Dead of Night (Hidden Faces Series #3) [Paperback]

Brandilyn Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2005

All words fell away. I pushed myself off the path, noticing for the first time the signs of earlier passage---the matted earth, broken twigs. And I knew. My mouth turned cottony. I licked my lips, took three halting steps. My maddening, visual brain churned out pictures of colorless faces on a cold slab---Debbie Lille, victim number one; Wanda Deminger, number three . . . He'd been here. Dragged this one right where I now stumbled. I'd entered a crime scene, and I could not bear to see what lay at the end. . . . This is a story about evil. This is a story about God's power. A string of murders terrorizes citizens in the Redding, California, area. The serial killer is cunning, stealthy. Masked by day, unmasked by night. Forensic artist Annie Kingston discovers the sixth body practically in her own back yard. Is the location a taunt aimed at her? One by one, Annie must draw the unknown victims for identification. Dread mounts. Who will be taken next? Under a crushing oppression, Annie and other Christians are driven to pray for God's intervention as they've never prayed before. With page-turning intensity, Dead of Night dares to pry open the mind of evil. Twisted actions can wreak havoc on earth, but the source of wickedness lies beyond this world. Annie learns where the real battle takes place---and that a Christian's authority through prayer is the ultimate, unyielding weapon.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

All words fell away. I pushed myself off the path, noticing for the first time the signs of earlier passage—the matted earth, broken twigs. And I knew. My mouth turned cottony. I licked my lips, took three halting steps. My maddening, visual brain churned out pictures of colorless faces on a cold slab—Debbie Lille, victim number one; Wanda Deminger, number three . . . He’d been here. Dragged this one right where I now stumbled. I’d entered a crime scene, and I could not bear to see what lay at the end. . . .

This is a story about evil. This is a story about God’s power.

A string of murders terrorizes citizens in the Redding, California, area. The serial killer is cunning, stealthy. Masked by day, unmasked by night. Forensic artist Annie Kingston discovers the sixth body practically in her own back yard. Is the location a taunt aimed at her?

One by one, Annie must draw the unknown victims for identification. Dread mounts. Who will be taken next? Under a crushing oppression, Annie and other Christians are driven to pray for God’s intervention as they’ve never prayed before.

With page-turning intensity, Dead of Night dares to pry open the mind of evil. Twisted actions can wreak havoc on earth, but the source of wickedness lies beyond this world. Annie learns where the real battle takes place—and that a Christian’s authority through prayer is the ultimate, unyielding weapon.

About the Author

Brandilyn Collins, known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense, is the bestselling author of Violet Dawn, Coral Moon, Crimson Eve, Eyes of Elisha, and other novels. She and her family divide their time between the California Bay Area and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Visit her website at www.brandilyncollins.com and her blog at www.forensicsandfaith.blogspot.com

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (March 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310251052
• ISBN-13: 978-0310251057
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #706,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brandilyn Collins is an award-winning and best-selling novelist, writing her trademarked Seatbelt Suspense®--fast-paced, character-driven suspense with myriad twists and an interwoven thread of faith. She also has written the distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons).

You can read excerpts from all her books at her Web site: www.brandilyncollins.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling!, April 30, 2005

By 

Mick "Mick" (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead of Night (Hidden Faces Series #3) (Paperback)

If you like chilling mysteries, this is the book for you. I was hooked on reading this book from the opening prologue, which like several other chapters interspersed throughout the book is told with gut-wretching intensity from a serial killer's point of view.

Forensic artist Annie Kingston, a divorced mother of two, becomes entangled in the crime she's trying to solve through the adolescent misdemeanors of her son. As the serial killer circles closer and closer to Annie's own children, the mystery builds. You may think you know who the bad guy is, but it's doubtful you'll solve the crime more than a chapter ahead of Annie. An enthralling mystery, skillfully written, and well plotted. Highly recommended-but not for the faint of heart.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spine Tingling, Lock your door suspense, May 3, 2005

By 

Carolyn R. Scheidies "CRS" (KEARNEY, NE United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead of Night (Hidden Faces Series #3) (Paperback)

DEAD OF NIGHT

The town is terrorized by a serial killer and, as usual, sketch artist Annie Kingston is in the thick of things as she draws the unknown victims, hoping someone will recognize them, hoping someone will have a clue to the killer. It doesn't help that her son Stephen seems over his head in trouble and resistant to attempts steer him in a more positive direction. It also doesn't help that Annie and her daughter find a body almost in their back yard.

The terror is coming too close to home, but Annie is learning that God cares. She's also learning that evil is real and prayer is an effective weapon. But why do women keep dying, and where is God in it all? More importantly, will evil be unmasked before it involves those she loves?

A page-turner I couldn't put down, except to check the locks on my doors. (Collin's books tend to have that effect on me.) Her stories are frighteningly personal as though they could happen to the person next door-or me!

Collins unmasks not only a very real evil, but also the very real power of prayer.

A book I'll be reading again, once my heart stops racing.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seatbelt Suspense at its finest, April 18, 2005

By 

C.J. Darlington "Author of Thicker Than Blood... - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead of Night (Hidden Faces Series #3) (Paperback)

Diving right into the action, DEAD OF NIGHT opens with narrator Annie Kingston confronting an intruder in her house. That same day she discovers the sixth victim of a serial killer in the woods on her property. Placed there randomly? Or is the killer trying to taunt her?

Book #3 in the Hidden Faces series continues the saga of forensic artist Annie Kingston with page-turning intensity. Not only must Annie draw the victims of the killer for identification, she must also face the escalating consequences of her teenage son's rebellion and the challenges of living out her new-found faith. Interspersed throughout the first person narrative are chillingly evil, yet often strikingly poetic, scenes in the killer's point of view. I was reminded of Edgar Allen Poe's story "The Telltale Heart" as I read them.

With this novel, and the rest of the Hidden Faces series, Brandilyn Collins has pushed the envelope in the emerging genre of Christian crime fiction. She's not afraid to tell it like it is, yet spares us the gratuitous details most secular crime writers thrive on. That said, DEAD OF NIGHT isn't just about crime and its aftermath. It's also about the power of prayer. As the back cover states: "Annie learns where the real battle takes place - and that a Christian's authority through prayer is the ultimate, unyielding weapon."

Highly recommended, five star fiction! Get out and buy this book. And while you're at it, pick up Book #1 BRINK OF DEATH & Book #2 STAIN OF GUILT.