The Cold Room (Taylor Jackson Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

J.T. Ellison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2010 | Series: Taylor Jackson Novels

He can truly love her only once her heart stops.

Homicide detective Taylor Jackson thinks she's seen it all in Nashville—from the Southern Strangler to the Snow White Killer. But she's never seen anything as perverse as The Conductor. Once his victim is captured, he contains her in a glass coffin, slowly starving her to death. Only then does he give in to his attraction.

When he's finished, he creatively disposes of the body by reenacting scenes from famous paintings. And similar macabre works are being found in Europe. Taylor teams up with her fiancé, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, and New Scotland Yard detective James "Memphis" Highsmythe, a haunted man who has eyes only for Taylor, to put an end to this horror.

Has the killer gone international with his craft? Or are there two "artists," competing to create the ultimate masterpiece?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ellison's fourth Taylor Jackson thriller finds a serial killer murdering young women in both the United States and Europe. Such an international crime brings New Scotland Yard Detective/profiler James Memphis Highsmythe into the investigation, causing an unexpected hitch in homicide detective Jackson's romantic involvement with fianceÌüe FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin. But personal feelings or no, the trio must pool their resources to find the serial killer known as the Conductor in the United States and Il Macellaio across the Atlantic, before he can strike again. Joyce Bean is perfectly cast; her narration keeps the book moving at a steady pace and infuses the prose with just the right amount of menace and suspense. Her reading of the killer's chance encounter with a young woman destined to become his next victim is chilling. Even when the writing may be a little over the top at times, Bean's performance is down to the ground solid. A Mira paperback.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

Everything a great crime thriller should be. --Allison Brennan on All the Pretty Girls

Fusing gritty cop drama with dark psychological thriller, Ellison distinguishes herself with exceptional character development, consistently breakneck pacing and a sense of authenticity throughout. ----Chicago Tribune on 14

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Mira Books (March 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778327140
• ISBN-13: 978-0778327141
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.T. Ellison is the bestselling author of nine critically acclaimed novels, multiple short stories and has been published in over twenty countries. Her novel THE COLD ROOM won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original of 2010 and WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE was a RITA® Nominee for Best Romantic Suspense of 2012. She lives in Nashville with her husband and the ghost of a poorly trained cat, and is hard at work on her next novel. Visit JTEllison.com for more insight into her wicked imagination, or follow her on Twitter @Thrillerchick.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Edge of your seat Thriller...... April 11, 2010

By Tazlvr VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

Another thriller by JT Ellison. Taylor Jackson is on the hunt for "The Conductor" a killer so sick and twisted...he starves his captives.

When he's finished, he creatively disposes of the body by reenacting scenes from famous paintings. And it seems similar macabre works are being displayed in Europe. Taylor teams up with her fiancé, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, and a New Scotland Yard detective named James "Memphis" Highsmythe, a haunted man who only has eyes for Taylor, to put an end to the Conductor's art collection.

I actually loved this book and was sorry to see the ending. Now to wait another year for a follow up - pure torture. This is the 4th book in her Taylor Jackson series and it is definitely worth the read. Don't Miss it!!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A good story, but being part of a series, makes it a bit hard to follow at times... May 13, 2010

By S. Hamon VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

First, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have never read any of J.T. Ellison's novels before, but after reading this, I will for sure give them a try because I did enjoy this story. Because it is sort of part of a series, there was a bit of history on the main character that wasn't fully disclosed in this book, leaving me a bit confused at times. Aside from that, I felt it was a wonderful suspensful story line which held my attention to the point that I finished the book in just 3 days. I could get into a brief description of the story, but everybody else wrote pretty accurate reviews for that...and the books description contains that...my review is just to let you know how I felt about the book...and the answer to that is that I really enjoyed it outside of a few confusing points due to this being the 4th book in this series. With that being said, I didn't feel I needed to read the other books for this to make complete sense, but I enjoyed it so much that I am going to read the others and add J.T. Ellison to my list of favorite authors to watch for new books in the series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Theme Softened by Great Taylor Jackson Character! May 10, 2010

By Glenda A Bixler VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The ending Author's notes by J. T. Ellison regarding her book, The Cold Room, intrigued me. Many readers will find the book "dark" and into an almost taboo subject; it was a welcome addition for me to read her thoughts as she wrote the book, realizing from her research that the issue was far from uncommon--that those who use narcotics as part of their assaults were often mimicking their baser desires.

For necrophilia...

Add that to how and who was committing the horrendous murders, and you have one of the most compelling novels you may have read for quite some time. Fortunately, with the darkness, Ellison's main characters are an exciting team. Think "Closer" but have the couple working side-by-side on a major serial killer case.

Dr. John Baldwin, head of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit had been involved much earlier than Taylor Jackson. They called the killer, The Butcher, as he murder women in Italy, and then, later, in England. When similar, but not quite the same MO was used by a man in Nashville, where Jackson worked for Metro police, they quickly started comparing notes.

The Butcher had first starved the women to death, but had grown impatient and had started to strangle them...He would leave a picture of some piece of famous art with her body.

But the man who was soon called The Conductor, was much more dramatic, setting the stage with classical music and actually posting the bodies to match works by Picasso!

Taylor Jackson is one hot investigator! Though recently demoted and her previous team scattered, she quickly latches on to the case and is moving ahead, even while a new boss wants her to kowtow to his personal management style and she has a new partner about whom she knows little and has had no opportunity to build trust and an awareness of what skills she could come to depend on.

Her meticulous approach, however, soon has other cases tied to The Conductor and she is able to add much to Baldwin's profile development.

And then the pressure is on, because the latest victim is related to a member of the Metro administrative staff and Jackson has promised her friend that she will find the young girl!

Add on to all of that the fact that Taylor Jackson has her own stalker, called The Pretender, and an officer from England falling for her and you have one complex, twisted book that forces you to marvel at the main character's ability to keep going to solve the case. What an exciting book!

If you love psychological thrillers, and don't mind delving into a perhaps new and dark area for you, then you won't want to miss The Cold Room by J. T. Ellison... Me, I'll be ordering her three other books and adding her to my Trackle List for new books! You?

Book Provided Via
Amazon Vine

G. A. Bixler