"The Bride Collector"

"The Bride Collector" by Ted Dekker is a New York Times bestseller that also won the Readers Choice NPR Top 50 Killer Thriller awards. I can certainly see why as this was a book that I didn't want to put down until I'd finished it and, if the reviews at the front of the book are any indication, I wasn't the only one!

FBI Special Agent Brad Raines and Nikki Holden, a leading forensic psychologist, are on the trail of a serial killer who chooses only beautiful women as his victims. As he leaves clues to his identity, Raines and Holden are led to the Center for Wellness and Intelligence, a private residence for gifted, mentally ill residents where they find some surprising help in solving their case.

This book is full of surprises -- about the victims and the murderer as well as thought provoking questions about mental illness and our understanding of it. What does it really mean to be mentally ill, how do we individually and as a society view mental illness and much more.

This is the first I've read by Ted Dekker but I'm already looking for another Dekker novel to read!

pazt