During withdrawal from anti-anxiety medication, Brian is plagued by dreams of women strangled to death and left with a playing card on their corpse. This premise hooked me right away as I’ve struggled with anxiety and medication withdrawals myself, and also love a good read about a serial killer!
The book was slow (and quite boring) at the start as it gathered its bearings, but it soon picked up and the simple writing style worked really well. Brian also got more likeable but I wish he was a little bit more fleshed out—we never learn much about his actual personality or interests. Russell James is great at writing fast-paced action, although there are moments where it noticeably dips.
I found it interesting that the book also followed the story from the POV of Detective Weissbard as I didn’t know that was going to happen (I didn’t read the more detailed blurb). I grew to like the detective a lot and really enjoyed seeing things from his perspective. It made me want to either read (or watch) more crime/mystery as I don’t often read that genre.
I wouldn’t say no to reading another book by James in the future if another premise sells me. Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for this ARC.
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