Face of a Killer [Hardcover]

Robin Burcell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2008

FBI forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick questions the guilt of the man about to be executed for her fatheras murder twenty years earlier. The first stirrings of doubt occur when one of her forensic sketches on an unrelated case brings forth memories about her fatheras homicide that shead hoped to forget. A mysterious envelope arrives in the mail on the anniversary of her fatheras death. She opens the packet and discovers a blackmail letter written by her father, an old photo of his army buddies, and a deposit slip from a bank long closed. Refusing to believe that her father was involved in any blackmail scheme, she searches for evidence to clear his name. Her investigation leads to a trail of corruption by high-ranking US political officials, and a meticulous and deadly cover-up by the military and the CIA. The more Special Agent Fitzpatrick digs into her fatheras past, the more she finds it riddled with dark secrets and truths, including the fact that her fatheras seemingly ordinary military career was anything but stellar or even routine.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this strong first in a new series from Burcell (Cold Case), San Francisco FBI forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick races to unravel the 20-year-old mystery of her father's murder before the upcoming execution of his convicted killer, Johnnie Wheeler. When Sydney interviews Wheeler in San Quentin against her mother's and stepfather's wishes, Wheeler's claims of innocence have a ring of truth. As Sydney begins to investigate her father's past, she uncovers unsavory secrets linking him and some old army buddies, including one who's now a high-powered U.S. senator, to a bank engaged in illegal activities. Sydney's dogged persistence and willingness to bend FBI rules endangers her family, but an 11th-hour meeting with Wheeler for a new forensic sketch points to the answers she's been seeking. Burcell, herself a former FBI-trained forensic artist, keeps her appealing heroine hopping just a step ahead of mortal peril in this intricately plotted page-turner. (Nov.)
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From Booklist

FBI forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick is deeply affected by the anniversary of her father’s murder. Days before the execution of Johnnie Wheeler, the man convicted of the crime, Sydney, against her mother’s wishes, goes to visit him to find out why he killed her father. Wheeler, who always maintained his innocence, tells her details of what happened the night of the crime that make Sydney believe the real murderer is still free, prompting her to reopen the investigation on her own, outside the auspices of the FBI. As she delves into her father’s past, she finds he wasn’t the saint she believed him to be and learns that he worked for a clandestine government agency. A principled, likable character who has always “gone by the book,” Sydney learns that sometimes you have to work outside the system to obtain justice. Burcell, an FBI-trained forensic artist herself, frames the story with fascinating insider information on her craft and on the workings of the FBI. She is also the author of the Kate Gillespie mysteries. --Sue O'Brien

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 381 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (November 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590583744
• ISBN-13: 978-1590583746
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,315,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robin Burcell, an FBI-trained forensic artist, has worked in law enforcement
for over two decades as a police officer, detective and hostage negotiator. Her thriller about an FBI forensic artist, Face of a Killer, debuted November 2008 with a starred review from Library Journal. The Bone Chamber is the sequel, due out January 2010. She is the two-time Anthony Award-winning author of four previous novels featuring SFPD Homicide Inspector Kate Gillespie: Every Move She Makes, Fatal Truth, Deadly Legacy and Cold Case. You can visit her website at: www.robinburcell.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative Read!, March 3, 2009

By 

Kenna Coltman "Kenna" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Face of a Killer (Mass Market Paperback)

Sydney Fitzpatric, FBI forensic artist, is having a hard time fitting in at her new assignment, and it doesn't help that she suspects her ex-boyfriend is keeping tabs on her. Throw in a reluctant (at least at first) partner, the normal angst of her relationship with her mother and step father, a precocious 13-year-old sister, and a self-serving, political-insider 'uncle' who is seeking reelection, and the characters alone offer a treasure-trove of tension as a backdrop to a provocative plot.

It is the anniversary of Sid's father's murder, and she visits the man convicted. During this visit, the first seeds of doubt creep into her thoughts as to the man's guilt. So begins a journey where the Pollyanna of the FBI office travels into the gray area between right and wrong with the help of Carillo, her partner and an agent who is much more flexible about the rules. Sid discovers much about her father and his associates and about the man who has languished in jail for 20 years awaiting execution for her father's murder. But most-importantly, she learns a lot about herself in the process.

The story starts out a bit slowly, but once things get moving, watch out. Sydney is a sympathetic and compelling woman, and her quest for the truth is one you hope, until the very end, won't destroy her and her family.

I highly recommend Robin Burcell's 'Face of a Killer.'

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What a ride!!!, November 25, 2008

By 

Tina "Tina" (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Face of a Killer (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow! What a ride! I had never read anything by Robin Burcell before, so I did not know that I was in for such a treat.

Face of a Killer features a very likeable and sympathetic main character in Sydney. Sydney has had to live through some traumatic events in her youth when her father was brutally murdered - the police think they have his killer and he has been in prison.

Fast forward to present day in which Sydney is an FBI agent and forsenic artist. She comes face to face with a crime victim who seems to be describing her father's murderer as the person responsible for her rape! But this can't be!!!

Sydney is haunted by this and decides to visit her father's murderer in prison in order to get things straight in her own head - but this backfires.

As Sydney tries to make sense of what is happening, she discovers that her entire family is now in danger. With the clock ticking down, she needs to get to the bottom of this and fast!

While the plotline I have just described sounds like pretty standard stuff, I have to say that Burcell manages to take a so-so storyline and turn it into an explosive thriller. She really had me wondering how Johnnie Wheeler could be in prison AND brutally raping women at the same time. I also liked the fact that while Sydney is digging, she is discovering things about her dad she did not know and I am sure, did not really want to know about.

The relationship between her and Carillo is fun and fresh and I also enjoyed Burcell's obvious firsthand knowledge of all things forensic. However, unlike some other authors Burcell does not get bogged down in givins us too much forensic information.

I really, really liked this book and recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!!!, November 23, 2009

By 

C. Eaves (Maryville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Face of a Killer (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book. It's intricate, but I had no trouble keeping up with the characters, and that can sometimes be a problem with lots of characters. Burcell knows how to make you "see" them.
The case in this book is one that demands that Sydney, a forensic artist and FBI agent, think and work outside the box and push against the rules a bit, which is not her usual style and makes her uncomfortable at first. She has an ex-boyfriend who made me think I didn't really know what to expect from him. She also has a little sister who's a real hoot. A very cute and smart kid.
I hope to read many other books by this skilled author.