5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, finely-crafted psycho-thriller, 6 Jan 2001
By M. Milesi - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Watch Me: They Said She Couldn't Catch a Serial Killer. She Said... (Paperback)
Jaded thriller addict that I am, I picked up Watch Me thinking 'oh spare me, another dated cyber-cops-and-robbers, mouse-turns-vampire thing'. By page 90 I'd not only double-locked the doors, but made sure the dead bolts were set as well. This is a very satisfying and complex tale of pure human evil, carefully set in a wide variety of real and virtual locations, ranging from Vancouver to the dregs of cyberspace. Jay Fletcher, the leading lady, is morally ambiguous but lethally effective as she confronts a web of serial killers frighteningly disguised as normal people in our midst. Is this a disturbing book? Yes, definitely - what are the limits of legal protection? Is vigilantism justifiable, and if so, who decides? Holt's style is taut and spare: an excellent read in a safe place!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Helluva "debut" novel, 7 Mar 2001
By Robert Crawford - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Watch Me: They Said She Couldn't Catch a Serial Killer. She Said... (Paperback)
I'd read WATCH ME over a year ago but since I'd just gotten ahold of the sequel CATCH ME last w/e and am ignoring the books bought for me by my family for Xmas in favor of Holt's new novel, I thought that I'd share some of my impressions.
First off, I no more believe that WATCH ME is Holt's first book than I believe Robert James Waller has talent. This is a poised, polished, savvy effort and first novels, not even NATHAN'S RUN, turn out this good. Holt is a bestselling author under his/her real name and I'm sure that I've read this author before.
Secondly, just when people think the serial killer genre has been done to death (pardon the phrase) someone like AJ Holt comes along to breathe new life and brings us a combination of Brian Garfield's DEATH WISH and Thomas Harris's SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. There are several vigilante novels out there, the most execrable being PREDATORS, but Holt's slick, well-paced effort is easily head and shoulders above them.
The characterization was adequate, not nearly as detailed as in Harris's efforts but what the author lacks in character development (I didn't believe his half-hearted explanation as to why Jay turned renegade FBI agent), s/he more than makes up for in plotting and action. The denouement was genuinely thrilling and Holt set up a demand for the sequel, which thankfully had come two years ago.
What'll the next one be called? MATCH ME?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ethical dilemma fuels hacker thriller, 4 Nov 2003
By Lynn Harnett - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Watch Me: They Said She Couldn't Catch a Serial Killer. She Said... (Paperback)
Holt's debut thriller features FBI agent and computer hacker Janet (Jay) Fletcher, whose zeal doesn't always follow proper legal channels. When her illegally obtained evidence blows a murder case, she is assigned to an arson detail in Santa Fe. But she can't help running her computer tracking system to find a local serial killer.
Find him she does but her methods are not court admissable. Agonizing over what to do, she finds herself face-to-face with the killer - and evidence of an on-line network of people like himself - serial killers who've made a game out of ritualistic murder.
Holt knows computers, and uses this fantastic scenario to dazzle rather than confuse the reader. The action never flags but even more interesting is the ethical nail-biting. With expert manipulation, Holt fires the reader emotionally with gruesome murder scenes then asks "What's more important - stopping a serial killer or obeying the law?" And to really make it disturbing, Fletcher begins to get a thrill out of her rogue vigilantism. Exciting from first page to last.