In the follow-up to bestselling psychological thriller The Night Bird, a serial killer mistakenly set free becomes a city’s worst nightmare—and a detective’s deadliest challenge.Four years after serial killer Rudy Cutter was sent away for life, San Francisco homicide inspector Frost Easton uncovers a terrible lie: his closest friend planted false evidence to put Cutter behind bars. When he’s … behind bars. When he’s forced to reveal the truth, his sister’s killer is back on the streets.
Desperate to take Cutter down again, the detective finds a new ally in Eden Shay. She wrote a book about Cutter and knows more about him than anyone. And she’s terrified. Because for four years, Cutter has been nursing revenge day after stolen day.
Staying ahead of the game of a killer who’s determined to strike again is not going to be easy. Not when Frost is battling his own demons. Not when the game is becoming so personal. And not when the killer’s next move is unlike anything Frost expected.
Winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction
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I got hooked on the Frost Easton series after the very first book in the series, “The Night Bird.” This second book in the series was just as good as the first one and I already can’t wait to dive into the third. This time the stakes are even higher for Inspector Frost Easton as he’s hunting down the serial killer who took his sister Katie’s life. It’s not a random police case anymore but the case which he can’t possibly lose; however, when faced with such a meticulous and careful killer as Rudy Cutter, it definitely won’t be an easy task.
What I appreciated the most about this book were several moral dilemmas presented for the reader to ponder: would you satisfy yourself with justice even if that justice wasn’t served according to the rules? Would you betray a family member or cover for them to the bitter end? What’s more important, helping the investigation or writing a good story? And what is one to do when the girl of his dreams happens to be his brother’s dream girl as well?
The story was dynamic, dark, and deeply psychological, and after a 70% mark on my kindle, I couldn’t turn pages fast enough. And what an ending! If you love gritty psychological thrillers, this one would be your perfect choice. Highly recommend!
There’s a reason this book won the Minnesota Book Award. If you haven’t read Brian Freeman, you should. This thriller or any of his others.
I can’t wait to read book 3. This series is great! I also love that Brian doesn’t use a lot of bad language in his books. His characters and stories don’t need it!
Another great installment highlighting Detective Frost Easton. Frost Easton is a savvy detective and his cat Shack is the cat’s meow but would you still like him if going down the honest road as a police detective might cause a serial killer to walk? Get ready for a great suspenseful read chockful of surprises.
Excellent read that keeps the action rolling and keeps your interest peaked the entire time. Frost Easton is once again forced to look into the death of his sister and try to piece together the events that happened. Excellent characters that you can connect with while untwisting this layered plot that is unique and intriguing. You know who the guilty party is in this book, but the author takes you on a twisted path following as Frost must prove it without any doubt. Kudos, I can’t wait for the next book in this series to come out. If you are a fan of audible books, then this is an excellent choice to put on your listening list as the reader enhances the character development by giving each character a little something extra as he brings them to life!
Love, love this book. Frost and his cat Shack are my heros. San Francisco sounds perfect, his home, his few friends like Herb, and even his brother Duane. But he, Frost, is a cop, an introvert, a rule follower and is continuing his quest to find out why his sister Katie died.
What can a good cop do when he finds evidence that put his sister’s killer away? Do you let evil back out on the streets? Ruin the career of a cop you know personally?
There is a huge twist in this book near the end, and it makes total sense but is a shocker.
You have Duane dating another chef, Tabby, and Eden, an author and victim, trying to get close to Frost. All interconect in various degrees. You have Rudy Cutter, the killer, his brother Phil and you have victim support groups and the big question…..do you ever cross the line??
Great procedural, realistic look at the impact on families, and as you read this, and you become fearful for the women out there. Tension builds slowly and the fear is right on the page as you carefully read and hope that you favorite person is not next.
I need to wait for the third in the series, not out till January!!
I miss Frost and the tuxedo cat Shack and the meals his brother brought over, foggy nights and friends.
Although this was an okay thriller, it disappointed me for a few reasons. The first is that I’m a big fan of Brian Freeman’s Jonathan Stride series. The Easton Frost series almost seems to be written by a different, sadly inferior, writer. That’s not to say the Frost books are bad–they’re just not up to the standard set by the Stride series. The latter books have great, very flawed characters, impressively detailed and gritty settings, and plotlines that are wildly inventive, edgy and suspenseful. This series comes off, by comparison, as mediocre. Frost, other than having a cat for landlord, is kind of blah–and too good to be true. In this book, he’s almost too good for his own–and the world’s good–his self-righteousness results in three deaths. Sometimes, the moral high road is not the best route to take on the way to doing what’s right. Still, I give Freeman kudo for a provocative premise and making us think about good and evil. I also knocked stars off for a rather predictable plot and giving us characters that it was really hard to care about. If you’re new to Brian Freeman, my advice: stick to his Jonathan Stride books, which are far superior.
Mr. Freeman is a skilled writer. No editing messes, which are in many of today’s books. This is the second Frost Easton thriller. As soon as it was available for preorder, I purchased it. The characters and plot were even better than the first Easton.