Breakneck

A good mystery draws the reader in early on, generates empathy with the hero(es), challenges your powers of deduction, and builds steadily toward an unexpected conclusion. BREAKNECK succeeds on all counts. A series of seemingly unrelated murders of young adults with no criminal history have one thing in common - missing computers. Homicide detectives M.C. Riggio and Kate Lundgren are faced with double challenges; one of the victims is a Riggio family member, while Kate is trying to overcome her profession's interference in her marriage. They are under heavy pressure to catch the killer while trying to deal with these serious strains in their personal relationships. While subtle clues to the killer's identity begin to show up along the way, Riggio and Lundgren don't manage to identify him until very deep in the story. After he is identified, catching him before he kills again is still a challenge. Once you are into reading this book, your adrenaline builds along with the story, and it is very difficult to put down.

Although she is said to be the author of twenty eight novels I have never read any Erica Spindler books before this one. At this point, this is the best book I have reviewed so far. Breakneck delivers making the reader push forward from chapter to chapter. You won't be bored with this fast paced page turner. That is for sure. I appreciated the chapters being short and many in number rather than few in number and long. When you are busy like me and have to grab the book and read a bit when you get a chance, this is a great benefit. The busy reader will appreciate not having to read back into a chapter to get the gist of where he or she left off. Many reviews tend to spill the beans on the story and I don't want to do that. Let me just say Detective Mary Catherine Riggio is involved in a situation that becomes very personal for her and endangers the lives of all involved. Erica Spindler did a fantastic job of researching her material and everything is quite plausible and believable because she was very authentic in her writing. The serial killer caught me off guard and Spindler's style kept me reading every chance I got. You won't be sorry if you get this book!

I admit it. I peaked at some reviews before writing mine as I commonly like to cover new, uncharted territory instead of re-hashing the same points. That said, I am SHOCKED at how many reviews gave this book a 3 or lower rating. I really, really enjoyed this book and would have thought that most readers would have too. Now I will agree the story had some issues--the stereotypes were painful at times (mostly secondary characters) but then I think that the main subjects were well done and complex. There wasn't a good and a bad cop--they were all shades of gray with their own issues--just like real life. Without giving much away, I personally did figure it out way before MC (the main character) did but I am not sure if I was just smart or it was poorly hid. As I have said before, I am a slow reader and a story has to really grab me to keep me turning the pages. Once in a while I am so compelled that it keeps me up late reading. This book did both and while others had issues with the writing and lack of CSI/Police info I didn't. This wasn't a crime drama to me so this elements were not needed and normally take AWAY from the storyline. Having majored in both Criminal Justice and Criminology, authors rarely find a useful balance--there is either incorrect information or too much because the author researched it to death. Erica Spindler stayed away from most of that and I think it made the story more interesting and more of a thriller instead of crime drama book. Instead there was more room for thoughts, feelings and visual detail. If you want to learn how to be a police officer or love the science of CSI then please skip this book and look for more of a crime based book. If you like a whodunit thriller, then you should really enjoy this book!

Okay, maybe this book has its flaws (like the short, short chapters drive me crazy), but I cannot put it down. The plot is amazingly intense and there are a plethora of suspects and interesting characters to follow, even if some of them are sort of stock caricatures. Even so, the "breakneck" speed of the action just pulls you along so that I found it impossible to put down the book. Actually, I haven't even finished the book yet (just a few chapters to go) but had to stop to write my review just to prolong the suspense. Plus, it immediately makes me want to go out and buy more of Erica Spindler's mysteries to read and I'd never even heard of her before!!

Spindler has my vote for the best author of the month! Simply told, yet terrifically entertaining, Breakneck is a murder mystery with all the elements of suspense and intrigue that one could require and still not told at a panic pace. From front page to the final words, I found it exceptionally well done and totally enjoyable. A real surprise. Others have covered the storyline and the characters, so I feel no need to do that here. My only thought is that IF YOU ENJOY MURDER/MYSTERIES, YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!.