Shelley CoriellBesprekingen

I liked this mystery, but not enough to buy the next book in the series.

Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kate's on the run from a bad bad man. He tried to kill her but he failed and as a result more people are dying. Kate doesn't count on falling in love with the FBI agent sent to help close the case. Honestly, I didn't even request this book for the romance part. I love a good suspense/thriller book and this one seemed to fit that description when I came across it on NetGalley. The romance was an extra bonus. Coriell kept me guessing throughout the story and even when the killer was revealed, it took a while for me to fully comprehend why and how. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

She’d discovered each attack mirrored hers except for one thing: She survived.

If you followed along with my updates, you'd know I was really enjoying this from the beginning. Kate who survived an attack by her brother goes on the run only to be found by Hayden, a FBI agent who is hunting the Broadcast Butcher serial killer. The first half has everyone thinking the Butcher is Kate's brother but there were secondary characters who had me side-eyeing them. The second half switched gears and has the Butcher's identity a secret again and the hunt continues.

The first half is more focused on the mystery/suspense plot about the serial killer, we get povs from the killer that help bring a chill to the tone (in one scene, the killer uses their latest victims blood as lube to masturbate with). There's also povs from a police sergeant helping to search for the killer and a colleague rival of Kate's, along with Kate and Hayden's povs. I thought the secondary characters were great red-herrings in the beginning and helped ramp up the mystery and suspense but the second half and ending kept some going too long and then one in particular ended up feeling a tad ridiculous.

She’d just shaken the unshakable Hayden Reed, and if she wasn’t so damned furious at him, she’d laugh.

The romance does take more of a back seat, which I thought fit the overall structure of the story but the second half does have Hayden and Kate feeling more for each other, the bedroom scene was pretty much fade to black though. This was more of a book of friendships, Kate's friendship while being a caregiver to Smokey Joe and the Apostles, what the group of FBI agents Hayden works with are called for their talent with getting the job done in unusual ways. We get a couple glimpses of other Apostle agents and I definitely want to read their stories.

This had a strong beginning but the end really overworked itself with dragging out redherrings and creating a very convoluted villain, it's probably not a good sign when your serial killer is finally identified and my first thought was "Who?" as it took me a couple seconds to remember who they were. I'm still going to search out other books in the series because the mystery was pretty intriguing there for a while.

4.5 stars.

The Buried is a chilling and suspense-laden addition to Shelley Coriell's outstanding The Apostles series. It is a riveting, complex mystery that is impossible to put down and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of mystery/suspense novels. Although it is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone but you won't want to miss a single installment in this superb series.

The Buried opens with state prosecutor Grace Courtemanche receiving a distressing cry for help from Lia Grant, a young woman who claims she has been buried alive. At loose ends after her recent court case has wrapped up, Grace tenaciously begins an investigation into Lia's case and in the process, she runs smack dab into "Hatch" Hatcher, a man from her very distant past. Working together to catch a wily and vicious killer, Grace and Hatch discover the flames from their long ago relationship are still burning hot, but with so many of their past issues continuing to plague them, do they have a future? But most importantly, will Grace and Hatch catch the murderer before he claims another victim?

Grace is a strong, independent woman who lets nothing stand in her way and her determination to uncover the truth propels this case into local law enforcement hands. She has an overdeveloped since of responsibility and she gives the investigation 110% even if this means she has to work with Hatch, the one man she has been unable to forget. Grace has a bit of a rough edge to her but as the story progresses, her softer side comes out, which makes her that much more likable.

Hatch is a very charming, flirtatious man and while he comes across most of the time as fun-loving and easygoing, there is also a serious, focused aspect to his personality as well. Most of his issues stem from his dysfunctional childhood and although he is now in his 30s, most of his decisions, actions and reactions are a direct result of his past. But everything Hatch has always believed about himself, his desires and his plans are eventually challenged by Grace and another very unexpected person. Although the unfolding investigation is the most compelling aspect of the storyline, the evolution of Hatch's character runs an extremely close second.

The mystery element of the plot is top-notch and virtually impossible to figure out. The killer's identity remains closely under wraps for much of the story and it is only in retrospect that the significance of seemingly innocuous events and clues becomes clear. Equally intriguing is another murder investigation that takes place in another jurisdiction but it takes almost the entire novel before the two storylines converge together. All in all, it is a very perplexing and multifaceted mystery that concludes with very stunning and dramatic revelations.

Hatch and Grace's romance is very understated but it adds a great deal to character development and the overall storyline. Their relationship never overshadows the investigation but it provides a nice break from the somewhat darker aspects of the ongoing hunt for the murderer. For much of the novel, Hatch and Grace tiptoe around the reasons their relationship ended years earlier but they do finally discuss what went wrong with an amazing degree of honesty.

The Buried is a fascinating and captivating mystery that old and new fans of The Apostles series do not want to miss. With plenty of suspense and unexpected plot twists, Shelley Coriell brings the novel to a jaw dropping and action filled conclusion that will leave readers impatiently awaiting the next installment in this well written and incredibly spellbinding series.

The first installment of Shelley Coriell's The Apostles series, The Broken is an intricately plotted and suspenseful mystery. Full of intriguing twists and turns, this compelling novel moves at a furious pace from beginning to end.

Broadcast journalist Katrina Erickson barely escaped with her life after a brutal attack by a knife-wielding attacker. Three years later and now living under the alias Kate Johnson, she is a live-in companion to a feisty disabled vet when she learns that her attacker has begun killing again. Knowing Katrina is the key to unmasking the Broadcast Butcher, FBI Agent Hayden Reed single-mindedly tracks her down and they, along with the other members of the elite FBI team known as The Apostles, work round the clock to catch the Butcher before he strikes again.

Kate escaped her dysfunctional and abusive childhood and through hard work and dedication, she forged a successful career as a broadcast journalist. In the aftermath of the vicious assault, she lost faith in the justice system and she now leads a lonely and fearful life. Kate is not weak or timid and despite her trepidation at emerging from hiding, she is quite determined to aid Hayden in his investigation. As the story progresses, Kate slowly regains her confidence and never lets her worries stand in the way of following where the evidence leads.

Hayden is absolutely brilliant and super dedicated to his career. Despite the atrocities he investigates, he remains hopeful he will catch the criminals he is seeking. Hayden has an uncanny ability to get into the minds of the suspects and he relentlessly pursues any and all leads. Coming off his own personal tragedy, Hayden immerses himself in the search for the Butcher and despite his concerns for Kate's safety, he concedes she has valuable insight into the investigation.

Kate has surprising information about the killer's possible identity and their investigation is off to a exciting start. The evidence takes them in several, sometimes unforeseen, directions. Ever conscious of the risks, Kate and Hayden follow the clues but dead ends and shocking discoveries leave them frustrated by their lack of progress.

Their close quarters forge an unexpected intimacy between Kate and Hayden and they are surprised by their growing attraction for one another. Although their focus remains primarily on the search for the Butcher, Kate and Hayden begin to reveal bits and pieces of their pasts and gradually, their relationship takes a personal turn. They do eventually act on their passion, but their love scenes fade to black.

The Broken is an extremely well-written and tightly plotted mystery. The murders take place off screen but there is no denying the brutality of the crimes. A series of red herrings and misdirects seamlessly and carefully conceals the killer's identity and motives for the killings until the novel's dramatic conclusion.

Shelley Coriell's The Apostles is off to a strong beginning and I cannot wait to read the next novel in the series, The Buried!

Detective Lottie King battles the clock and an unexpected Big Bad as she joins Colorado Springs Police in a race to find a bomb planted at a Christmas light parade where her Girl Power troop is marching. A Detective Lottie King Holiday Short Story that first appeared in New Shoes: Detective Lottie King Mysteries, Vol 2. Includes BONUS holiday recipes.

I read this book at the tail-end of a realistic book binge.
And I liked this book because it was the most real of all these realistic books.
In the first two books I read on this realistic book-binge, the mothers of the main characters were crazy and unsupportive and overall not very motherly, and there wasn’t really any reason for it.
The mother figure in THIS book, Rebel’s (Rebecca’s) aunt was a little unsupportive, but there seemed to be a reason for it! Not the whole reason. As a teenager myself, I understand that sometimes parents do things and act in certain ways that we don’t always understand. As we grow up, we begin to realize a little of the reasoning behind what our parents did, but not all of it, because we don’t live inside out parent’s heads, and therefore, we can never really KNOW.
Also, the romance in this book was believable. It was important, but it wasn’t the point.
Another thing that I liked is that NOT ALL OF THE ITEMS ON THE BUCKETS LISTS WERE FULFILLED. Rebel has her whole life to complete her bucket list (especially those last two items), and she should spend her whole life working though her bucket list.
We never really do find out what happens to Kennedy, but that’s realistic too.
The real world is not figuring out all the answers in the end. The real world is not knowing all the reasons, only some of them, only yours.
The world is not knowing, and not being finished after the last page is turned.
Kudos, Coriell.

Kate Johnson is in hiding.

Three years ago, her brother tried to kill her, and tried again after she left the hospital. Kate Johnson is a new name. She's gone from broadcast journalist to home health aide and online jewelry maker. For the last several months, she's been working for old soldier Smokey Joe, who is happy to run her online business in exchange for having someone who is patient and competent with his PTSD, and who doesn't think he's helpless because he's blind.

But the idyll is coming to an end. Someone has been killing women broadcast journalists, every four weeks, with the exact MO that Kate's brother Jason used when he tried to kill her. The killer has been dubbed the Broadcaster Butcher, and there's no doubt in Kate's mind that he's trying to force her out of hiding so that he can finish the job of killing her.

And FBI Special Agent Hayden Reed is on the trail of the Butcher, and has connected the unsuccessful attack on Katrina Erickson--Kate's former name--to the Butcher.

Kate is smart and tough and leads with her feelings. As a Reno tv journalist, she was famous for her "Justice for All" segments. Hayden is smart and tough and leads with logic, but the feelings are there, deep and powerful, even though locked down. They are both grownups. At no point is Kate a mere damsel in distress, and at no point is Hayden an off-the-shelf Knight in Shining Armor. They are both strong characters with their own strengths and weaknesses, and both major players in what happens.

The plot is nicely complex, with multiple very neatly laid red herrings to distract the reader from noticing the real Butcher. The secondary characters--Hatch, Evie, Smokey Joe, Maeve--are very well done, and Lottie is an absolute delight.

There are times when Coriell seems to be dragging the information out a bit slowly, but if you want a nicely exciting suspense story with good characters and good relationship building, this is it.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Chloe is the personality out of her group of three friends. Merc is the brains and Brie is the beauty. She has a passion for shoes, soap operas, and everyone she loves. She's always there for them when they need a laugh but now after a winter break without her best friends she is abruptly hit with her friends cold eyes and wavering friendship. Brie is none to happy with her and Merc follows her lead. Having no idea what is going on she is left outcast and she soon finds herself with the outcasts. Her crazy counselor disapproves of her former JISP, a program each student has to do to help the community, and forces her to join the tanking school radio. She is definitely not welcomed by this cast especially Clementine a.k.a. nose-ring girl who's attitude towards her can be matched by Brie's new one. However she is welcomed by the quiet yet handsome Duncan who's always there to fix everything. Can he fix her broken heart?

I needed Chloe! I've become absolutely obsessed and in love with a book that has anything to do with music (it's more to do with radio but it's still in the same area as music). I was so scared it would disappoint. I wanted another A Little Wanting Song. I found not another A Little Wanting Song but the great Chloe. She's a nonstop talker ready with a joke in hand and her heart on her sleeve. When she said seriously with wide eyes "Free burritos" I laughed out loud! I was hooked. Chloe won my heart.

Duncan also was a great part of the story. I loved his scarves. He reminded me of Mako:



He seriously broke my heart this week... anyways Duncan had a hard life and Chloe had to deal with some stuff. "Stuff" being her grandmother slowly losing it with Parkinson's. Her grandmother is just like her well she's just like her grandmother. She's this great spirit but she's stubborn and doesn't want to leave her Tuna Can - that's what she calls her home by the sea. She deeply worries for her but with her mom and her arguing all the time she feels like nothing will ever be resolved. They'll be at odds forever.

I thoroughly enjoyed the bantering of Queen Chloe and her Jester but there was one thing lacking... They all had to deal with some big issues but I didn't really feel them. It was a lighthearted book so I get it but drug abuse? It should feel like the worlds shaking for them but I still understand because this type of story doesn't read well with dark subjects like that. You will love Chloe anyways because she absolutely entertaining and hilarious. This debut novel shows great potential of Coriell and it'll be great to see what she comes up with next.

http://shesgotbooksonhermind.blogspot.com/

Kate Johnson has been in hiding, living quietly in the country with elderly and blind “Smokey Joe” Bernard (as sort of a caretaker for him) for the past six months after being on the run for the past two years. Kate was once an investigative reporter and she is the only survivor of the Broadcaster Butcher (who brutally stabbed her twenty-four times and left her to die in her home.) The Broadcaster Butcher has been targeting/murdering female news broadcasters. Agent Hayden Reed (who is part of a small team of FBI specialists called the Apostles, a Special Criminal Investigative Unit) has been searching for Kate. Since she is the only one who survived the Broadcaster Butcher Hayden needs to talk to Kate and get her to help him catch this crazy serial killer. Hayden finally tracks her down at Smokey’s cabin and with her help they try to lure the Butcher out.

This was a captivating and fast-paced read. I liked Kate. She went through a lot of rough times in her life. She had a terrible upbringing with an unbalanced mother and brother. Kate’s father abandoned her… But Kate did have strength, and she was a fighter. I also liked Hayden. He was strong, kind, and committed to his job. I found the secondary characters interesting, especially old Smokey Joe and the outspoken sergeant (Lottie) working on the case, she made me laugh at times. The villain was strange and creepy.

Another entertaining read from Shelley Coriell’s “Apostles” series!

Goodbye, Rebel Blue is an inspiring story of how a tragic event can change another person's attitudes and actions. A wonderful story!

I liked this mystery, but not enough to buy the next book in the series.

ARC provided by NetGalley, many thanks for that.

Crime fiction is probably my favourite genre of book so I was looking forward to this novel greatly. It has everything I love, feisty survivor as a heroine, FBI agents, serial killer on the loose desperate for revenge and a host of secondary characters that were well rounded and memorable (I still can picture Smokey’s fist bursting through the soil). Unfortunately it just didn’t work for me for a couple of reasons.
I don’t particularly like my crime mixed with romance and I found the romantic story line a bit tiresome. Hayden fights his feelings because he’s supposed to be looking after her, Kate fights hers because she’s an independent woman, I’m afraid it got a bit repetitive and I found myself skipping over sections to get back to the investigation. However that’s my personal taste so others might like it.
My biggest problem was the denouement. Having followed the plot, wracked my brain trying to work out the killer and pretty much suspecting everyone the killer is revealed literally by taking off a mask. It was a bit like watching an episode of Scooby Doo. Even when I knew who it was I had to flick back through the book to remind myself who they were and was then treated to a thirty second rundown on why he had become a sadistic killer. Maybe I missed something but I don’t think there was any way you could have worked out who did it and even when you knew you couldn’t go back through the book and find the clues that pointed you in the right direction.
I realise I sound a bit negative and there are many good things about this book. As I said earlier the supporting characters are without exception fabulous and Lottie and her shoes really made me smile, even the cat is characterised well. I’m hoping that the next in the series be more to my taste as the romantic storyline has resolved and hopefully the reader will be given the chance to work out the killer themselves. A flawed start but one with promise.

This debut romantic suspense had it all. Right from the start you’re absorbed into the story and the characters. Not only were the main characters interesting but the secondary characters were as well along with some of the quirks the author gave them.

The back story of both main characters was as riveting as their current day story. Their pasts should have broken them but instead made them two very tough individuals who really had no clue that they were missing something in their lives until they met each other. It wasn’t instant love – the author made sure that it was a slow build built around the story line which was trying to find a serial killer whose end goal was to kill the heroine.

During the hunt for the killer the author also leads the readers and her characters to many false conclusions. With the amount of false clues we are given its almost impossible to figure out who the killer is until the author reveals it.

I enjoyed the story and the characters and look forward to the next book in the series.

Pulse pounding thriller with a tough as nails heroine whose after a serial bomber.

The author waste no time in throwing you right into story with a madman blowing up a woman in public. Evie Jimenez its a bomb expert. She's diffused them for the military and is now the bomb and weapons expert for the Apostles, an elite FBI team. She's in a bit of hot water with the President over the last job she' was on but when she gets an invitation from billionaire Jack Elliot to come to LA to discuss information he has on the bomber she jumps on the plane for a chance to bring down the man that is terrorizing California.

Most of the characters from the previous books are back in this one along with some new quirky characters this author is famous for introducing in each book.

The suspense of trying to find the bomber before he took his next victims had you on the edge of your seat but the author took the story a couple more steps and integrated another story within this one that involved Jack in more than his just figuring out a connection between the bomber and works of art. Both the main characters are very complicated people and throughout the course of the book we got to see that they were more that the tough and eccentric people they appeared to be.

I enjoyed this from beginning to end and cant wait for the next adventure of the Apostles.

Grace Courtemanche is a state prosecutor in Cypress Bend, Florida, who just worked on a very tough case. Suddenly she starts to get a lot of phone calls one day, which she keeps putting on voicemail. (She thinks they could be unpleasant calls that may be related to her last case.) But finally, after so many phone calls, she answers one. It's a strange call in which a woman says her name is Lia Grant, and she's buried underground in a box, and she is having a hard time breathing. She says she called Grace so many times, why doesn't Grace answer her phone? (Grace has never heard of this woman and can't figure out why she keeps calling her.) Is this call for real or something else, maybe a crank, or to scare her??? She notifies some people to look into it. Eventually she discovers it is for real and Grace really wants to find this woman who seems to be depending on her and obviously has very little time left to live.

While in the middle of all of this Grace ends up running into her ex-husband, Theordore "Hatch" Hatcher who is an FBI Agent/Special Crime Investigative Unit. He's a crisis negotiator, and he is now working for an elite team called the Apostles. (She hasn't seen Hatch for ten years. They were married ten years ago for ten weeks, then they divorced.) Grace eventually asks Hatch for his help to locate the missing Lia---Lia's phone calls quit coming. So Hatch and some of his friends begin to help Grace out.

I don't want to give too much more of the story away. Just that Grace discovers whoever did this to Lia put a cell phone in the box they buried her in...the phone was altered to dial only one phone number...Grace Courtemanche's. Someone is playing a sick game with Grace and she has to find out who it is before this maniac does this to more innocent people.

I liked Grace, she was cool and classy, dedicated to her job. I also liked her old dog Allegheny Blue.

Hatch was friendly and charming, with his shaggy blond hair and blue eyes. He was easy to talk to and people seemed to trust him, except his son Alex. At the beginning of this book Hatch just found out he had a thirteen-year-old son he didn't know about. So now he's trying his best to help his son out---Alex has been in trouble with the law, is angry, rebellious and unpleasant...

Grace and Hatch had good chemistry, and they still cared for each other. Grace broke up with Hatch and filed for divorce because Hatch never wanted to put down roots or live in one place. He loved the sea/water and he loved sailing on his boat. When they married Grace saw some of the happiness leave him so she set him free. (He didn't know the reason why she divorced him.) Grace is now surprised at how much Hatch has changed. He's become very responsible, with his job, with his son, etc...

This was a very enjoyable and entertaining book that had a lot of interesting secondary characters. I was curious to see who the villain was and why they were doing what they were doing. I found the idea of burying the victims alive with cell phones, which they call Grace from, and then having Grace/the team try to find the buried victims creepy but original. A good read with some surprises at the end.

I was finding this book a quirky, entertaining read until the last quarter which became quite serious spoiling the overall mood of the book, and then the ending was disappointing as well. However, Chloe was a great character. Although immature and shallow at the start, she did grow throughout the book, and I loved her bubbly enthusiasm, her unending optimism, her sense of fun and her big heart. I also really enjoyed the other students working for the school's radio station, especially Clementine who had no time for Chloe. They were all misfits dealing with serious issues including drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, bullying, parental neglect and broken friendships. Yet, despite these issues, the author managed, for the most part, to keep "Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe" a light, fun story for younger teens.

In The Blind Shelley Coriell presents a dynamic story that starts quickly and keeps the reader both interested and invested in the characters. Evie Jimenez is a strong character who is the best bomb and weapons specialist among a group of elite FBI agents. In spite of already establishing herself as the best she nonetheless feels the need to continue proving herself. She reluctantly (at first) finds herself working with an equally strong-willed rich businessman, Jack Elliott, in stopping a serial bomber who uses women posed as art works (before they are blown up). As they work on determining who the bomber is they also develop the kind of mutual respect (though Jack almost ruins it) on which not just a romance but a relationship can be based.

The thriller aspect of the story is fast-paced and keeps the reader guessing while the budding romance both adds a more personal element to the story and serves to strengthen the thriller plot as well. Though most of us don't deal with bombs or tremendous wealth, we can relate to the very human doubts and insecurities both of these characters exhibit. There are some very real takeaways for readers to help enrich their own lives.

I would highly recommend this book for lovers of suspense/thriller novels as well as romance novels. There is good character development of all the key characters, not just the lead pair, so those who enjoy character studies will get plenty of that here as well even though the book is still an action first book.

Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.

Chloe Camden seems to have it all; a loving family, amazing best friends, popularity and not a care in the world. But after the Mistletoe Ball and Winter Break everything starts to change. Due to her grandmothers deteriorating health, she is caught in the middle of a fight between her mother and her beloved Grams, her best friends start to shun her and spread hateful rumors that get the rest of the school to whisper behind her back, and, on top of all of that, she has to worry about not failing her JISP. With no friends to turn to she focuses all her energy on her JISP which involves working at the school’s student run radio station. There she finds a new place among the misfits who call it home.

Chloe is constantly described as the “funny friend”, the one that is there to make you laugh even when all you want to do is cry. And she continues to be just that even when things in her own life are not going well. This need to make everyone around her smile and laugh was my favorite thing about her. I also loved that she handles everything that is flung at her with maturity and her head held high. She talks a little too much sometimes, but by the end of the book she learns that sometimes what people need isn’t laughter, that instead they just want someone who will listen.

The rest of the radio staffers are also really great characters. They are all completely different from one another. There is Clementine who loves the radio station as if it were her child and who does not welcome Chloe as easily as all the others. Their back and forth banter was very fun to read. There is Haley, a pregnant classmate who finds comfort in the radio station and in her DVDs. There are Frick, Frack, and Taysom who all find a voice through radio. And then there is Duncan who is the definition of strong and silent. He has difficulty expressing himself verbally which is something that Chloe slowly helps teach him. They could not possibly be any different, but that is what makes their relationship work. After all, opposites attract.

My dad actually works in a radio station part-time, but I had never realized exactly how much planning and work it takes to put together a radio show. It was great reading about all of it and I learned quite a few things. I almost wish my school had a student run station because it sounds really cool to be a part of.

This cover is perfect for the book. Just by looking at the cover you can tell exactly what the book is going to be about; a radio show. Also, the colors are bright and bold just like Chloe and the model is very character appropriate.

If Shelley Coriell continues to write books with such an amazing cast of characters I will definitely be picking up another one!

My first time reading anything by this author and it won't be the last. Loved the suspense, mystery and characters in this book. Kept me guessing! I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I have not read anything by this author before. Wow. I read this book in one afternoon. I could not guess the Identity of the killer until the author wanted me to learn it. This I liked as this is one of my favorite genre's to read and so it is hard to keep stories like this fresh and keep me guessing until the end. Also, the relationship between Grace and Hatch was a really good one. It helped with the story. Another bonus as sometimes the romance can take away from the suspense. I like that they did not move too fast back into the relationship between each other. Of course, having not read the prior novel I don't know all of the details with Grace and Hatch but luckily the author did a good job of recapping their relationship. I could tell that they had both matured since they were first involved with each other. I can't wait to read book three. While I wait I will go back and check out book one. I have found myself a new author to add to my mystery/suspense list of favorite ones.

I've killed no one. I've ordered no one to be killed. These children who come to you with their knives, they're your children. I didn't teach them, you did.– Charles Manson

Meet No Sympathy. He’s cold, blunt, uncaring, unfeeling. You aren’t going to like him. A man without a conscience, he appears to be totally emotionless. He’s the person for whom most of our explicit swear words were coined - Ruth Minshull

In The Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris describes it concisely. He lives down in a ribcage in the dry leaves of a heart. For within the serial killer, there is no true heart. Or is it that there is no “soul” – that part of us that discerns right from wrong, love from hate, compassion from brutality? What causes a person to become a serial killer, really?

While my work at UC during my Masters training balanced the ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’ controversy, Coriell has done brilliant job writing about the ‘nurture’ philosophy of psychopathy and serial killers. Her research is beautifully done, concise, and realistic as is her character development. The Broken draws you in and leaves you breathless, turning page after page, engrossed in the story, drawing you along into a world of pain and brutality – and yet doing so with such a deft hand that, rather than being stomach churning, it is instead deeply affecting, reaching into your heart and soul and raising questions which will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

Referencing one of my favorite short articles on child abuse and psychopathy, Lylah M. Alphonse1, states: The groundbreaking HBO documentary "Child of Rage" years ago showed how horrific abuse and neglect could leave a child unable to bond with other people, turning them into children "without conscience, who can hurt or even kill without remorse." In other words: the child becomes a psychopath. Extreme physical and sexual abuse and neglect can certainly cause the detached, calculating demeanor and lack of a sense of conscience shared by the serial killer. For the layman, this is one of the easiest articles on the syndrome to read and understand, and it points out quite elegantly how simple it is to take that small step to becoming a monster. And yet, the conversion of a brutalized child to a serial killer isn’t a given, and in Shelly Coriell’s brilliant The Broken, the brutality suffered by three very different children results in three very different outcomes. Outcomes that are horrifying, sad, and deeply, deeply disturbing.

Katrina Erikson had a rough start. Abandoned by her father, she and her younger brother, Jason are raised by a mentally ill mother. Jason is the child whom the mother obsessively dotes upon while alternately neglecting and torturing Katrina. Jason, who slept in his mother’s bed for much too long, and to unknown consequence, while Katrina is locked away in the attic, to be neither heard nor seen.

At a young age Katrina runs away from home, working herself to exhaustion, attending college, then becoming a well-known broadcast journalist. Her life is running smoothly, she is even able to set aside for long periods the memories of her youth. Until, that is, she is attacked, stabbed twenty-four times, and left for dead on her bedroom floor. And the thing is – she knows who did it. She knows – and yet no one will believe her.

When we first meet Katrina, she is “Kate” a loner who has traveled the back roads on her motorcycle for the last three years, rarely speaking to anyone, running from the butcher who searches for her in order to finish what he has begun. But there is someone else looking for her too . . .

Hayden Reed is looking for Katrina – because Hayden Reed believes. And he believes for a horrific reason. You see, Hayden Reed is an FBI agent – an FBI agent who is on the trail of the Broadcast Butcher, a serial killer who slaughters beautiful broadcast journalists by stabbing them many, many times. And Hayden knows that Katrina was his first victim. He knows, even though the police didn’t believe her, didn’t believe she knew who attacked her, didn’t believe that the attacker would return. When Hayden finally tracks Kate down, he attempts to bring her in as a material witness, to drag her into witness protection – to force her to relive her own personal hell on earth.

One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Hayden first tells Kate he is “sorry” for what he is going to put her through. She responds, “You’re sorry? . . . For what? For the scars that disfigure my face and body? For the ineptitude of your law enforcement brothers? For believing in a system that doesn’t work?” When his only response is, “It works.” Her reply was a gut wrenching, and oh so true statement. “Like hell it does! It’s a broken system, a broken world, Agent Reed, shattered and ugly and full of evil.” It is so easy for a man like Hayden, a true believer in the perfection of the system of “justice” to overlook all of the failures of society and the legal system – and so easy for a broken Kate to have no belief in the system that failed her so brutally.

What happens in The Broken is a breathtaking race against time, as the body count rises and the Butcher gets closer and closer to his goal of finding Katrina. Finding her, and killing her – “the one who got away.” The writing is tight, leading you from one moment to the next, never giving away too much, never going overboard with the violence, which is mostly ‘off screen’ and yet holds your attention and drags you further into the story. You become a part of the darkness, of the heinous acts of a true “Butcher” – and of the huge disconnect between what one would wish justice to be – and what it truly is.

“Why didn’t you report the second attack?”

“What would the police say? ‘Ooops! Sorry we screwed up. We’ll do better next time’? I didn’t report the attack, Agent Reed, because it wouldn’t make a difference.”?

This is a Very Highly Recommended Read for the lover of suspense, mystery, thrills and chills. I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review. And, honestly? It is going on my “Keepers” shelf!

1 http://tinyurl.com/nasakt4 Lylah M. Alphonse - Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine | Parenting – Mon, May 14, 2012 6:14 PM EDT

Not much to say at all about this one. Though several of my favorite bloggers adored Rebel’s story, it made little to no impact on me. On the one hand, I found Rebel Blue’s irreverent sense of humor amusing most of the time.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW AT: http://www.shaelit.com/2013/12/two-mini-reviews-the-distance-between-us-and-good...

This is a great book! I was immediately drown to it because of the synopsis. I mean death is huge. It makes me think about our lives and how short they really are. Do you have a bucket list? Will you do someone else’s bucket list?

Plot: The reader meets Rebel. A girl handed some bad cards and learning to move on. She is introduced to another girl during detention who questioned Rebel’s life. Then she dies. And her bucket list is in Rebel hands. I love this. Watching Rebel complete the bucket list of a dead girl is amazing. The plot flows well, allowing the reader to fully grasp what the bucket list is doing to Rebel. It’s just awesome!

The bucket list: By Rebel doing the bucket list it changed Rebel. It help her looks at things in a whole new perspective. Some good and some bad. But she changed. Watching Rebel struggle and even face her fears in doing the bucket list made me proud of her. No one pushed her and told her to do it, she did it because she wanted too.

Death: Death makes me questions a lot of things. What would you do if you only had one day to live? Where would you go? What would you confess? Rebel’s life has been consumed by death. By the death of her own loved ones, Rebel begins to wonder about her own life. And in doing that she….

Falling in love: This little area of the book I was so surprised and awed at! I love that this friendship grew into something more. That this bucket list not only changed Rebel but changed the guy too. Remember, it’s your life. And what you make of it, is up to you.

This is a fantastic book that I can totally re-visit again. It had a certain appeal that I could not look away from. Goodbye, Rebel Blue is a powerful story and sensitive story that is deeply moving. Truthful yet satisfying, Goodbye, Rebel Blue is great!

Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.

ACTUALLY 3.5 STARS

Honestly, I've been looking forward to thins one for a while. So, when I opened a random package and found this, my face immediately went like this: O.O I started it as soon as I could, and in the long run, I really wasn't all that disappointed with it. Yeah, it could have been better, but it also could have been worse; and as a whole I enjoyed it.

I found Rebel to be an interesting, unique type character. She had several quirks that I have too (constant lack of shoes being the #1) and I just connected with her. She was constantly herself, and she was really comfortable that way, which made her rock so hard. She may not have been perfect, but I liked her and that's all that really matters. Also, I love her name-- it fits her personality well. My favorite thing about her-- my absolute favorite-- was her growth. I really feel like she grew throughout the book into a better person.

But for every awesome-I-can't-get-enough-of-you character, there's always one who falls a bit flat. I say this because I know that it is true, and in this case it was Nate, the love interest. I didn't find him to be anymore than subpar, and it surprised me at first that someone as awesome as Rebel would want to be with him. He was such a blank canvas-- typical golden boy. I'm a huge advocate against stereotypes, but in this case he just was one. I didn't particularly care for him, but I loved his colorful family! What kind of a sick joke is that, I ask you?

But let's get to the real heart of the story-- bucket lists. I have always been fascinated by bucket list. The idea that someone somewhere might be completing something on their bucket list at any given time is like the coolest feeling. Kind of makes me wanna do some of the stuff on my...never mind. Anyway, the bucket list-- first of all, I feel like Kennedy's death and the subject of fate were kind of underplayed. Don't shoot me or anything, but that's just me.

I keep getting off subject, but...bucket lists. I liked the idea of completing someone's bucket list after their death, and how it would change someone-- but when I think of bucket lists I think of crazy crazy things, and Kennedy's bucket list was really lacking in that department. She was really white bread, but it was nice to see how doing some of those tasks changed Rebel.

All in all, Goodbye, Rebel Blue really was a good book, and I recommend it if you like bucket lists. Or blue. ;)