CarlAlves

Ashes to Ashes is yet another in a long line of serial killer novels. Based on the way the subject is handled in modern fiction, you would think that every fourth person in the United States is a serial killer. Most serial killer novels I have read are weak. Unfortunately this novel falls into that category.

In this case, a serial killer in Minnesota performs ritualistic ceremonies on his victims and then sets them on fire. One of his victims, the daughter of a billionaire, manages to escape the killer. Kate Conlan, a former FBI agent gets involved in the case, along with her former lover Peter Quinn. In a shocking surprise, the killer wants to claim Kate as his next victim, which is about as cliché as you can possibly get in serial killer novels. I have seen the same trope used so often it makes me want to throw the book at the wall when I read it. This novel is poorly written and not worth reading.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street