When a tornado slams into Promise, Oklahoma, only three of the town’s terrified residents know that an even more malevolent force has come to torment them—and they won’t live to tell.The Debris Killer is moving among them. “Nothing could have prepared us for the howling horrors of this gale-force thriller.” – Marilyn Stasio, New York TimesWhen Police Chief Charlie Grover finds three mutilated … Grover finds three mutilated corpses in a ravaged farmhouse, his first thought is that the victims were impaled by flying debris. But his instincts tell him something different.
Enlisting the aid of a beautiful, wisecracking female tornado-chasing scientist, widower Charlie steps into a chaotic world of high-tech risk-taking in search of a cunning criminal… one he soon suspects is stalking him—and his vulnerable teenage daughter.
NEWLY REVISED BY AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR ALICE BLANCHARD
For fans of John Sandford, Karin Slaughter, Thomas Harris, Tim McBain, Robert Dugoni, Rachel Caine, Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Jo Nesbo, L.T. Vargus, Jeff Carson, Michael Crichton and Lee Child.
PRAISE FOR THE BREATHTAKER:
Chicago Tribune
“Riveting and addictive.”
New York Daily News
“Brilliant… a dark and stormy novel and a particularly thrilling one.”
Daily Express UK
“Superb.”
San Jose Mercury News
“Blanchard delivers a knockout blow. She dips us into the odd little world of storm chasers, both the professionals and the hobbyists. It’s a terrific thriller that does not insult the intelligent reader and just gets harder to put down as the pages turn.”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Fantastic… A tension-filled thriller that will leave readers spinning.”
Independent on Sunday UK
“A brilliant study of violence and grief, powerful as the tornado itself.”
Reviewing the Evidence
“This story kept me reading past my bedtime.”
Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the bestselling novel “The Deep End of the Ocean”
“A heart-tingling, heart-squeezing mystery… filled with poignancy… eerie and deliciously scary.”
Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
“Nothing could have prepared us for the howling horrors of this gale-force thriller… Blanchard’s artistry whips up excitement… She writes so well that she rattles the rafters.”
Romantic Times: Top Pick, ****1/2 GOLD
“In a word–wow! Blanchard has outdone herself in this unique and mesmerizing thriller. With both an angry Mother Nature and a deranged serial killer on the loose, THE BREATHTAKER grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. An astonishing ride!”
Publishers Weekly
“Fast-moving shocker… a final terrifying chase that will have readers gasping…”
Audiofile (Audie Award Finalist)
“If you liked the movie Twister, here it is on steroids, with better research.”
Mostly Fiction Review
“It’s hard for the reader to know what they should fear more…the killer, or the fury of nature.”
Library Journal (starred review)
“A breathtaking vortex of a story about love, death, murder and ordinary people living chaotic lives in… tornado alley. Highly recommended.”
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Very well written and great story and characters! I actually learned quite a lot from this book and loved the ending!
I loved the action, suspense, and surprise of this book. I couldn’t put it down!!
Did not want to put it down
Not terribly easy to follow. Doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Fast paced book – pun intended.
Charlie Grover is the chief of police of Promise, Oklahoma. Tornado chasing is a hobby by many people there. When a particularly violent twister tears the town apart, several people die. The deaths of a local family arouse suspicions however. Could they have been murdered during the storm? How exactly would a killer know when and where a tornado was going to touchdown? Charlie is bound to find out and there are several storm chasers who are potential suspects. When his 16 year old daughter disappears and leaves the vague note that she’s gone storm chasing, Charlie knows he’s in a race against not only the clock, but a twister on a storm path all of its own!
This was the perfect mash up of a murder mystery and the movie Twister. The murders are pretty interesting. There is a disturbing element (signature) that occurs each time that leaves the reader begging for an explanation. Furthermore, Blanchard does a great job creating several plausible suspects, so the reader is not quite sure who the murderer is. The book is filled with quite a bit of storm details. If you are interested in tornadoes, you’ll probably be fascinated by all of it. If not, then the amount of detail might start to wear you down. I thought it was great though. The ending was a great chase scene that literally had me biting my nails.
I would recommend this book to others!
Liked this book – a little twisted but great.
Great read! Fascinating investigation story, spot on with weather details and a keeps-you-guessing plot to the end.
I live very near this area or right in the middle of it. a few too many storms–we really do not have them every day. Nonetheless, it was a great story. I enjoyed this book.
“The Breathtaker” is more than just a murder mystery. It is a book that also describes the sights, sounds and deadly consequences of tornadoes. The author, Alice Blanchard, makes you see the lightning, big pieces of hail, dark greenish sky and funnel cloud and feel the fear of the people who anticipate that the tornado will hit their homes and hurt or kill their families and themselves. You feel the winds and anticipate the damage these winds will cause. You meet storm chasers who get into their vehicles and chase tornadoes, being thrilled by the “adventure”. You learn how building materials are tested to see whether they could survive a major tornado. In the book, Police Chief Charlie Grover and his assistants, Mike and Lester, discover a murdered family after an F-3 tornado hits in Promise, Oklahoma. The family’s bodies contain wounds which may not have been caused by the tornado itself and what possibly could be defensive wounds. Each of the bodies also has one of its teeth removed and replaced by someone else’s tooth. Charlie seeks the help of Willa Bellman, a scientist specializing in tornadoes and their effects. They find out where previous tornadoes have struck in the Tornado Alley of Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska and then Charlie contacts sheriffs in each of these areas to see whether similarities in the dead have been discovered. Some bodies are even exhumed and autopsies of the victims are redone. They decide that someone has weaponized debris and is using it to kill tornado victims, each time extracting one of the victim’s teeth and putting someone else’s tooth in its place. Even a dog is killed in this way. The killer is then named “The Debris Killer” with the assumption that the murders are premeditated. It is believed that the killer brings sharpened debris to the homes as the tornadoes are destroying them. Not only does Charlie have to solve the murders and find the murderer, but he also has to take care of his sixteen year old daughter Sophie who wants the thrill of chasing the storms and who gets caught in two of them. The murderer is discovered in a very exciting sequence which pits Charlie against him in an effort to save Sophie. Readers will be surprised to learn the identity of “The Debris Killer” and what ultimately happens to him. It is a very exciting book that readers will not be able to put down until the very end.
Started off slow but later I didn’t want to put it down.
Really enjoyed this book and the mystery presented. It was interesting how the killer came to be and what drove him.
I really got caught up in this- pretty original police procedural.
Great book. Taught me about tornados. Very suspenseful.
Kept me guessing until the end.
Best book I have read in awhile.Couldn’t put it down!!!!!
Alice Blanchard loves words and knows how to use them. This book just crackles with page-turning material. Scary and real.
Keeps you guessing.
Well written and original……….I couldn’t put it down!
to near the truth, being from Texas tornado are a very common and scary.
What a great read truth to life
This book will surprise you, keep you guessing, and keep you biting your nails, even if you never do. Toward the end, I was so engrossed, and read so fast to find out what happened, I had to go back to read it again. This book is filled with tragedy, so prepare yourself for lots of emotion.