The Impaler

The Impaler is the second book by Gregory Funaro and is a prequel of sorts to The Sculptor, which I was privileged to read and review earlier this year. I say, "prequel" merely because it takes place about three years prior to the events of The Sculptor and features FBI agent Sam Markham. But otherwise this is very much a stand-alone book and the reader does not need to read one to appreciate the other.

Wow, what a novel! I've read thrillers of all sorts for over 10 years and have learned to spot the winners from the also-rans. Gregory Funaro writes winners and this one is truly a gem in this crowded field. The plot concerns the above mentioned FBI agent and his journey to catch a serial killer. Sounds like a million other plots out there but that is just about all that is "normal" about this novel. It's not your typical thriller plot of "killer commits crime; sleuth spends two thirds of novel finding clues; sleuth closes in on killer; sleuth catches/kills killer after nearly blowing it." Instead this is a very intricate plot with multiple layers to the main characters and is not at all predictable.

And it's an absolute page turner. I finished the last 200 pages in one sitting because I just had to keep going.

I think what truly sets this novel apart is the depth of characterization the author brings to the bad guy. In his first novel, The Sculptor, Mr. Funaro does an incredible job with developing the bad guy character but in this one, he truly goes above and beyond. We get to experience the Impaler's very life from childhood to present day from his point of view and, indeed, he almost becomes a protagonist himself. And this is one baaad dude. For a reader to feel like they understand him and his motivations, despite his nature, (like I did) is a great feat for a writer to pull off.

I will say that this novel is not for the faint of heart. There are lots of bloody, violent scenes, horrifying even in their detail but it is absolutely necessary to portray the events realistically. The pacing of the book is awesome; a lot happens but the furious pace is interspersed with excellent back-story building and scene setting. Much as I thought his first novel was fantastic for a new author, this one proves Gregory Funaro deserves to stand with the great writers of the genre.  This book is due to be published in the US in February 2011.

The Sculptor

I've been holding off reading The Sculptor by Gregory Funaro for over a month now but felt compelled to give it a go, mainly because the author sent me a free autographed copy in return for a review on Amazon.com.  So I owed it to him for one thing.  But that's not why I was avoiding it.  You see, I knew it was about a serial killer and I just didn't want to get bogged down in a novel that was, well, a downer.  I enjoyed the last book I read so much that I wanted to keep the roll going.

Well, let me tell you, this did the trick.  I very much enjoyed this novel, and not because the author gave me a free autographed copy.  In fact, I'm usually tougher on those than others.  This novel, did indeed revolve around a serial killer, but what a great character he turned out to be.  As I've said many times on this blog, I like my bad guys to be great characters.  The Sculptor, who uses his victims to re-create Michelangelo's greatest statues, is not only evil, twisted, etc. but he is also a fully formed character.  As the plot of the novel unfolds we get bits and pieces of his history that makes his complete story a compelling one and even a bit sympathetic.  The protagonists of the story, Dr Cathy Hildebrant and Special Agent Sam Markham of the FBI are also fully developed charcters but I think they end up taking a back seat to the Sculptor himself.

The plot moved along nicely, the pacing was spot on, and the settings were realistic.  I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the next development.  I also enjoyed learning about Michelangelo without feeling like I was being lectured.  My only criticism is a minor one...about the romantic subplot between the two protagonists.  This seemed quite predictable, right from the beginning, but I suppose we readers needed it to counter balance the action/suspense portions.  Frankly, it is hard to believe this is Mr Funaro's first published novel.  It reads as good as or better than many of the top mystery/thriller writers today.  I understand there is more coming from this author and I will look for them in the future.

"Rainbird" is a very cool time travel story, written by R.A. Lafferty, early in his career and published again in The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century.  He has a rather uniqie style which often ignores the typical "rules" of writing.  This story starts in the past, 1785 to be precise, and we get to watch the life of Higgston Rainbird, a small time inventor who, near the end of his life invents a "retrogressor."  He is chagrined to realize he has run out of time in his life before he could get to invent all the things he really wanted to get around to.  So he goes back in time, meets himself at a young age and gives himself all kinds of shortcuts for how to get more done during his life time.  No worries about time paradox here!  So now he lives a full life of amazing inventions including most everything we have today, even space travel to the Moon and Mars...all prior to 1850.  But once again, he goes back to speak to his younger self and tries to improve even more...only this time he doesn't listen to himself.  The result: he is now just a small time inventor once again...and no retrogressor.  Cool story.

Next up, James Nelson's Glory in the Name.

The Bride Collector

Ted Dekker's The Bride Collector is one of the better crime thriller novels I've read.  To tell the truth I haven't read a whole lot of fictional books about serial killers and the chase to bring them to justice, preferring stories more like spy-thrillers or historical thrillers.  But when the chance came to review an Advanced Readering Copy (ARC) of a Ted Dekker novel, I decided to give it a try.

Never having even opened a book written by Ted Dekker, I wasn't sure what to expect.  I knew he had roots as a "Christian thriller" writer but I understand he has for several years now branched out into both fantasy and mainstream thrillers, the later usually featuring serial killer plots.  This book is a taut, well written novel that really leads the reader along the plotline but also reaches into the very nature of good and evil.  The main protagonist is FBI special agent Brad Raines who is faced with a serial killer situation.  Somebody is kidnapping beautiful young women, draining their bodies of the blood, and hanging them on walls of abandoned barns and other places, with nothing but a bridal veil to wear.  The reader is introduced early on to the killer, himself, allowing us inside his mind and motivations.  Seems he is fulfilling God's plan for him by offering seven brides, culminating in the perfect bride for God.

Agent Raines, based on the psychotic nature of the killer, searches for clues in several Mental Health Facilities in the area and is drawn to one particular group of patients which includes a young woman by the name of "Paradise".  Through her and her friends' eyes, we actually learn quite a bit about the nature of mental health care as we work our way through the novel.  With Paradise's assistance, and some good old fashioned police work, Agent Raines is able to close in on the killer's identity.  I won't go into further detail for fear of spoilers but I can honestly say it was a thrill ride. The pace of the novel is just right, building up the level of suspense as we near the climax and not letting go until the very end.  Mr Dekker is not afraid to take the predictableness out of the plot and make this one an original idea.  He also isn't afraid to to throw in emotional matters of life and faith and relationships, ultimately tying it all together in a very neat package.  This will not be the last book I read by Mr Dekker!

The novel will be on store shelves in April.

I've also begun the next short story collection, "The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century", edited by Harry Turtledove and martin H. Greenberg.  The first story, "Yesterday was Monday" was written by the late great science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon and is a delightful story about a regular guy named Harry who somehow goes to sleep on Monday night and wakes up in Wednesday.  I say "in" Wednesday because he has somehow gotten off the track of normal time where all of us actors live our lives and stepped into the behind-the-scenes set-building that is going on for Wednesday.  The characters there are trying to put the finishing touches on the scenery before the actors (that are still in Tuesday) arrive.  Harry, trying to get back into the normal time flow makes a quick side-trip to "yesterday" which is Monday. and sees all of the workers there that are breaking down the old, used set.  It's a pretty nice little story; I hope the others in this collection will be as interesting.

Next up, another Advanced Reading Copy, a historical novel by Kate Quinn called, Mistress of Rome.