Killer Urge

“Killer Urge tells of a hiker killed in a park, an investigation that stymies local authorities, and the expertise and participation of outsider Kevin Mathers in the search for a savvy killer. The story opens with a first-person dialogue from the killer’s perspective. This gives the story a powerful personal perspective from its opening lines: I had known for a long time that I needed to kill someone. There were so many things in my life that I was angry about. Someone needed to be punished. My feelings simmered, waiting to explode out into the world. I knew that I needed to tap this volcano inside me, or it would implode. But who should I kill? The loner’s encounter with “Chatty Cathy” results in the woman’s death. This leads to the introduction of Kevin, a Philadelphia celebrity who has already solved a major crime puzzle – without being either a P.I. or a police officer. He may have stepped into the world of crime when that serial killer turned out to be his girlfriend, but when he inadvertently becomes involved in yet another homicide case, Kevin finds his problem-solving abilities tapped in an unusual way. The perspectives of the story’s characters keep changing, but headers with their names leave little room for confusion as the story evolves. These viewpoints add to the story’s complexity and satisfyingly psychological twists and turns as Anna, Leonard, Jennifer, and others step into a pressure cooker of death and nightmare confrontations. Each character contributes thought-provoking experiences and insights into the mix as the original killer’s rage builds into an explosion of action. Each adds to the evolution of the “Valley Green Killer” as the victims mount and questions about death and connections emerge from their lives, leading Kevin and the homicide team on a lively chase that appears to hold no logical conclusion. Libraries and readers who like their action fast-paced, their characters multifaceted and complex, and their murder mysteries steeped in an air of psychological connection and discovery will relish how Killer Urge focuses on and fine-tunes the killer instinct for a totally unpredictable outcome. Filled with satisfying twists powered by revelations on the part of perp and investigators who become entwined in these deaths and lives, Killer Urge is a winning saga that is a real page-turner.”

– Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review