I picked up this book from the library because I had read about it on a book blog. The writer had said it was a really scary book. I don’t think I would call it scary in the sense of horror, which is what I thought they were referring to in the post. This is a thriller police crime novel. So understand it was not what I was expecting which of course was my fault, I should have read up about it before just picking it up on a whim.

After all that, the novel was well written and it definitely was a thriller and Detective Jack Caffery is certainly a good example of the “tragically flawed” protagonist. He keeps making mistakes in his personal life based on a traumatic event that occurred in his childhood and that he seems to keep reliving today. The villain was decidedly twisted and evil. Rebecca, as a love interest, is strong enough to fight jack Caffery’s demons and is an interesting character in her own right. The rest of the cast is rounded out by a other police personnel, prostitutes, an obsessive girlfriend, and Jack’s personal demon, neighbor Penderecki.

I have a hard time discussing a book such as this, in which I recognize the strengths of the book, however I still did not enjoy it. I will just have to say it was not for me, brutal depictions of torture and mutilation, I don’t really find scary just disgusting. I’m sure that if you don’t mind your thrillers with graphic violence against women, this would be a good read.