by Margot Harrison Published by Disney-Hyperion Source: Disney-Hyperion
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I was in the mood for a little suspense and had THE KILLER IN ME on my TBR list for a while. Finally published, I picked this one up and didn’t really want to put it down. It starts off very strong setting up Nina Barrows, and the unusual tie she seems to have to a killer known to her as “Thief.” There’s a slight paranormal slant to this one as Nina experiences a psychic-like connection to this killer while she sleeps. She’s been struggling with this connection her whole life, and has tried to manage it with drugs in the past – procuring them from childhood friend, Warren. We meet Nina after she’s already been sober for quite sometime, but still she is nearing her breaking point, and her isolation is palpable. Nina knows what Thief is capable of, and she tries her best to thwart his crimes – but it’s too much for her alone. Warren becomes a great ally to her, and their rekindled friendship allows Nina to divulge her most shocking secret.
As much as I enjoyed this novel, I found that the pacing lost its way about two-thirds of the way in. I found myself not enjoying these passages enough, a few of them felt like fillers. The story gets back on track, and the writing remained strong throughout.
Nina, her background, and the characters with whom she interacts are very well developed. This does read like a first novel, and I thought the author didn’t push her ideas quite far enough, that said THE KILLER IN ME offered me exactly what I was looking for – a creepy summer read that offered enough suspense that I read most of it curled up with my cat. The narrative was first person, mostly from Nina’s point of view, but there are breaks that the reader gets insight from Warren as well. I recommend this for anyone looking for summer suspense with well executed writing.
MEMORABLE QUOTES:
“I can’t say, He wants to come like a thief in the night and kill you before you can scream, and bury you where you’ll never be found.”
“These thoughts are the ocean waves that pour into my nose and mouth as I flail – a swimmer out of my depth, losing sight of the horizon, of everything I think I know”
“His eyes stayed on me, narrowed. But I see no personal reproach in them, no anger. If this wa a test, he’s passed it.”
“If it were you versus the Thief, Warren, a distant part of my brain says, I’d root for you. But I don’t know if Id bet on you.”
“Those dreams and doubts are an icy weight on my chest, a magnet pulling me toward him.”
“We dawdle back into the building, the noise melting away round us, because I’m already somewhere else.”
What Do You Think?