Killer 

Episode 1, The Killer Novella Series

By Olivia Howe

http://www.oliviahowe.webs.com/

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer jerjen

Synopsis:  

Valentino County Detective Gwendolyn Anderson tries to solve the biggest case of her Career. Serial Killer AKA The Doctor is on the loose, killing innocent women, leaving them dead with a smile painted on their face. Some trademark he has.

Detective Anderson is determined to do everything in her power to solve The Doc case before the FBI takes it under their wing. She has only six months to solve the murders of over twenty women from this serial killer, in the process of solving other cases that come through Hillside Police Department.

Can she take down the biggest serial killer in Valentino County without ruining her career in the process?

Little does she know, Doc is right in front of her face.(Goodreads)

Review:

Gwen Anderson is a detective who is trying very hard to catch a serial killer.  She and her partner have been after him for months now, and everytime she thinks they are getting close to catching him, he alludes them.  She is not worrying about breaking rules and knows she will do whatever it takes to catch him and get him off the streets.

Doc, as he has been named, stalks his victims, learning everything he can about their routines.  He then makes his move, attacking the victim, torturing and raping them before slitting their throats.  His trade mark is the smiley face he paints on the victim’s face in their own blood.  The more victims he claims, the more the attacks seem to become more personal for Gwen.  At the latest killing, he stayed on the fire escape waiting for Gwen to show up.  When she realizes how close he was, she feels sick that he got away.  It also makes her very mad and she doubles her efforts to catch him.

The characters are well developed and well rounded and you can tell that Gwen is a no-nonsense type of woman.  I did not see many signs that she has a softer side, but that may not be observed until episode two. She did a few things that I do not think a smart woman would do, such as going home for a one-night-stand with a virtual stranger.  That seemed very unrealistic to me.  I liked reading the banter between her and her partner and I wonder if there is a romance in their future.

The mystery is carried on well throughout the story and I have no idea who the killer is.  Since this is the first episode, I  knew that I would not have all the answers to my questions when I finished this novella.  And that is fine with me, because I knew before I started reading it that is was part of a serial.  I will definitely be reading the second episode to find out what happens.

I would recommend this novella to anyone who enjoys a mystery suspense thriller.  Just know that this is part of a serial and nothing is wrapped up at the end of this novella.  The good thing is that the second episode is available, so you can read them back to back and hopefully get your questions answered.