Rough Draft
By James W. Hall
Hannah Keller is
an ex-Miami cop, making her way now as a mystery novelist. A large
part of her life is dedicated to helping her young son cope with
the tragedy and trauma of discovering the bodies of his murdered
grandparents: Hannah’s mother and father. Five years has passed
since that painful day, and now Hannah finds a cryptic message that
reopens all the wounds and threatens the safety of her family once
again.
She enlists
the aid of Frank Sheffield, a somewhat unconventional FBI agent,
to help her solve the riddle. Together they uncover some disturbing
evidence that seems to suggest that Hannah and her son are being
used as bait to lure in a vicious killer.
Hal,
the assassin, is an all-too-evil villain. His method of murder takes
carnage to the extreme. At first I found it a bit of a stretch to
even try to picture the scene of the murders, but there was no doubt
that that man was monstrous enough to send chills up your spine.
Author
James Hall skillfully uses this suspense to capture the reader and
hold him until the story is told. The face of the killer is vivid
and terrifying, yet he has a human side, keeping the reader guessing
what his next move might be.
In
spite of a generous portion of gory details, I thoroughly enjoyed
the book and immediately went looking for a follow-up novel. This
is not a book for the squeamish, but if you like drama and enjoy
reading fast-paced adventure, Rough Draft should serve
to keep you awake for a few nights.
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