Customer Reviews

The Book of Matthew: A Macabre Novel of Suspense

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I couldn't help but close the book and hide my eyes quite a few times during this book! Believe it or not, I read this book in one sitting. Thomas White does a fantastic job writing this fast-paced page turning novel.

Yao and Angie (realtor/agent), find a body at one of the homes and in the mind of this serial killer named Matthew, who researches some of the most brutal ways to kill and torture people, who calls his crimes "messies" will keep you guessing until the very end. Catching a brutal serial killer isn't easy.

Yao and Angie are frustrated because they are always just one step behind this mad man. They knew it wouldn't be easy, but this hard? The characters in this book are anything but flat and kept me up well into the night. The descriptions of the torture and killings are graphic and amazingly unique.

This book kept me up at night and that's just the way I like them. while not for the squeamish, I would highly recommend this book! From cover to cover, I loved everything about it.

White's writing talents are amazing! I definitely look forward to reading more from this author! This book will always have a place on my book shelf.

People are dying in the creepiest weirdest way ever imagined in the new novel, The Book of Matthew: a macabre novel of suspense by Thomas White. It falls on San Francisco homicide inspector, Clemson Yao and his intrepid partner, a local Realtor, Angie Strachan to end this spree. Angie isn't your typical Realtor though. She once attempted to become the city's first woman homicide inspector, but was kicked off the force when she killed a suspect/perpetrator instead of arresting him. The serial killer being sought is one of the more compelling baddies found in modern novels. He cheerfully calls his victims, "messies", and spends untold hours researching methods for killing them. This grisly murderer has searched the globe for all the ways of brutal torture that can kill in the slowest way possible, and he selects his victim's deaths from this research.

Disturbing and warped, the book nonetheless is a pretty satisfying novel. I did find that the detailed hallucinatory descriptions of dreams and nightmare sequences got a bit old, and I could have done without most of them. But for originality in a genre filled with twisted bad guys, the author scores a slam-dunk. The dynamic between Yao and Angie was great, and was a solid set up for an entire series featuring them. This is a well-written debut novel and I look forward to seeing more from Thomas White.

The prologue will give you nightmares. (Do you know what sort of sound human vertebrae make when they give way under pressure?) Other sections of the book made me want to cover my eyes and read through my fingers. The killer in Thomas White's The Book of Matthewwould give Hannibal Lecter a run for his money. This is not a book for readers with weak stomachs or those prone to nightmares. Not a lot of outright gore -- I've certainly read bloodier books -- but the sort of enlightened cruelty that makes you double-check the locks before turning in for the night. Not that locks would save you.

It seems strange to say that I enjoyed a book about torture and murder, but I did. I loved the twists and turns of the story. I love mysteries and detective fiction, but I hate it when the answers are too pat, too obvious. I enjoy the stops and starts, the dead ends, the leads that could go in any number of directions; those are the investigations that feel more real.

Read my full review at [...]

San Francisco Homicide Inspector Clemson Yao and realtor/police reservist Angie Strachan are put to the test when Angie discovers the body of a young girl at one of her real estate listings. The two, along with a few side characters, are drawn into a desperate race against a twisted serial killer, who refers to his murders as "messies".

The murderer is identified as Mathew. An abused boy who grew into a monster that researches and documents the some of the most bizarre methods of killings throughout history. Clem and Angie are frustratingly always one step behind the madman but are able to identify two potential victims. They work against odds to save these two lives but Matthew has put a lot of time and thought into his crimes and it seems no one can stop him.

I have to say that the subtitle really hits the mark. This is a macabre novel of suspense. From Matthew's research to the recounting of Clem's nightmares White really creeps me out and I love it even though I can attribute one really bad nightmare to the book. I look forward to reading more from Thomas White and recommend this book to all suspense and horror lovers.

This book just did not grasp my interest. Had to let the 50 page rule apply on this one.