- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Warner Books (Nov 11 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446531391
- ISBN-13: 978-0446531399
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.7 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 612 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,037,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Blanchard's gripping second thriller follows a smalltown police chief's pursuit of a serial killer who strikes only during tornadoes, but the "Debris Killer" is only one of the highlights of this fast-moving shocker, which also features the keen characterizations and fine atmospherics of the author's first thriller, Darkness Peering. Charlie Grover, Blanchard's sympathetic hero, lives in Promise, Okla., deep in "Tornado Alley." Recently widowed, Charlie is the physically and emotionally scarred survivor of a childhood fire that killed his mother and sister, and the father of a sweet 16-year-old daughter enchanted by a teenage storm-chaser ("the kind of troubled youth who gave troubled youths a bad name"). After Promise is hit by a severe tornado, Charlie discovers three bodies in a house with only minor damage. Their deaths are particularly gruesome-mother, father and daughter have all been impaled by flying debris; the father is "stuck like a pin cushion"-and Charlie quickly realizes that this is not the work of a storm. The bodies display defensive wounds and, worse, the killer's "signature": each has had a tooth extracted and replaced with another tooth. Charlie seeks the help of spunky scientist Willa Bellman, who introduces him to the art of storm-chasing ("heroin for the heartland") and slowly reawakens his heart. As tornado season comes on, more victims are discovered, and Charlie begins to suspect someone very close to him, before the murderer leads him on a final terrifying chase that will have readers gasping. Blanchard makes a bold move by linking her villain to tornadoes-each such powerful forces of destruction and chaos-and while it's a little far-fetched, it pays off in this dark depiction of environmental and human turmoil.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Promise, Oklahoma, may not be much, but it is ground zero for storm chasers, an eccentric mix of meteorologists, amateur scientists, and plain-old crazies who stalk tornadoes like kids stalk ice-cream trucks. Police chief Charlie Grover is assessing the damage from a recent storm when he discovers the Pepper family. Husband, wife, and teenage daughter all killed--presumably storm victims, but Grover suspects a serial killer among the storm chasers. In the background is widower Grover's struggle with single parenthood and his new romance with a scientist fascinated by violent storms. The first two-thirds of the novel are excellent as Grover sifts through forensic evidence and desperately tries to profile a killer who hides among the chaos of tornados or may even have his killing rage released by the storms. The extended conclusion screams "big-budget movie" (rights have already been sold to a major studio) and runs counter to the moody thoughtfulness of the rest of the book. On balance, it's a well-crafted thriller, but it could have been better. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Police Chief Charlie Grover was surprised to find Main Street's stately granite buildings still standing, their dimpled windows and variegated roofs intact. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Police Chief Charlie Grover was surprised to find Main Street's stately granite buildings still standing, their dimpled windows and variegated roofs intact. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Breathtakingly gruesome!,
By
This review is from: The Breathtaker (Hardcover)
I awarded this book 4 stars because I was unable to stop reading it, even though it was gruesome enough to curl the hairs on the back of your neck. Police Chief Charlie Grover finds three mutilated bodies in a house in the aftermath of a tornado. An initial look seems to show the victims of the storm but closer inspection reveals not only deliberate stab wounds made by someone in an attempt to make it appear as storm damage, but also reveals that from each victim, a tooth has been roughly pulled out and replaced with an animals' tooth. This in itself was nearly enough to cause me to abandon the book, but as the author had by then introduced some fascinating characters, I was compelled to continue. Charlie is drawn into the strange world of the storm chasers, dare-devils who take incredible risks to travel to the very edges of huge storms. It's an exciting, pacy book, albeit one laced with really nasty details of the crimes of a pyschopathic killer.
5.0 out of 5 stars
BLEW ME AWAY!,
By "lippo8sm" (CT) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Breathtaker (Hardcover)
I LOVED this book! It was scary, intriguing, complex, mysterious, gripping and extremely well-written. I especially loved Charlie's relationship with his daughter - a very realistically-written teenage girl going through an inner battle with her hormones. The science of it all is well-described and interesting. You come away from this book learning a few cool things about tornado chasing. I would love to read more by this author. 5*****
5.0 out of 5 stars
A READING THAT WILL TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY,
By
This review is from: The Breathtaker (Audio Cassette)
How lucky can listeners be? The voice performer is the multi talented Peter Coyote - actor, author, activist - he does it all. And, whatever he does, he does superbly (a Pushcart Prize for Excellence). No exception here - he reads this tale of murder in a storm ravaged town with conviction and drama, slowly drawing listeners along to an astounding conclusion.Promise, Oklahoma, is an unlikely name for a town that's just been hit by a twister. This devastation is best described by the author: "Then he heard it, the sound of hell clawing for a handhold. The sound of space collapsing...Something somersaulted directly overhead, then landed in front of them and kept on moving." When Police chief Charlie Grover discovers three bodies, a father, mother, and daughter, in a damaged house the immediate conclusion is that they were impaled by flying debris. Charlie knows better. They've been brutally murdered, their bodies mutilated, and the killer left a really sick calling card. Charlie has a lot on his mind - he's been recently widowed and is now the single parent of an innocent teenage daughter. The town is alive with storm chasers, scientists and scavengers who would take advantage of those who have lost everything in the storm. The one voice of reason belongs to Dr. Willa Bellman, who chases storms with the best of them. Joining forces the two area able to connect the killer to storms. But, how? Why? The answer will take your breath away. - Gail Cooke
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