A forensic psychologist fights a mental war against two serial killers in this disturbing thriller from Mike Omer, Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of A Killer’s Mind.An online video of a girl clawing at the ceiling of her own grave could be the worst thing FBI forensic psychologist Zoe Bentley has ever seen. Perhaps even more disturbing is the implication of the video’s … implication of the video’s title: “Experiment Number One.”
Zoe and her partner, Special Agent Tatum Gray, work as fast as they can to find the monster behind the shocking video, but soon another one shows up online, and another girl turns up dead. Meanwhile, a different murderer is on Zoe’s mind. Rod Glover has been tormenting her since childhood, and his latest attack is a threatening photo of himself with Zoe’s sister. As Glover’s threats creep toward action, Zoe’s torn between family and duty.
Zoe must think fast to prevent another murder. With her own family’s safety on the line, Zoe feels she’s never been in more danger. And while she’s always known her job could send her to an early grave, she always assumed she’d be dead first.
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Another Intriguing View Into a Serial Killer’s Mind
This novel opened with a young woman being buried alive. Her soon-to-be killer has placed an infrared camera and microphone in the box in which she was confined. He then streamed the video and audio of the young woman dying over the Internet. The video was captioned, “Experiment Number One.” The uploader’s user name was Schrodinger. The main storyline shifts to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit where the heroine, Dr. Zoe Bentley, trying to convince the unit chief to allow her to work on the Glover Case. Glover is a serial killer who Zoe discovered and reported that lived near her as a child. Her unit chief states that she will allow her after taking on this case in San Angelo where a young woman has been murdered. While not a serial killer yet, the video’s caption and uploader’s user name appear ominous. The novel takes off from here.
The primary main storyline involves two threads. The first thread followed Dr. Zoe Bentley and Special Agent Tatum Grey as they work with the local police and FBI in tracking down Schrodinger. A second tread was of Schrodinger in the current timeframe and scenes from his past that forged him into the man he had become. Added to this mix was a secondary thread that involves Zoe, his sister, Tatum and his grandfather Marvin. This thread portrays Glover stalking Zoe and her sister. All of these threads with their many twists, turns and misdirections were woven into an engaging story that captured my interest. I read every chance I had and even late into the night. I could not put his novel down.
The B-storyline largely involves Zoe and Tatum that builds on the first novel. Much insight to these two characters is revealed in their interactions and interactions with the sister and grandfather. I do not believe that you, as the reader, will miss anything in this novel without reading the first novel.
As a warning to the readers, there were multiple scenes of women buried alive being streamed live with video and audio. Some readers may find these scenes very intense and disturbing. Let the reader be warned. As for language, there were only two f-bombs and other less vulgar language. This for me was very little that it did not register until I returned to specifically search for the language. Lastly, there were not any sex scenes, but there were sex acts, just implied not described.
What I liked about this novel was the authors used discussions between Zoe and Tatum on the investigation status and their hypotheses as part of their profiling. It provided more than adequate background so that I never felt lost while reading.
Based upon the above, I rate this novel with five stars. I strongly recommend reading this novel. I believe that you will enjoy it also.
I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from Thomas & Mercer with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this novel early.
In my opinion this book was very well written. The narration was excellent. The Characters were well thought out, well described and well developed. It helps if you read the previous book to mesh all the characters together. I will definitely read the next book.
THIS REVIEW IS FOR BOTH THE AUDIOBOOK AND EBOOK VERSIONS
Absolutely loved this thrilling and intense book. The suspense was great had my mind constantly working. The characters are so easy to like and enjoy following throughout this book. Great action scenes and the perfect amount of emotion. Very well written. I recommend this book.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SERIES
Book 2 of the Zoe Bentley mysteries and it only went and stepped it up on the 5* first book!
Still the same amazing characters an incredibly written story. Amazing!
Well, Zoe is at it again. Doing what she does best. Getting inside the minds of serial killers.
Her and Tatum, her new partner, are thrown into another case together and the tensions between them are higher than ever. At one point, I think I yelled aloud, ‘Oh for pete’s sake, kiss already, why don’t ya?!”
Anyway, I digress. This book had not one, but two serial killers. One old and one new. Not to give away too much detail, but her sister, Andrea, got involved in one of the cases. And Tatum’s eccentric grandfather got in on the ‘fun’ as well.
It was hard to hear the details of the newer serial killer case because I am claustrophobic. Let me explain. He would find a remote place, dig a hole about 6 feet deep, stalk a victim via their social media page, abduct them as they came home from being out late, knock them out, put them in a coffin-like wooden box, and bury them in the hole.
He wanted to watch, which was part of his sick fantasy, so he installed a camera in the box and posted it on the web for all to see.
These women are gagged, hands tied behind their backs, and then awake from the drugs, realize where they are, and panic sets in. Think about it…the more energy you exert, the closer you are to using up all of your oxygen. Zoe calculates the victims have 14 hours before they expire.
How many die? How many survive the killers’ sick experiment? Read the book and find out!
My review…a definite 5 stars. Can’t wait for the next one!
Wow, I really liked this one. The storyline was original and kept me gripped right the way through. I would definitely recommend this author.
Omer delivers a pulse pounding second novel in the Zoe Bentley series. Well written characters and prose that takes readers on a thrill ride will keep readers flipping pages and working the puzzle until the very end.
I highly recommend this book to fans of the psychological thriller genre.
I absolutely LOVED this book. I couldn’t put it down, and I was surprised when the identity of the killer was revealed. What a thrill ride. Highly recommended!
This book was captivating and I could not wait to see what happened next! I kept shaking and yelling at my book telling them to move faster, it was just pure agony waiting for them to either find the girl’s dead or alive. God I can’t wait to see where this series goes!
Zoe is trying to solve not only one but two cases and in the end her life and her sisters are in serious danger. Such a great new installment in this series. I loved it from the start and couldn’t stop reading, this was a nail biting ride start to end.
In the Darkness find forensic psychologist Zoe Bennet once again chasing a serial killer alongside partner FBI special agent Tatum Gray. Still reeling from her close encounter with her own personal stalker and serial killer Rod Sterling. Called in on a new case, Zoe is juggling Rod stalking her little sister, Andrea and a killer labeling his kills as experiments. Stepping into the killers shoes has always served Zoe in the past but this case quickly puts Zoe in the path of danger as Andrea comes under fire too. Tatum’s grandfather adds a dash of humor that lightens up the dark suspense that blew me away when the whodunnit smacked me upside the head. Totally addictive, Zoe is a character that will always keep you coming back for more. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.
Second book in new series met or maybe even exceeded my expectations
SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE FIRST BOOK YET
I enjoyed the first book in this series A KILLER’S MIND very much so I wondered if the author could keep the momentum going. And he definitely did.
FBI consultant forensic psychologist Zoe Bentley and FBI Special Agent Tatum Gray are called in to consult on a serial killer case in a small town in Texas. Well, it’s not a serial killer case yet. The police have found one woman buried alive – but her burial was videotaped and labeled “Experiment Number 1” so it doesn’t seem likely that the killer will stop at one.
Plus Zoe is still dealing with the threat of the serial killer that escaped in the first book and then threatened her sister.
I like this team. Zoe is very blunt (understatement) but seems able to see into the killers’ minds. And Tatum is no slouch himself.
There are some definite creepy moments in this book especially if you’re claustrophobic like I am. Also, a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming surprised me.
Marvin, Tatum’s grandfather, is back in book two and he’s still a favorite character of mine.
I received this book from Amazon Publishing through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.