Evil abounds in this novel of a sociopathic killer with multiple personalities on a convoluted kidnapping spree of blondes, but only the strawberry kind, in which the victims are savagely abused, both physically and emotionally, and then murdered. FBI Special Agent E.L. Pender methodically tracks the killer, as he has for the past six years, and psychiatrist Irene Cogan uncovers the personalities and motivations of "Max" et al. Lee Sellars slowly and chillingly portrays all the personalities, illuminating the horror of this disturbing tale. Never missing a beat while switching characters and accents, Sellars pushes the story forward to its compelling conclusion. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Book Description
For ten years, the charmingly disheveled veteran FBI Special Agent E.L. Pender has been investigating the apparently random disappearances of a dozen women across the country. The only detail the cases have in common is the strawberry blond color of the victims' hair, and the presence of a mystery man with whom they were last seen.
Then, in Monterey, California, a routine traffic stop erupts into a scene of horrific violence. The local police are stunned by a disemboweled strawberry blond victim and an ingenious killer with multiple alternating personalities. Pender is convinced he has found his man, but before he can prove it, the suspect stages a cunning jailbreak and abducts his court-appointed psychiatrist, Irene Cogan.
In a house on a secluded ridge in Oregon, Irene must navigate through the minefield of her captor's various egos -- male and female, brilliant and nave, murderous and passive -- all of whom are dominated by Max, a seductive killer who views her as both his prisoner and his salvation. Irene knows that to survive she must play along with Max's game of sexual perversion. Only then will she be able to strip back the layers to discover a chilling story of a shattered young boy -- and all the girls he adored.
A sexually charged thriller of extraordinary originality and page-turning suspense, The Girls He Adored moves furiously from the inner recesses of the psyche to its final, startling climax. Jonathan Nasaw brilliantly portrays two equally intense characters -- a deviant killer and the expert who can unlock his darkest secrets -- and introduces one of the most likable sleuths in recent fiction.