Customer Reviews

Criminal Minds: Finishing School (Thorndike Crime Scene)

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Three hunters in the woods of Bemidji, Minnosota stumble upon a decomposed hand while tracking a deer. The local police are called in and discover the bodies of three blonde girls ranging from ages 12-15. Fearing they had a serial killer on their hands, the Behavioral Analyst Unit (BAU) is called in to investigate these murders. After Jennifer Jareau, JJ to her friends, finds the case, she hands it over to the team. They gear up and travel to the freezing cold Minnosota to track the killer. While the BAU is creating a profile of the UnSub (Unknown Subject), their technical analyst Penelope Garcia gets a hit on the DNA of the first girl. She was abducted over ten years ago at age three from Georgia. Hotchner sends David Rossi and Emily Prentiss to Georgia to continue on that trail while Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, Dr. Spencer Reid, and Jennifer Jareau remain behind to interview suspects and follow up on the evidence. As Rossi and Prentiss continue searching in Georgia and the other two girls are identified, the BAU team is on their way to creating their profile and solving the case.

Criminal Minds: Finishing School by Max Allan Collins is based off the CBS television series: Criminal Minds. As a huge fan of the show, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt that the character portrayles worked well, and I could constantly hear the actors' voices while reading Finishing School. The profile the BAU created was believable, and the novel had a few twists and turns to keep you guessing on who exactly was the murderer/kidnapper. If you enjoy mystery novels and are a fan of the show, you will particularly enjoy this book.

Max Allan Collins is an incredibly prolific author and his adaptations of and novels based on movies and TV series can be counted on to deliver satisfaction. "Criminal Minds: Finishing School" is no exception. The characters are those of the TV series, presented just as the scriptwriters and actors present the characters. The story fits the show's formula and could easily be an episode.

With this third offering, Max Allen Collins has hit his stride in working with the elements of this series. The pacing is a little slower, but that gives the BAU team -- and us the readers -- time to really get to full understand the UnSub and his motives. And to find out to our surprise that there are, in fact two UnSubs responsible: a childless married couple with a completely warped sense of how to protect children from the dangerous things in life. But at the same time, the story is crafted so subtly, you'll have a hard time guessing just who the UnSub is, among the characters.

Of the three tie-ins that Max Allen Collins has written for this series, this one would definitely be easy to place into the chronology of the TV series. The fact that it takes place in the winter would put it during the gap caused by the writers' strike last year; plus the conversation between Jennifer "JJ" Jarreau and Emily Prentiss at the end hint at JJ's secret relationship and subsequent pregnancy, making this more than just a side-story in this particular series, but a clear-cut part of the continuity.

Omg when i got the book i was worried that i had spent money on something i wouldn't like but that wasn't the case . . .i loved it and would be great for any criminal minds fan. if you get this book also get the others.

I loved this book. If you watch the TV series, you can place faces on the characters. If you do not watch it, you will after you read this book. Wish there were more like it!!!

I love the series Criminal Minds. So, when I saw the books I ordered them all. Knowing the characters from the TV series gives them more personality when you are reading the books. I never get tired of the story lines.

I liked the characters - obviously - but I think I am gonna have to stick to just the TV show.

I got through the book because as I was reading, I could picture in my head what the author was describing. The case was interesting and had me hooked. I think it was all the detail and the decriptions of the profilers that found me bored and skimming to get to the "unsub" parts.

I do recommend it if your a mystery fan, but if your a fan of the TV show and watch that religiously, then I'd skip the books.

I purchased this book after reading Criminal Minds: Killer Profile, it was a definite let down. The story was great, started well, kept me wondering who the killer was. Very detailed as to clothing, settings, etc. but the ending was terrible. I felt like the writer wanted to do something else because he took only one chapter to end the whole thing. I would have liked more of an ending. Thumbs down on this one.

I'm a big Criminal Minds fan and I really enjoyed Finishing School, it was like having a new episode to watch (in my head) over the holidays. The last couple of pages were a super treat for this Hotch fan too!!