A little stilted in places, and a bit gory, but a good read with at least one false trail.  It wasn't a very long trail, but it was interesting.

Hopefully this gets better - I'm already irritated with the MC.  LOL

She has to answer 2 questions correctly.  Second question is what is her best friends cell phone number?  Correct answer would be I don't know.  Who memorizes phone numbers other than the house/main phone? And it takes me years to memorize that.  I never even had a boyfriends number memorized. I always have phone numbers written down.

I've just finished this book. I feel numb as if I've just stepped off the biggest roller coaster in the world! (Kingda-Ka, Jackson New Jersey) There are crime thrillers abundant who showcase various detectives in a book series, and what this means for the reader is that the lead detective will always survive to fight another day in another novel. I'm giving nothing away by stating that Gallery of the Dead is no different in that respect. Detective Robert Hunter is with us from page one and is still very much alive at page 500 ready for book 10 in the series. What however is important is how the author fills the gaps between first page and the end, and how he holds our attention, how he introduces those unexpected twists as yet another psychotic genius commences a killing rampage. I can tell you that I have rarely read a book so gripping so graphic in its descriptions that I am literally shaking from adrenaline and excitement so keen am I to sing praises for one of the greatest thriller writers out there.....there I've said it so what is this book about I hear you shout with anticipation.......

Detective Robert Hunter works for the Robbery Homicide Division and in particular the Ultra Violent Crimes Unit (UVCU) based in LA, where together with his partner Detective Carlos Garcia is tasked with solving those cases where extreme forms of torture and brutality have been used. Robert is unique in the world of fiction detectives; a very high IQ, psychology graduate from Stanford and the author of a book now mandatory reading for the FBI's National Centre for the analysis of violent crime. He is a loner, an overactive brain that causes him to suffer recurring bouts of insomnia. but also a connoisseur of single malt Scotch whisky. The first body discovered is that of model Linda Parker "posed" in a room where the low temperature has kept away the inevitable blowflies but this does not stop the author graphically explaining the damage this  Calliphoridae insect can cause...."They would have concentrated their efforts in the mouth, the nose, the eyes and any open wounds. In the case of a skinned body, the entire body became an open wound and therefore a breeding ground for blowflies. In just a few hours there would have been as many as half a million eggs laid all over the corpse. Those eggs would have hatched within twenty-four hours and in a single day, the maggots that those eggs produced would have reduced a full grown body to half size.".......

The hands and feet have been separated from Linda Carter's body, the skin removed apart from a small patch at the rear where a series of marks and lines have been carved into the skin. Hunter becomes aware of the significance of this "signature" and as the body count escalates with more strange markings identified the detectives together with the assistance of the FBI work tirelessly in an attempt to make a connection between the bodies and thus hopefully identify the killer. The victims are displayed in a thought-out creative manner, Is the perpetrator trying to show the world how clever an "artist" he is or has he an underlying agenda? The answer when revealed demonstrates the author's understanding of the psychotic mind and reflects his training as a criminal psychologist.

As I read this book I was totally at the mercy of some very clever writing. I did not know where the adventure would take me, I was unable to second guess or spot the red herrings, all I knew was that a "Gallery of the Dead"  was being created by a madman who appeared to have a higher intelligence than both the combined power of the Robbery Homicide division and the FBI. As I raced towards the conclusion I felt sure I would be able to anticipate the final outcome but was left gasping when a totally unexpected event occurred which threw into doubt everything I had read before......

So there it is dear reader of my review an outstanding novel that leaves me wondering just how Chris Carter can improve? I leave you however with a thought; Carlos Garcia is Brazilian.."Everyone likes Brazilian people because we can samba."... he also likes to wear his long hair "pulled back into a tight ponytail"....do you notice some similarities between him and a certain author of psycho thrillers? I leave that thought with you..... My thanks to the good people at Simon& Schuster for this "gratis" copy in exchange for and honest review, and that is what I have written. Highly, highly Recommended.

Inhaltsangabe

Er kennt keine Gnade. Er tötet grausam.
Und er ist teuflisch intelligent.
Los Angeles: Die Leiche einer wunderschönen Frau wird gefunden, zu Tode gequält und bestialisch verstümmelt. Keinerlei Spuren. Bis auf ein in den Nacken geritztes Kreuz, ein Teufelsmal: das Erkennungszeichen eines hingerichteten Serienmörders. Detective und Profiler Robert Hunter wird schnell klar, dass der Kruzifix-Killer lebt. Er mordet auf spektakuläre Weise weiter. Und er ist Hunter immer einen Schritt voraus - denn er kennt ihn gut. Zu gut. 

Meine Meinung

Robert Hunter ist bei Thriller-Lesern heiß begehrt. Sehr lange schlich ich um die Reihe herum, obwohl mir die ersten beiden Bände schon vor Jahren geschenkt wurden. Lesetechnisch kommt einfach immer wieder etwas dazwischen und so habe ich mich entschieden, den ersten Band der Reihe zu hören.

Dies war absolut keine Fehlentscheidung und ich habe für mich wieder feststellen können, dass meine auditive Aufmerksamkeit bei dem Genre Thriller deutlich größer ist, als bei zum Beispiel Romanen. Das Gehirn kann sich besser auf die Geschehnisse und die Spannung konzentrieren.

Der Sprecher Uve Teschner gefiel mir wieder sehr gut. Kennen tue ich ihn bereits durch die Hörbücher um die Reihe D.I. Helen Grace von M.J. Arlidge.

Bei der Recherche fiel mir gleich ins Auge, wie viele verschiedene Autoren Uve Teschner begleitet. Wahnsinn. Fakt ist, dieser Sprecher wird mir noch des Öfteren begegnen und ich freue mich drauf.

Zum Einstieg des Hörbuches erhält Detective Robert Hunter einen Anruf.

Sein Kollege Garcia ist in den Fängen eines Mörders.

Und dieser stellt nun Hunter die Aufgabe ihn zu retten.

Tut er dies nicht, stirbt sein Kollege.

Will er ihn retten, fällt aber eine falsche Entscheidung, sterben sie beide.

Das beide den Raum lebend verlassen, davon geht der Täter nicht aus.

Natürlich dürfen wir am Anfang nicht gleich den großen Showdown erwarten.

Chris Carter versetzt und dann zeitlich fünf Wochen im Geschehen zurück.

Für ich ein toller Aufbau, einfach weil man als Hörer weiß, worauf man zuarbeitet.

Gott sei Dank vergehen fünf Wochen beim Hören und Lesen immer sehr schnell.

Für eine Ermittler-Reihe lege ich immer Wert auf erheiternde und interessante Hauptcharaktere. Mit Hunter und Garcia hat der Autor hier ein gutes Fundament erschaffen. Hunter, der ewige Single, der gerne mal in verschiedenen Betten rum hüpft. So wacht er auch an diesem Morgen neben einer unbekannten Frau auf, als er den Anruf erhält, dass eine Leiche gefunden wurde.

Auch von Garcia erhalten wir einen familiären Einblick und lernen seine Frau kennen. Diese ist noch etwas besorgt um ihren Mann, dass dieser nun im Morddezernat arbeitet. Hier ist er mit Mördern konfrontiert und aufgrund des aktuellen Falls arbeitet er sich fast zu Tode. Das normale Eheleben ist Geschichte.

Der Fall an sich konnte mich mit seinem gewalttätigen Potenzial recht schnell begeistern. Eine weibliche Leiche. Bis zur Unkenntlichkeit verstümmelt. Nicht unbedingt durch Schnitte und Einschläge, sondern die Frau wurde bei lebendigem Leibe gehäutet. Spannend an dieser Stelle waren die Ermittlerarbeit und auch die pathologischen Untersuchungen. Ich war überrascht wie viel noch über ein Opfer herausgefunden werden kann, wenn sich die Leiche in so einem Zustand befindet.

Chris Carter bringt immer wieder neue Figuren in die Geschichte ein, welche dann meist als nächste Opfer herhalten. Einen roten Faden habe ich nicht gefunden. Es wirkt alles so zusammenhangslos, aber dieser Punkt ist gewollt und hier super umgesetzt.

Hunter beweist anhand seines beruflichen Werdegangs das er einen hohen Intellekt hat, aber in diesem Band ist der des Täters auch absolut nicht zu verdenken.

Der Verlauf der Geschichte war für mich spannend mit einem nahezu perfekten Spannungsbogen. Chris Carter bringt Action in die Geschichte rein, aber auch nahende Verluste. Wird Hunter seinen Kollegen Garcia retten können?

Diese Frage stand für mich außer Frage, da die Reihe bereits neun Bände umfasst und der Name Garcia weiterhin auftaucht in der Reihenbezeichnung.

Für mich war also eher der Punkt interessant, wie Hunter ihn retten kann und dadurch den Täter überlistet.

Das Ende bringt einen Showdown mit sich, aber für mich leider auch eine völlig unerwartete Überraschung.

____________________________________________________________

Kritisieren möchte ich allerdings, dass der Autor meiner Meinung nach die Fährte hinsichtlich der Lösung mit Absicht falsch gelegt hat. Wenn ich mir verschiedene Szenen nochmal in Erinnerung hole, wurde nie auf so einen Ausgang hingedeutet. Es wurde er die gegenteilige Seite unterstützt.

Dahingehend bin ich natürlich gespannt, ob der Autor seine Bücher immer auf diese Art aufbaut.

Mein Fazit

Band 1 der Reihe um den „Kruzifix-Killer“ habe ich nun endlich beendet und ich freue mich auf die folgenden Bände. Da mir der Hörbucheindruck sehr gut gefallen hat, werde ich vorerst bei diesem Medium bleiben und ich vermute dann auch sehr schnell in der Reihe vorankommen.

Wer kein Problem hat mit Gewaltexzessen und prekären Themen in diesem Genre, der sollte, falls er es noch nicht getan hat, unbedingt mal in diese Reihe rein lesen.

Ich zumindest freue mich auf Band 2.

This audio drama is based on X-Files graphic novels (I'm not sure which ones) and structured like a collection of X-Files episodes, complete with most of the original voice actors, the X-Files theme song, and narration outlining the location and time. Most of the episodes are alien or black oil episodes, as Mulder and Scully go back to the FBI and look into incidents involving amnesia-causing bright lights, appearances from people who supposedly died a long time ago, and potential threats against Scully's son. However, the second one is more of a "random monster" episode, featuring the Flukeman, a creature from Mulder and Scully's past.

This had been on my wishlist for a while, but I never felt like spending a credit on it back when I had an Audible subscription. When I heard recently that it was on sale, I snatched it up. Even if it wasn't great, I figured that it'd be worth it for the nostalgia alone.

And boy was there a lot of nostalgia. It went beyond hearing so many of the original actors (there were only one or two characters who I think were voiced by other people). I know the title was Cold Cases and all, but it still seemed a bit too closely tied to things from the original series - almost everything that happened involved something supernatural or extraterrestrial that fans of the original series would probably remember. I found myself wishing that the authors had been more willing to work something new into the story.

One big issue for me was that I was never a fan of the X-Files story arcs that dealt primarily with aliens. One-shot stories that dealt with aliens were okay, and I really enjoyed the "random monster" episodes, but the episodes where black oil became more and more important or when Scully got abducted just didn't work as well for me. Unfortunately Cold Cases was almost exclusively focused on this sort of thing. It also didn't help that I've never been a fan of the Mulder and Scully romantic pairing. I was mostly able to forget about this, except for the occasional moment where one or the other of them said or did something that reminded me.

The one aspect of this audio drama that absolutely won me over was the casting. It was wonderful to hear so many people I remembered from what used to be my top favorite show. Gillian Anderson, in particular, did a fabulous job. David Duchovny...less so. I thought he sounded a bit bored at the beginning, particularly during a part where he found Skinner potentially trying to kill himself - none of the emotions I would have expected Mulder to be feeling were conveyed in Duchovny's voice. Thankfully he got better as the drama progressed.

The audio drama format resulted in occasional awkward moments, as the characters described what they were seeing during moments that would usually have relied on visuals in the original TV series. Basically: "Excuse me while I describe aloud everything that I'm currently seeing, since the audience can't see these mysterious lights themselves."

Other awkward moments included those times where characters briefly explained references to events and characters from the original series, so that newbies and fans who hadn't seen those episodes in ages could keep up. Although it made the dialogue more than a bit strange, I admit to appreciating those explanations, since the last time I saw much of the original series was over 10 or 15 years ago. Even then, I found myself checking fan wikis multiple times in order to get my bearings.

I don't think I'd ever recommend this to people who weren't already fans of The X-Files, and it didn't really have anything in the way of new content for fans, but the nostalgia of it worked for me. I imagine I'll re-listen to this at some point just to hear everyone again, even though the stories themselves were only so-so.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)