The Specialist [Hardcover]

It begins, as so many do, through the eyes of a demented, albeit successful and talented serial killer. He prefers his victims to be young, female, and bicycle riders though when suitable provoked, will kill outside his target group. He likes to chop up the bicycles and their gear before disposing of it. He also likes to chop up his victims as well and always saves a cut or two for his own private selection. He is known as "the specialist."

For Kirsten Knelsen, jewelry designer in Vancouver, Canada, she has never heard of such things and she knows nothing about the ongoing search for the specialist half a word away in Tasmania. What she does know is that her somewhat eccentric sister Emma who is wealthy and likes to see the world on her bicycle was supposed to have arrived by now on a specific ferry and then taken a specific road to Kristen's home. But, she never arrived and after explaining to Kristen that without any evidence of anything the police can't help, she is more frustrated than ever.

Kristen checks out the area where she should have arrived and finds nothing. It is only later, much later in fact, having made no progress above ground, that she finds a clue underground. While exploring a here to fore unknown cave with a group of spelunking friends, she discovers a ring that she made Emma years ago. The fact that the ruing is here, deep in a passageway in the cave is proof that something bad has happened to Emma. Kristen's subsequent search, above and below ground, leads her right to the specialist.

As in most books of this type, the point of view shifts from the serial killer to the detective/intended victim, which is Kristen in this case, and back again. While at times, the view does shift to other characters in the periphery of the investigation in typical thriller fashion, the point of view always returns quickly to the specialist and Kristen. In so doing, the clash between the sophisticated killer and the plucky amateur is pushed hard and almost inevitable in the choosing of setting and delivery.

Beyond the fact that this novel is typical hungry serial killer fare, the work turns on a heavily contrived act of coincidence. The discovery of the ring creates an almost laugh out loud moment and shatters the necessary willing suspension of disbelief for the reader. Such a stumble makes it very hard to overlook the fact that for most of this work, it is well written for its genre and not something easily forgotten once the book is closed.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2005

On Vancouver Island, jewelry designer widow Kirsten Zelichovsky awaits the arrival of her flirty sister Emma Knelson. However, when Emma fails to appear, Kirsten turns to the police, who offer no satisfaction.

To get away from her worries, Kirsten joins some friends caving. When she finds a passage into one cave, her cronies dub it "Kirsten's Cave. However, she is stunned when inside the cave she finds a ring that is the first major piece of jewelry she made; one that she gave to Emma. As she begins to dig into what happened to her sibling, she meets two interesting individuals just arriving in British Columbia from Tasmania. Dr. Stafford is a Canadian doctor while Teague Kendall is a writer interested in police procedures involving missing tourists as actually occurred back home. However, as Kirsten gets closer to the truth, she wonders who to trust for one of these new friends is the Specialist, a serial killer with an exotic taste for food.

Though coincidence is used to throw off the reader, fans will appreciate this dark amateur sleuth tale. Kirsten is a terrific center holding together the tense story line as she struggles to learn what happened to Emma. The support cast adds depth even inside the caves as they bring out the strength of the heroine as well as disguise the identity of the killer until the final serpentine twist in the caverns.

Harriet Klausner

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  3.5 out of 5 stars