My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
UNSUB (An UNSUB Novel Book #1) by Meg Gardiner is the gripping first book in this crime thriller series that I am late to the party reading, but better late than never. This story introduces readers to the series protagonist, Caitlin Hendrix as a detective, before she joins the FBI’s Behavioral Unit.
In the 1990’s, the San Francisco Bay area was terrorized by a serial killer known as the Prophet. Caitlin’s father was the lead investigator on the case, and it destroyed his mental health and marriage. Caitlin still has nightmares from that time but has grown to be an investigator like her father.
Now, twenty years later, the Prophet has returned and is determined to begin again where he left off and he is excited to pull Caitlin into the case, to destroy her as he did her father. This is Caitlin’s first major case, and she is determined to decipher the Prophet’s twisted poems and messages and stop the carnage. While her father and mother warn her away from this case, Caitlin believes she can stop the killer and avoid the mistakes her father made, but can she catch the Prophet before he destroys her?
This is an edge-of-your-seat, cat and mouse thriller that I could not put down, even when the descriptions of the Prophet’s kills were quite graphic. Caitlin is a complex protagonist with a background that is revealed with flashback personal information placed throughout the story. The Prophet is vicious and determined. Each encounter ramped up my anxiety and dread. Be aware, this is a serial killer thriller, so the violence is up front and in your face. All the secondary characters are believable, and you never know who will live to the end. The climax is savage and answered many questions but left a thread to follow into the next book as well as moving Caitlin to the FBI.
I highly recommend this serial killer crime thriller and cannot wait to dive into book two, Into the Black Nowhere.
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About the Author
Meg Gardiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seventeen thrillers. Her latest is Shadowheart, featuring FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix. The Real Book Spy calls it “A mind-trip of a story.” Booklist says, “As always, the writing is exquisite and the story is perfectly crafted.” UNSUB, the first novel in the series, won the 2018 Barry Award for Best Thriller. The Dark Corners of the Night was bought by Amazon Studios for development as an hour-long television drama.
Her previous novel, Heat 2, is a prequel/sequel to the film Heat, co-authored with the film’s writer/director, Michael Mann. It debuted at #1 on the NYT best seller list.
Meg is the author of the Evan Delaney series, the Jo Beckett novels, and several stand alones. China Lake won the 2009 Edgar award for Best Paperback Original. The Nightmare Thief won the 2012 Audie Award for Thriller/Suspense audiobook of the year. Phantom Instinct was one of O, the Oprah magazine’s “Best Books of Summer.”
A graduate of Stanford Law School in California, Meg practiced law in Los Angeles and taught writing at the University of California Santa Barbara. She lives in Austin, Texas.
Social Media Links
Website: https://meggardiner.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MegGardinerBooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MegGardiner1
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/meg-gardiner
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32811580-unsub?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=uHpsRbWwdH&rank=2
