Blood Marks [Mass Market Paperback]

Bill Crider (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 23, 1993

Recently divorced Casey Buckner meets three exciting men in her new apartment--a married accountant, a single writer, and a psychologist--and one of them is a serial killer who has already brutally killed nine women. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Alternating points of view--first-person from a serial killer, third-person about a detective and the killer's latest intended victim--serve Crider well here. The unnamed killer begins, lecturing prissily about the need to plan carefully and to vary methods of murder in order to outwit the police. Nine Houston women have died violently in two years, connected only by their ages--all were in their 20s. As the press starts hinting at possible connections, homicide dick Howland (his hard-boiled status is emphasized by his lack of a given name) is charged with solving the cases. Stumped, he is forced to work with brilliant, misanthropic PD psychologist Dan Romain. Meanwhile, divorcee Casey Buckner and her young daughter move into an apartment complex and quickly meet new neighbors, including Romain. The killer notes that Casey and her daughter must die because of their "blood marks," and, indeed, Howland soon finds that all victims had scars, birthmarks or tattoos. A cartoonish but harrowing flashback to the killer's abused youth leads to a violent if unsurprising climax. Crider writes the Professor Carl Burns and Sheriff Dan Rhodes mysteries.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Crider, author of two so-so series (Evil at the Root, Dying Voices, etc.), takes a totally different tack in this gritty story of a serial killer. Nine women, seemingly with nothing in common, have been brutally killed in Houston, leaving the police force and their psychologist, Dan Romain, baffled. A new chief is encouraging Investigator Howland to review the scanty evidence with Romain to try to come up with something--anything. Meanwhile, the reader becomes acquainted with the mad logic of the killer and learns, in graphic and horrifying detail, what made him the lunatic he is. Other chapters introduce newly divorced Casey Buckner, her young daughter, Margaret, and some of their fellow residents at the apartment complex to which Casey has moved from West Texas, with hopes of getting a teaching job. All these elements come together in a tension-packed final confrontation worthy of its chilling preamble. Not for gentle tastes, but a striking addition to the serial- killer subgenre--gory, repugnant, and gripping to its last ugly reverberation. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Fawcett (January 23, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449148270
• ISBN-13: 978-0449148273
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,874,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and brought up in Mexia (that's pronounced Muh-HAY-uh by the natives), Texas, went to college at The University of Texas and North Texas State University, and taught high school and college classes for many years. In 1992 I retired as Chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College, in Alvin, Texas. I'm married to the lovely Judy, and we have two grown children, Angela, who's an attorney in San Francisco, and Allen, who's in the music business in Austin. Other than that, I'm a pretty boring guy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crider's Dead-Level Best, June 10, 2000

By 

Benjamin Potter "Loom & Wheel" (Mulberry Grove, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Marks (Hardcover)

Bill Crider knows how to make you laugh, cry, and be intrigued all at the same time. "Blood Marks" is his best novel to date. His use of the continual plot twist in this book sets it apart from his series and his western novels. Each time that you know who the killer is, another likely suspect rears his ugly head. The intrigue in this book is not so much who the killer is but WHY he is a killer. This is a superb psychological thriller from the down-home author of the acclaimed Sheriff Dan Rhodes series.

5.0 out of 5 stars A tantalizing mystery suspence., November 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Marks (Mass Market Paperback)

Blood Marks was an amazing book. It is very suspenceful book without being gory. You never knew when the serial killer was around, or when he was going to speak. I felt as though I wanted to tell everyone that he is sitting right next to you. I read this book at two sittings. It's a book any mystery fan would love!