Color Blind [Mass Market Paperback]

Jonathan Santlofer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2005

Kate McKinnon is back -- and this time it's personal. When two hideously eviscerated bodies are discovered and the only link between them is a bizarre painting left at each crime scene, the NYPD turns to former cop Kate McKinnon, the woman who brought the serial killer the Death Artist to justice. Having settled back into her satisfying life as art historian, published author, host of a weekly PBS television series, and wife of one of New York's top lawyers, Kate wants no part of it. But Kate's sense of tranquillity is shattered when this new sequence of murders strikes too close to home. With grief and fury to fuel her, she rejoins her former partner, detective Floyd Brown, and his elite homicide squad on the hunt for a vicious psychopath known as the Color-Blind Killer. In her rage and desperation, Kate allows herself to be drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse. She abandons her glamorous life for the gritty streets of Manhattan, immersing herself in a world where brutality and madness appear to be the norm, where those closest to her may have betrayed her -- and where, in the end, nothing is what it seems.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this run-of-the-mill serial killer thriller, nothing much separates Santlofer's psychotic villain from his fictional brethren other than his fancying himself an artist and being cursed with cerebral achromatopsia, unable to see the world in anything other than sludgy shades of gray. His opponent is ex-cop turned art historian Kate McKinnon, heroine of Santlofer's first novel, The Death Artist, and wife of wealthy lawyer Richard Rothstein. When her old NYPD partner Floyd Brown asks her to help identify a new serial killer with an art connection, she feels a familiar stirring of adrenaline. But it's only after husband Richard is murdered in a manner that points to the art killer that she throws herself into the investigation ("Later there would be time to grieve. Now was the time for action"). Santlofer is an artist as well as a writer, and his intimate knowledge of the art world gives this thriller a glimmer of interest. He delivers mini-lectures on painting techniques, the art of the insane, how to dress and act at an art opening and much other art lore, but most readers will find the killer far too derivative to be anything more than grotesque. Thriller newbies who follow art and the New York art scene in particular will find this entertaining, but there's little fresh material for veteran genre enthusiasts.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Action-packed.” (Cosmopolitan )

“Gripping … The author’s painterly eye heightens the colors-and suspense-of his deadly drama … COLOR BLIND delivers.” (USA Today )

“A rollercoaster. . .shows a sure sense of pace and an engaging literary style.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer )

“A bloody good thriller ... the perfect Halloween chiller.” (Mississippi Clarion-Ledger )

“Smart, lurid, and fascinating, with layered prose and a wealth of detail, this thriller will please the Michael Connelly crowd.” (Library Journal )

“A gritty tale of murder and mayhem.” (USA Today )

“Brisk....suspenseful....clever.” (Washington Post Book World )

“Keep[s] readers guessing all the way up to the conclusion.” (San Francisco Chronicle )

“A crime novel that is savage and erudite, layered in wit, satire and psychosis--in short, a chilling read.” (USA Today )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060541059
• ISBN-13: 978-0060541057
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,063,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, fast paced sequel to THE DEATH ARTIST, December 7, 2004

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Color Blind: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

THE DEATH ARTIST introduced Kate McKinnon, former cop turned polished art historian with her own PBS series. A serial killer who strikes too close to home draws Kate back into the police station and her former life. And she becomes the only one who can find the death artist.

Kate returns in Jonathan Santlofer's sophomore effort, COLOR BLIND. Happily married and well respected in Manhattan art circles, Kate has put the previous murders behind her. She is focusing all her time and energy on her marriage, her volunteer work, and her career.

But two eviscerated bodies found with oddly colored paintings lead the police to call on Kate's expertise. Despite her reluctance, she agrees to offer her opinion on the troubling pieces of art. And then, before she can extricate herself from the case, she is once again drawn in by a personal --- and devastating --- connection.

Grieving and angry, Kate teams up with her former partner, now chief, Floyd Brown to track down the homicidal maniac the police have dubbed the Color Blind Killer.

As in THE DEATH ARTIST, Kate's involvement in the case transcends an investigatory role and she becomes pivotal in future crimes. She immerses herself in a world better known to the people who live on the streets or behind bars. She is equally comfortable and believable as a character in the world of cops and socialites. Santlofer has drawn a likeable and convincing female in Kate. Vulnerable, pained, smart and strong, Kate returns to the mean streets of Manhattan in an exciting, fast-paced and worthy sequel to Santlofer's first book.

--- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Premise..., November 23, 2004

By 

Sebastien Pharand (Orléans, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Color Blind: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

I was a big fan of Jonathan Santlofer's first novel, Death Artist. Now, he is back with Color Blind, which, although not as entertaining and striking as his debut effort, proves that the author has a great deal of talent when it comes to creating an intricate tale of suspense.

Kate McKinnon, The Death Artist's heroine, is back in this new tale of the art world gone wrong. This time, a serial killer leaves small paintings at the murder scene as his calling card. Only, the paintings seem odd since the colors are all wrong in these paintings. The NYPD is quick to call Kate since she so successfully resolved the Death Artist case.

But this case becomes personal when Kate's husband, Richard, is found brutally murdered in a fashion similar to the other murders. Is Richard's murder connected to the other case? And where will the Artist strike next? Although Kate is a retired NYPD agent, she quickly gets back into mode in order to solve the case before more innocent people fall victim to the brutal killer.

What I liked about the Death Artist was that Kate was an imperfect character in an imperfect world. She had her celebrity (coming from her television art show) and she traveled across the world, mingling with major artists. She came off as a bit pretentious at times, which was a change of pace from the all-too-perfect characters that people today's crime fiction. But in Color Blind, all of that is forgotten. Kate becomes a great, simple lady who seems just too perfect at times which was greatly disappointing at times.

Santlofer is great at mixing art with fiction. Throughout the novel, he often gives his readers quick little lessons in art history. None of it is too expository or overly done. He gives us just enough to be able to comprehend the world we're in and the people we're facing. And he brings us right into the killer's shoes, a technique I more than welcomed. It gave the story that extra little something that made the whole read greatly entertaining.

I can't say that I enjoyed Color Blind as much as I had The Death Artist. Nonetheless, Santlofer's freshman effort is still very intense at times and it offers a finally that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. This one is still better than most mysteries you'll find out there these days.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars exciting serial killer tale, October 27, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Color Blind: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

NYPD Detective Floyd Brown does not want to leave the "City" for his old working area, the Bronx, but the two repulsive mutilated corpses are there. The killer has left a trademark at each crime scene, weird arranged colorful paintings. Baffled by the "clues", he decides he needs a consultant and the obvious one is his former partner turned art historian Kate McKinnon who worked on the Death Artist case that somewhat seems eerily similar to Floyd.

Kate refuses to get involved as she likes her work, loves her successful wealthy lawyer husband Richard Rothstein, and never fully recovered from the Death Artist investigation though the MO excites her. However, when apparently the painter murders Richard, the investigation turns personal. Now the homicidal artist who happens to be colorblind and the art expert play cat and mouse, but who is really the hunted in this deadly game?

This exciting serial killer tale is well written and spiced up by insight into the art world from painting techniques to attending a show, etc. The story line hooks the reader once Kate becomes involved. However, the deranged culprit except for his reaction formation to his only able to see the world in shades of grey comes out of serial killer 101 even similar to the Death Artist as Floyd notices. Still this is a fine thriller enhanced by the "City's" art scene.

Harriet Klausner