My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“There’s a fine line between support and stalking and let’s all stay on the right side of that.”
----Joss Whedon
Catherine Coulter, #1 New York Times bestselling author, pens a gripping pot-boiler in her twentieth FBI Thriller series, called Insidious that unfolds two mysteries surrounding an attempt to murder an aged social icon and owner of a group of million-dollar industries in Washington which is investigated by the married FBI duo and another surrounding the serial killings of five actresses in LA that is investigated by a female FBI special agent.
Synopsis:
Insidious is the twentieth thriller in #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter's FBI series. FBI agents Savich and Sherlock must discover who is trying to murder Venus Rasmussen, a powerful, wealthy society icon. They soon find out that the danger may be closer than expected.
Venus Rasmussen, a powerful woman who runs the international conglomerate Rasmussen Industries, believes someone is poisoning her. After Savich and Sherlock visit with her, someone attempts to shoot her in broad daylight. Who’s trying to kill her and why? A member of her rapacious family, or her grandson who’s been missing for ten years and suddenly reappears? Savich and Sherlock must peel away the layers to uncover the incredible truth about who would target Venus.
Meanwhile, Special Agent Cam Wittier leaves Washington for Los Angeles to work with local Detective Daniel Montoya to lead the hunt for the Starlet Slasher, a serial killer who has cut the throats of five young actresses. When a sixth young actress is murdered, Cam comes to realize the truth might be closer than she’d ever want to believe.
FBI agents Savich and Sherlock, the married FBI duo, immediately rushes to the mansion of Venus Rasmussen in Washington, owner of a corporate group of million dollar industries, who claims that she has been poisoned by someone in order to kill her. Her statement proves to be true, when someone tries to shoot her in broad daylight and also in front of two FBI agents. Now the FBI duo must unravel the identity of the killer who is trying hard to take the life of this wealthy and old business woman before it is too late, little did they knew that the suspect is someone so closer to Venus' heart and home. And with the arrival of the missing grandson, things turn even more murky.
FBI Special Agent, Cam Wittier, rushes to the tinsel town in LA where the Starlet Slasher's serial killings are haunting the hell out of each and every actress in this town and she must find this deadly serial killer who has already taken the lives of five actresses while also stealing their laptops and mobiles. But when a sixth actress falls prey to this killer, it becomes obvious that someone closer to these actresses might be involved behind the killings. Little did she knew that it would become highly life threatening for her as well as for her friends too.
This is the first time, that I read any book by this author, and it seems I clearly did a mistake in finding out about this author's works so late, as this is the twentieth book in the series. I know some people, including me, feel that FBI thrillers are predictable and not that exciting enough to make them feel edgy, and I've rarely came across a FBI thriller which left me intrigued at each and every turn of the page. I must say this author is a genius whose imagination, thorough research and insight into the events happening behind the closed doors of FBI offices and creativity as well as cleverness in developing the plot is fantastic and flawless.
From the very first page itself, the story, or rather say the two parallel mysteries are extremely riveting enough to peak the readers' interest to stay glued to the book. The author's writing style is very polished and articulate laced with enough suspense and tension. The narrative as well as the voices of the characters are arresting as well as free-flowing enough to keep the readers hooked to the story line. The pacing is bit slow in the beginning as the author pens the story with so much descriptions and backstories to support her plot but eventually, the book picks up speed and near the end, the readers will be bound to turn the pages of the book frantically to learn about the killers' identity.
The author has build the suspense layer-by-layer and page-by-page hence the readers' anticipation will increase gradually with the progress of the story. The mystery has a lot of dimensions and the twists will challenge the readers at every turn of the page which are not only unpredictable but are also thrilling. The whole book as well as the mystery is one hell of a roller-coaster ride filled with adrenaline-rushing action scenes and with some tense moments that are depicted vividly.
The characters are very much well-developed and highly inspired from real-life characters. Although the book is in a series, yet it doesn't turn out to be difficult for the readers to comprehend with the characters which are already introduced in the previous books. Each and every character are laced with their back story to understand them better. They FBI agents, all three of them, are not only sounds genuine with their equally honest demeanor but are brave, strong and determined. The rest of the supporting characters are also well carved out that will interest the readers deeply.
In a nutshell, this compelling as well as highly absorbing story is a must read for all crime fiction fans and no to mention the rush that the readers are bound to feel while reading this book.
Verdict: A thriller that certainly can't be missed which is packed tightly with drama, action and suspense.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Catherine Coulter, for giving me an opportunity to read and review an ARC of her book.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author Info:
Catherine Coulter is the author of 70 novels, including 66 New York Times bestsellers, occasionally, after exhaustive prayers, hitting #1. She earned her reputation writing historical romances to pass the time while aboard the ark. Over a decade ago she added suspense thrillers to her repertoire-- with great success. The Cove, the first book in her bestselling "FBI Suspense Thriller Series" spent nine weeks on the New York Times list and has to date sold over 2 million copies. Since then, she has written 16 more bestselling thrillers in the series, including The Maze, The Target, The Edge, Riptide, Hemlock Bay, Eleventh Hour, Blindside, Blowout, Point Blank, Double Take, Tailspin, Knockout, Whiplash, Split Second, and Backfire. Her 17th FBI thriller Bombshell will be out in all formats July 9, 2013. Coulter is now working on a new suspense thriller series -- A Brit in the FBI -- co-writing with bestselling author JT Ellison. The first book in this series, A Final Cut, will be released in September 2013.
For Coulter's first novel, The Autumn Countess, she chose a Regency setting for her debut because, says Coulter, "as any published author will tell you, it's best to limit the unknowns in a first book, and not only had I grown up reading Georgette Heyer, whom I worship, but I earned my M.A. degree in early 19th century European History and could fight in Napoleon's army, or join the Allies and beat his butt with Wellington."
Following The Autumn Countess, Coulter wrote six more Regency romances. She then turned to long historicals and eventually interspersed them with contemporary suspense novels, beginning with False Pretenses in 1988, her very first hardcover.
Coulter grew up on a horse ranch in Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas, receiving her graduate degree from Boston College. She became a speechwriter on Wall Street, then, to her joy, she was able to quit her day job and become a full-time writer.
She lives with her physician husband and three cats in Marin County, California, right over the Golden Gate Bridge. She loves to travel, loves to kamikaze down the ski slopes, and reads voraciously while recuperating. She likes to laugh, loves a good joke, and believes the publishing business is too crazy to take seriously.
If you read just one of Coulter's FBI thrillers, she's got you, so prepare for eye strain and jumping at things that go bump in the night.
Visit her here
Book Purchase Links:
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your feedback!