Customer Reviews

Dead of Night (Hidden Faces Series #3)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(4)
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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.

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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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.

Please, read Dead Of Night during the light of day! Once again Collins crafts a chilling suspense story that will knock your socks off. Forensic sketch artist, Annie Kingston is again in the thick of the action. This time she is racing against the clock to help identify the serial killer stalking her community. Collins' skillful story will have you hanging on every word. Expect goose bumps during the chapters told from the killer's point of view. You'll never stop to help someone on the highway again! I higly recommend this book that illustrates the power of prayer against evil.

This book is an intense rollercoaster ride. One that I recommend to everyone I know. You will get sucked in right from the start. The book starts off putting you right in the thick of the action, and doesn't let up until the end of the book. The glimpses into the killers mind are just down right creepy. You can't help but fall in love with the main character, Annie Kingston, you feel her terror, and you sympathize with her through all the ordeals of this book. You are right there with her when she learns of the amazing power of prayer. Brandilyn Collins has written a wonderful suspense that will go on my keeper shelf.

A roller coaster ride in a book!

A compelling plot. Creepy villian. Innocents in peril.

The heroine is real. The storyline is full and interesting.

Brandilyn's books would appeal to fans of Patricia Cornwell, Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti. It is less clinically intese than Cornwell, and as spiritual and thoughtful as Dekker and Peretti.

Suspense. Intrigue. Tension. Wonderfully developed characters. Conflict--both internal and external, personal and social. A no-nonsense theme. This novel has it all.

Yes, the story is an exciting read. The climactic scene was grippingly tense--a perfect end for a thrilling tale. But more, this novel is well-crafted, with some beautiful prose, vivid images, three-dimensional characters.

Brandilyn Collins is a novelist you will want to continue reading, and Dead of Night is one of her best.

Annie Kingston has once again been called to use her forensics drawing expertise in another case. This time a serial killer is targeting her home town. The killings though are took close for Annie and her family. There's pressure to find out who the killer is. Annie herself is not sure as there is limited evidence. Plus she is worried about her teenage son and the rebellious stage he is going through. Evil and wickedness are rampant in this town and the prayers of its citizens are needed to help them survive.

I've also read the first two books in this series, but I'm going to review this one first. Why? Because it was one of the best suspense books I have read this year. I was seriously creeped out while reading this book. I won't lie though. The first two books in the series while very good just didn't keep me up late at night because I was afraid to sleep. But this book however, wow. I wanted to keep the lights on! What's interesting is that there is absolutely no hint of who the actual killer is throughout the whole book. While the killer does have scenes before they are finally revealed, there is no indication at all that points evidence towards them. When I found out who it was, I flipped back trying to figure out when this character first appears but it seemed like they had always been there in the background. Reading the killer's monologues in between characters was like listening to nails on a chalkboard. You get so uncomfortable and irritated and want to scream. The thinking is so twisted and evil that it's deliciously scary. The final battle between the killer and Annie was bite on your nails, cover your eyes, hide beneath the covers all out suspense. The only minor complaint I had was that the killer never says to Annie why they did what they did and that we don't find out what happens to them. But I'm actually rather glad this wasn't written. I hate "last chapter confessions" because it is so unreal that the killer wants to divulge everything before they get caught. Seriously, now I know why Brandilynn's tag line is "Don't Forget to Breathe." This book totally took my breath away.

Forensic artist Annie Kingston has a serial killer on her hands ---- hands that have no clue what the suspect looks like. But people who live in the area where the killer has been stalking female prey and dumping their bodies are in a near panic; the women are fearing for their lives and everyone is demanding that the authorities do more to catch the monster in their midst. The pressure on Annie is enormous. Not only is she called to each gruesome crime scene to sketch the faces of unidentified victims; she's also drawn into the investigation on a personal level when both a suspect and a body show up on her property.

As it turns out, these crimes are highly personal with regard to Annie. Her high-profile status, which had been secured in an earlier investigation (and, presumably, an earlier book), has placed her squarely in the killer's sights. What's more, her newfound faith in Christ rankles the killer to no end. Between each chapter, Collins gives the perpetrator an opportunity to reveal the chilling thoughts and motives that drive the violence, and it becomes evident early on that resentment toward the church and Christians is a prime factor behind the killing spree.

As if that wasn't enough, Annie's drug-abusing son is giving her fits, and a neighbor, the unmarried father of her daughter's best friend, is quietly and slowly revealing his attraction to her. Her life is complicated, to be sure, but as the investigation heats up, neither Annie nor Collins's readers can possibly be prepared for just how complicated it's going to get.

Despite all the big and little red herrings that crop up as the plot progresses, about a third of the way through the book I was sure I knew who the killer was, and it was not someone you'd ordinarily suspect. Much to my utter delight, I was wrong --- not even close, in fact. I can't begin to describe the pleasure I get from being mistaken about the doer when I'm reading a murder mystery, especially if the surprise ending doesn't feel contrived. That was the case here; Collins so adeptly disguises the killer's identity until the bitter, strychnine-laced end that when it was revealed, I felt simultaneously stunned and satisfied rather than tricked and cheated.

Collins also serves up some surprising insights and images that are only marginally related to the main plot but provide depth and texture to the overall story. In a scene in which Annie's daughter and her friend are simultaneously grilling cheese sandwiches and grilling Annie about another possible victim, Collins describes the resiliency of teenagers through Annie's thoughts: "Somehow they managed to turn their attention back to the priorities of the moment --- to cooking their sandwiches, sliding them onto plates, fetching drinks. Even as they pumped me for information about Karen --- not all of which I could give --- their demeanor settled like cellophane under heat, shrink-wrapped to fit this new reality." Images like that appear often enough to set Collins's writing apart from that of so many one-dimensional suspense authors.

Now to the faith part. As a new believer, Annie has a lot to learn, and this provides Collins with an opportunity to enlighten her readers as well. Her writing is not what you'd call preachy, but neither is the faith angle subtle. The primary "teaching" comes from a taped sermon that Annie listens to in her car, a slight variation on a device used by Christian writers who make their faith-related points through sermons delivered in church. To her credit, Collins does a good job of weaving the faith element in as a part of everyday life; it never felt intrusive or tacked on as an afterthought. Plus, it was pivotal to the plot, which made it even more appropriate for her to focus on.

For fans of Christian suspense, this one is up there in the stratosphere. In fact, I'm fairly confident that Collins has it in her to give an author like Patricia Cornwell a run for her money someday. She has that kind of potential.

"Dead of Night" builds on the memorable characters from the previous Hidden Faces books and takes things to another level. Brandilyn Collins tackles the issue of evil head-on, never flinching or backing down. This time, the evil comes in the form of the Poison Killer. This particular villain injects victims with poison, then watches them die. Through chilling scenes, Collins takes us into the killer's sadistic mindset. She does so brilliantly, and I looked forward to those moments in the book. (Does that make me a sick puppy?)

Once again, the story follows Annie Kingston as she tries to unravel the mystery--not only of the killer's identity, but of her son's criminal activity, and of her own romantic possibilities. Blending suspense, romance, and family issues, Collins comes up with a fantastic book. Although she's careful to avoid gratuitous violence, she portrays things in a credible way, and she gives us some final twists that are surprising but fitting.

The Hidden Faces Series is one of the more enjoyable ones going, and "Dead of Night" is the best installment yet. This is a must-have for mystery readers in this market.