American Devil
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Product Description
Review
'An exceptional new talent'
(Daily Mail )Product Description
Taut, tense and terrifying - AMERICAN DEVIL marks the thrilling debut of an outstanding new talent.
The Progression of Love: his ultimate artistic creation. Now all he needs is seven beautiful women.
For the violent killer stalking New York's streets, the trophies he will take from his victims are essential if he is to complete his masterpiece. That he also likes playing games with the police and his prey is a bonus. He can outwit everyone he comes up against. Or can he?
Detective Tom Harper is the NYPD's best chance of catching the American Devil. But he's on suspension for punching his superior. With panic gripping the city, Harper wants the challenge even if it means he has to undergo therapy from police psychologist Denise Levene. She believes he can be brought back into the fold, but can the NYPD trust him not to fall apart?
A deranged murderer and a volatile cop. Time is running out and there can only be one winner...
The Progression of Love: his ultimate artistic creation. Now all he needs is seven beautiful women.
For the violent killer stalking New York's streets, the trophies he will take from his victims are essential if he is to complete his masterpiece. That he also likes playing games with the police and his prey is a bonus. He can outwit everyone he comes up against. Or can he?
Detective Tom Harper is the NYPD's best chance of catching the American Devil. But he's on suspension for punching his superior. With panic gripping the city, Harper wants the challenge even if it means he has to undergo therapy from police psychologist Denise Levene. She believes he can be brought back into the fold, but can the NYPD trust him not to fall apart?
A deranged murderer and a volatile cop. Time is running out and there can only be one winner...
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just finished this book, which arrived only yesterday. It was a very good read and I wish I had another one to read straight away. What I liked about it was the tension and the terror. It is a scary book - both the cop and the killer are a little hard to take sometimes, but the cop has many qualities which redeem him. It's got plenty of meat to it, not like a late Patterson, much more substance to the story which is intricate, terrifying and tense.
It is the story of a pretty focused NYPD detective who doesn't care much for the obstacles in his way or for bad cops around him, but who works and leads his team with some strength and has a lot of loyalty in the department. He is an interesting mix, as is the book - lots of painstaking police work, which I found fascinating, a sifting of facts and deductions, mixed with the thrills of psychological profiling and chases and confrontations. It has many a heart-stopping moment and can, at times, be so intense or vivid that you pull back. But you just want more of the story and it does turn the pages, over and over and over. He works alongside a well-drawn female lead who is taking her first steps into criminal profiling. The balance is great, the relationship fizzes throughout.
The length of the book is something I enjoyed - it's not a single idea played out, but five or six ideas intermingled and that gives a lot of different journeys to follow and lots of dead ends and frustrated leads. There is time to get to know the case and the characters, but it still pulls you on and towards the end, the flow is very fast. I suppose that, at times, the procedural aspects slow the thriller aspect, but I thought this worked - but it makes the start slower than the end as all the pieces are set up and explored.
As a piece of genre-fiction, it contains many elements seen before - the hard-bitten cop, the terrifying killer, the frightening battle between evil and good, puzzles and deduction, good cops and bad cops. But this tried and tested formula works for a reason, it contains all the thrills you want from a thriller. I didn't think it was derivative, although it has many similar elements to other books. I thought it was remarkably fresh and unusually well-written, with interesting ideas and insights.
The killer is complex and because you see him in action, he is horrible. Although, I have to say that most, if not all, of the violence is off-camera, and it handles this difficult balance well.
I think it's a four star book, but as a debut, worth five, because it shows ambition and is grappling with so much and keeping everything balanced, up in the air and exciting.
In conclusion, it really thrilled and scared me, gave me a good intellectual journey of trying to work things out for myself, and also gave me characters I liked and got to feel some affinity for. So, well done, a great new thriller.
It is the story of a pretty focused NYPD detective who doesn't care much for the obstacles in his way or for bad cops around him, but who works and leads his team with some strength and has a lot of loyalty in the department. He is an interesting mix, as is the book - lots of painstaking police work, which I found fascinating, a sifting of facts and deductions, mixed with the thrills of psychological profiling and chases and confrontations. It has many a heart-stopping moment and can, at times, be so intense or vivid that you pull back. But you just want more of the story and it does turn the pages, over and over and over. He works alongside a well-drawn female lead who is taking her first steps into criminal profiling. The balance is great, the relationship fizzes throughout.
The length of the book is something I enjoyed - it's not a single idea played out, but five or six ideas intermingled and that gives a lot of different journeys to follow and lots of dead ends and frustrated leads. There is time to get to know the case and the characters, but it still pulls you on and towards the end, the flow is very fast. I suppose that, at times, the procedural aspects slow the thriller aspect, but I thought this worked - but it makes the start slower than the end as all the pieces are set up and explored.
As a piece of genre-fiction, it contains many elements seen before - the hard-bitten cop, the terrifying killer, the frightening battle between evil and good, puzzles and deduction, good cops and bad cops. But this tried and tested formula works for a reason, it contains all the thrills you want from a thriller. I didn't think it was derivative, although it has many similar elements to other books. I thought it was remarkably fresh and unusually well-written, with interesting ideas and insights.
The killer is complex and because you see him in action, he is horrible. Although, I have to say that most, if not all, of the violence is off-camera, and it handles this difficult balance well.
I think it's a four star book, but as a debut, worth five, because it shows ambition and is grappling with so much and keeping everything balanced, up in the air and exciting.
In conclusion, it really thrilled and scared me, gave me a good intellectual journey of trying to work things out for myself, and also gave me characters I liked and got to feel some affinity for. So, well done, a great new thriller.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A truly exciting and original first novel by Oliver Stark. The writing is taut and the story telling top notch!Quite often crime stories can suffer from over complicated plots and unnecessary action...this is never the case here and there are some great red herrings to keep the reader guessing and at the edge of his seat:) I thoroughly recommend and look forward to the second in the series...
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
With luggage packed and record numbers predicted for travel that day, I headed to gatwick early. Tucked away in my hand luggage was American Devil... a gift from a great friend who loves her books. Sitting in the waiting area with 2 hours to burn, I started to read... "Last call for flight BA..."...Oh my god... I had to run! Where had the time gone. I had been in another world completely... absorbed from page 1! The next hours passed as quickly as the first and before I knew it I was at my front door. It was 8pm and I made up some great excuse for an early night... At 2am I finally forced myself to put the book down. The next day, the rain had arrived yet I had so much I needed to get done that day. What the heck... it could wait. I snuggled down and finished the book. I haven't done this in such a long time... how great it felt! Keep them coming Oliver Stark...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dire
I read this book on the strength of the reviews on Amazon.I'm so glad that I borrowed it from the library and didn't buy it. Read more
Published 25 days ago by W. A. Burt
American Devil - Oliver Stark
I've read quite a lot of crime fiction in my time and as far as debuts go, this one is pretty strong. It's got all of the usual ingredients; A troubled cop who's lost his way. Read more
Published 3 months ago by molko
Not my cup of tea
I tried to read this book but felt it was just too improbable and it sensationalised sadism. The first four crimes that I read were awful I cannot think that anyone would ever hurt... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Bodie
American Devil ~ Superb read
Loved this book. A truly gripping page turner. I can't wait for more from Stark. As good (if not better) than Karin Slaughter. Read more
Published 5 months ago by HarryBlaster
Satisfying and Stylish
I enjoyed this, it's well-plotted with enough going on in the periphery to keep you wondering about the eventual conclusion. Read more
Published 6 months ago by I. Bullen
Very good but with obvious slip-ups
An astounding debut novel, edge of the seat stuff but with one or two rather baffling and obvious oversights by the author. Read more
Published 6 months ago by K. Wills
Decent debut
I must admit to being a bit disappointed with this book, maybe there was too much hype behind it.
It starts off well though, the plot involves a serial killer operating in New... Read more
It starts off well though, the plot involves a serial killer operating in New... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ciaran Cooke
Incredible where has this guy been hiding.
Wow this guy really rocks with really tense set pieces amazing character depth and really gruesome murders absolutely nothing short of amazing!! Read more
Published 10 months ago by D. Newstead
Simple thriller that's a real page-turner
Straight forward, simply written thriller. I didn't want to put it down, needing to know what happens next. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr. K. Cross
Decent thriller
This overall is a well written, taut thriller. I'm not sure that some of the action in the denoument is clinincally correct it seems a little childish in its simplicity. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Crazy Bald Heid
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