Outside the White Lines

The story basically focusses on three characters who have reason to be on stretches of the motorway at night. My favourite character was The Searcher and the more we learned of him the more fascinating I found him. Oddly enough this book made me realise that whilst some people don't like descriptive text about decomposing bodies, others dislike graphic violence (there is certainly an eeeuuuwww factor concerning the murders) I personally find reading about how cruelly people treat others more upsetting. Although the book involves a police investigation into motorway killings, it's not a typical detective story. We know who the killer is throughout and because of the way the chapters are written, from the point of view of each of the three main characters, we also get an insight into their fears and motivation. Motorways are lonely places at night and I'll probably never look at the central reservations in quite the same way again. Unlike some novels which when I hear their title, I struggle to remember what the story was about, this is a story that although relatively simple, will stay with me for quite a while.

Chris Simms has ensured that breaking down on the highway at night will never be the same again with this chilling story of a man who deals with road rage in a terrifying and deadly way. This darkly frightening serial-killer story is starkly different to every other serial-killer thriller I have ever read. Whereas most stories of the genre focus on the investigation into the killer and the frustration shown by the police or FBI as they struggle to gather evidence that may eventually lead them to the killer, this book simply focuses on its 3 principle characters and lets their actions lead us to the shocking conclusion. It's obvious that these 3 people are going to be linked together somehow (otherwise, why focus so carefully on them) but just how they come to affect the others' lives provides the surprise at the end.The book is broken into chapters titled for each of the characters. The chapter titles are: The Hunter, The Killer, and The Searcher. THE HUNTERAndy is a rookie cop, a young man who has only ever dreamt of being a road traffic cop, nothing more or less. He loves driving cars and it's his goal to get behind the wheel of his police car but at the moment has to be content with riding shotgun for his senior (but much less motivated) partner. He is also a young man of high morals and is outraged when his partner drags him into a lie to their superior officer about their whereabouts while a murder was taking place on their patch. This murder was one of a series of brutal bashing murders taking place on motorists who had broken down at night. Andy becomes obsessed with the case but runs into problems within the force when he speaks out against his unmotivated partner. He winds up getting suspended from the police, a devastating outcome for so dedicated an officer, but it also allows him to spend more time on the highway killings. He's probably the closest the story comes to being a protagonist and certainly the most likable character.THE KILLERDave is the highway murderer. His road rage knows no bounds. Whether he's a driver or a pedestrian he is aggressive and intimidatory - and this is his public persona. It doesn't matter that his wife and baby daughter may be in the car with him, he is prepared to abuse and yell at other drivers. Heavy traffic has him fuming by the end of even the shortest trips. But what really ticks him off, what really boils his blood, is motorists who know so little about caring for their cars that they break down on motorways. He sees these people as the main cause for the constant heavy traffic that dares to block the roads he drives on.His answer is to cruise the motorways late at night acting as a road recovery worker, stopping to assist the broken down motorist (he only preys on men who are driving alone) and then bashing their heads in with a monkey wrench. He's a brutal man with a failing grip on sanity thanks to an incident that takes place early in the book. Dave was brilliantly described by the author, evok