Reviews: Killer Families, The God Complex & The Watcher

The three books reviewed below were ones that I read whilst away from home and internet-less, so I didn’t have access to the blurbs. This was an interesting and different approach to reading (for me), as I probably read titles that I otherwise would not have come across.

Killer Families: True Crime: Murder by Dads, Moms, Kids & Spouses by Sylvia Perrini

Published: December 2014

Pages: 54

Synopsis: “The family home is supposed to be a place where family members find a safe haven from the stress of outside life. A place where they feel protected and loved. Yet for many this is simply not the case. The true stories in this short book demonstrate that the family environment can be a very dangerous place indeed. Not just for children suffering from child abuse, but also for mothers, fathers, wives and husbands. In the United States, one of the most treacherous places for a woman is in her own home. Women may be afraid of strangers, but it's a husband, a lover, a boyfriend, or someone they know who is most likely to hurt them and they are at the highest risk of suffering violence or murder when they are divorcing or separating from a partner. Men too can suffer abuse from their wife or partner but the difference in physical size and strength puts a woman at greater risk than a man. For children, the greatest danger is not an unknown stranger, but their immediate families. Is your family safe?”

Rating: **

The layout of this book was extracts from other books by the author, detailing cases of murders within families. A good way of advertising as the author is able to hook readers in with this shorter sample of her work.

Even though the author is American, I felt it was good that a British murder was included, but felt that she could have drawn upon more multicultural examples of cases. Maybe this is the case in the full novels?

Written objectively and ‘properly’ in that the author didn’t appear to be bias and wasn’t trying to convince the reader of guilt or innocence. The facts were presented with some quotes from major people involved in each case.

The God Complex by Murray McDonald

Published: 2014

Pages: 400

Synopsis: “When Cash Harris visits his father for the first time after a fifteen year estrangement, things don't go anywhere near as planned. By the end of the night, he finds himself embroiled in a plot to destabilise the government, his father has been assassinated and he discovers a shocking truth that would have fundamentally altered his life fifteen years earlier. However, all of this pales into insignificance when, along with his best friend and ex-fiancee, he fights for his innocence and the chance to save a world they didn't even know needed saving. They uncover the truth that has been alluding mankind from its very inception. Life, the universe...everything...nothing is as it really seems.”

Rating: ***

The mission log at the start was the perfect intriguing hook – something is happening to earth or the human race and the possible solution is in space.

Fast paced with a death in the first few pages. Predictable at times and wildly far-fetched at others.

Interesting idea about King William after the untimely death of Charles and abdication of Elizabeth; only a very brief mention but still interesting.

Succinctly demonstrates the dangers when one corporation has interests in a number of fields and are able to influence politics, technological and medical advances in many countries. This is a thought provoking point, especially in modern times.

Some books you can’t help but give a gender to, which I’m sure irritates many people, but The God Complex is definitely a man’s book.

Overall well written, fast paced and action driven. A good example of the popular large scale adventure conspiracy novel. Just a bit too far-fetched for me.

The Watcher by Jo Robertson

Published: August 2011

Pages: 397

Synopsis: “Forensic psychiatrist Kate Myers believes the killer of two teenage girls in Bigler County, California, is the same man who savagely murdered her twin sister over fifteen years ago. Working with a single-minded tenacity, she sets out to prove it. Deputy Sheriff Ben Slater hides his personal pain behind the job, but Kate's arrival in his county knocks his world on its axis. He wants to believe her wild theory, but the idea of a serial killer with the kind of pathology she proposes is too bizarre. Together they work to find a killer whose roots began in a small town in Bigler County, but whose violence spread across the nation. A Janus-like killer, more monster than man, he fixates on Kate. The killer wants nothing more than to kill the "purple-eyed girl again."

Rating: *

I didn’t warm to any of the characters; the two police officers felt too comical and just didn’t sit right with me and Katherine seemed too cold and standoffish. It is difficult to get into a novel when you don’t get a feel for any of the main characters and this was a problem that I struggled to overcome.

A good example of a thriller, but I felt it was very middle of the road; nothing too risky in the writing or execution.