"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

"The Informationist"

"The Informationist" is a thriller by first time author, Taylor Stevens.
Michael/Vanessa Munroe, the heroine of this book, is hired to find a Texas oil billionaire's step-daughter who disappeard on vacation in Africa four years earlier. Despite the attempts of detectives he hired in the past, no trace of her has been found and the assignment Munroe has accepted seems impossible to complete. However, Munroe has skills that give her an edge previous investigators lacked and her journey back to Africa, where she was born and raised by missionary parents, is more than just an assignment. It's a chance for her to face up to her own demons.

I found Stevens to be an extremely talented writer and this book kept me engrossed throughout. Once I started it I found it hard to put down so even when I fell asleep reading it, I'd wake up in the middle of the night to continue the story. Vanessa Munroe is a strong heroine and, if the next Vanessa Munroe novel that Stevens is currently working on is as good or better, you won't want to miss either. I can't recommend this book highly enough!!!

pazt