The first installment in the Andrew Z. Thomas Series and a prequel to Crouch’s and Konrath’s thriller …
Greetings. There is a body buried on your property, covered in your blood. The unfortunate young lady’s name is Rita Jones. In her jeans pocket you’ll find a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Call that number. If I have not heard from you by 8:00 P.M., the police will receive an … the police will receive an anonymous call. I’ll tell them where Rita Jones is buried on your property, how you killed her, and where the murder weapon can be found in your house. (I do believe a paring knife is missing from your kitchen.) I strongly advise against going to the police, as I am always watching you.
Andrew Z. Thomas is a successful writer of suspense thrillers, living the dream at his lake house in the piedmont of North Carolina. One afternoon in late spring, he receives a bizarre letter that eventually threatens his career, his sanity, and the lives of everyone he loves. A murderer is designing his future, and for the life of him, Andrew can’t get away.
Dear Reader: Please keep the light on tonight. What happens next will scare you. Guaranteed.
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Sucked into the web of a serial murderer, Andrew Thomas’s only chance at survival is to meet a killer on his own turf. But not even Andrew is prepared for who that man might be. Could you cooperate with a murderer, down to being complicit in his crimes? Or would you go to jail for a murder you didn’t commit? Highly entertaining, this short read is worth the time.
Dust and Devils
A backstory:
Andrew who is an author is feeling in relaxed mode from the book he just completed, but the relaxation doesn’t last for long when he gets an eerie letter in the mail telling him there is a body buried on his property and if he does not call the number on a note that is buried with the body by a certain time then a phone call will be made to the police informing them of the so called body and where it can be found.
Andrew at first thinks it is a joke as he has received weird letters before from readers but just on a hunch he decides to go to the spot where the body is supposed to be buried and notices that something isn’t right. When he digs down in that spot and uncovers a body is when he goes into high alert. When he makes the phone call to the person he cannot figure out who it is as their voice is muffled, but when the person tells him that he has to do exactly what is required of him or else the police will become involved, Andrew has no choice but to comply.
Andrew ends up putting his life on hold as he is forced to do what this person wants or else even so much as taking a plane to a specific place to be escorted to meet with this person. When the “person” is finally revealed to be his long lost twin brother (Orson) who everyone thought was dead is when things go into overdrive.
When Andrew sees that there will probably be no escape as the place where Orson is located is out in the desert with no one else around for miles. Andrew finds out that Orson has actually turned into a sadistic serial killer and Andrew wonders if he will make it out of this situation alive or if he will also become one of his brother’s victims!
Why did Orson plant the dead body on Andrew’s property? Why does Orson go through with an elaborate plan to bring Andrew to him? Does Andrew escape from Orson? No spoilers here as you will need to read the book!
Thoughts:
This book is my third Crouch book as I read one of his books a few years back that I really enjoyed and I read another book by him that he collaborated on with three other authors. The writing style is smooth and with this book, something happens right away within the first chapter so there is no time to get all settled in my cozy chair before things go awry right away!
I love the character, Andrew as I could feel the trepidation and anxiety that he was going through as he had to make plans with leaving his life behind temporarily and having to meet up with someone (a stranger) who wouldn’t let him know much of nothing of what was in store for him. The pace of the book moves at a great clip and I kept wanting to see what was going to happen next.
The book does escalate when things become topsy turvy for Andrew but the book takes a twisted turn around the 30% mark putting Andrew in control and Orson in dire straits. From that point on in the story I read almost 30% more of the book within just a couple or so hours as the suspenseful twist kept me on the edge of my seat. There are three books in this trilogy, so I will need to continue on with the next book at some point in time as I want to see what happens next for Andrew. Giving this book five “Dark Desert” stars.
This one was a lot of fun! I’m starting the sequel tomorrow!
I’m typically a “good citizen”, and having been raised in Germany, my upbringing instilled values in me that have me following the rule of law. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed the unruly and darker side of human psychology until I found Blake Crouch. The more sinister he wrote, the more I wanted it to go deeper. Blake writes about a world that I somehow feel drawn into, the drama that evolves around emotions and desires, which (in his context) are not pretty and socially acceptable. But I can’t help it. I read, and I find myself wondering what I would do… It’s a gift to make readers feel like they can relate on THAT level. Seriously. (Or maybe I’m not right in the head). Either way, I’m a huge fan of Blake Crouch, who has always taken me somewhere new and unexpected (and who has me thankful at the end of each book for having a subdued normal suburban life).
Truely a different kind of crime novel. First chapter reels you in and you are hooked. You can’t help but feel bad for the main character and want to find a way to get him out of the tragic situation.