Christina Nixon
From the Number One Sunday Times international bestselling author – Chris Carter – comes another breathtaking crime novel featuring Robert Hunter, a Criminal Behavior Psychologist Homicide Detective. “Written In Blood” was released in July and it quickly received well-deserved praise and positive reviews and it is easy to see why. Without giving too much away, the novel focuses on a serial-killer who will stop at nothing to retrieve his most valuable possession – his own diary – stolen by Angela Wood, an experienced pick pocket. The journal ends up on detective Hunter’s desk who, along with his partner, Carlos Garcia must find and stop the killer before he makes another victim.
“Written In Blood” Synopsis:
As she celebrates her profitable day with a cocktail, one of the patrons in the lounge she’s in catches her attention by being rude to an old man. Angela decides to teach him a lesson, and steals the man’s expensive-looking leather bag.
Inside is no money … no laptop computer … nothing of any value … at least not to Angela. Just a black, leather-bound book, surprisingly heavy. Curiosity takes over and in the comfort of her apartment, Angela quickly leafs through the pages.
That is when the worst nightmare of her life begins.
This is no ordinary book.
Read it at your own peril. (Waterstones.com)
“Written In Blood” is a gripping, extremely well written thriller with some gruesome murders described in detail by the serial killer in his diary. But what I have found more interesting in Chris Carter’s crime novel was the reason behind the killings and the impact that society can have on a human’s psyche. The author touches two subjects that were somehow conceptual and inconceivable, in this new psychologycal thriller.
Author’s Background
“Carter has a background in criminal psychology and the killers at the centre of his novels are all the more terrifying for it!”– Mail On Sunday.
“Former criminal psychologist Carter knows what he’s talking about when it comes to creating bone-chilling serial killers, so be prepared for a terror ride” – Heat.
Born in Brazil of italian origin, Chris Carter studied psychology and criminal behaviour at the University of Michigan. As a member of the Michigan State District Attorney’s Criminal Psychology team, he interviewed and studied many criminals, including serial and multiple homicide offenders with life imprisonment convictions.
All of Chris Carter’s crime novels contain practical and extremely insightful descriptions of the psychopathology of serial-killers and what motivates them to commit murder. “The one thing they want more than anything else is to be understood. To them the killings have meaning, they serve a purpose and they want their victims to know they aren’t dying in vain. Before the kill, there’s always the explanation.” (The Crucifix Killer – Chris Carter)
Even if it is the eleventh instalment in the series, “Written In Blood” can also be read as a standalone novel. The author provides well researched insight into the various police procedures, from murder investigations to profiling and ballistic technology which I absolutely loved reading about. Every chapter is intense, fast paced and packed with plenty of suspense and action.
“Written In Blood” is trully a compelling must-have crime novel that introduces the reader to some complex characters, some of them emotionally scared by the society, making it hard to detach from, while Carter’s writing style and his knowledge about criminal psychology shines throught the entire story.
For the latest updates you can follow Chris Carter’s Official Facebook Page and his Official Website.