know that school shootng take place from the news but Slater made the plot really great. So no sully high school kid who goes on a rampage here.
No he made this story about. The background of Red Mask is well thought out and believable.

The characters are well developed. Striker is a tough man and cop, with the usual trouble for authority figures, although I must say I would hate Laroche to (he is an ass) and is trying to combine work and raising his 15 year old daughter Coutney. Courtney is a typical teenager, does everything she is told not to do and picks a fight about everything, but she is a smart girl. The relationship between father and daughter isn't that bad but a dad who is working a case 24/7 and a teenage girl combined, kind of screams trouble just like in real life.

The book is told from different points of view and that made it easier to get to know the different characters. The chapters from Red Mask's point of view gave you more insight on his motives and it made him look human eventhough everthing he does makes him a monster.

There are some very grisly and violent scenes in this book but I must say they weren't all that graphic which I thought was a shame but also makes sure that a lot of other people will be able to like this book.

My rate: 4/5

This book was sent to me by the publisher Simon & Schuster for review as part of the mysterie suspence challenge 2011 hosted by Book Chick City (for details see reading challenges)