From the first paragraph, I knew I'd love this book. The narrative voice of Lieutenant Allan Stanton captured me. He was a cop who cared. Murder victims weren't bodies, there were once people. This carries throughout the book to make a cop who "wears his heart on his sleeve". But with this said, don't think for a moment, he's going to let this vulnerability (or should I say human nature) limit him from doing his job.
MacLean weaves a story through multiple viewpoints - the main one being Stanton and the killer. The killer is someone with whom, we can even relate to, so I give MacLean credit for this as well. The killer isn't someone who is a hardened individual immune to feeling human emotion, and reluctance, but he feels a compulsion to do what he is doing.
I would be amiss not to say that the book was quite graphic, and at times even had me cringing, but I like that-when it's done for a purpose, as this was. MacLean even takes the reader through a detailed autopsy in such a way you feel like you're beside the metal slab in the morgue - from the sights, smells and sounds.
In a twisted climax that will have you cradling your Kindle until the very end, MacLean does not disappoint. I would draw comparison to New Times Best-Seller Sandra Brown and John Gilstrap. If you're in for a detail-oriented, graphic police procedural this book is for you.
