Forgive Me, Alex [Kindle Edition]

Lane Diamond (Author)

Book Description

Forgive Me, Alex by Lane Diamond

Evolved Publishing presents an intimate look inside the mind of a killer, and of the man determined to end that killer, in this story of justice and vengeance, evil and redemption, fear and courage, love and loss. [DRM-Free]

Forgive Me, Alex [Psychological Suspense Thriller]

Two personalities, two attitudes, two goals, two methods--one darkness.

Tony Hooper stands in shadow across the street, one amongst many in the crowd of curiosity-hounds gathered to watch a monster's release. Seventeen years after Mitchell Norton, the devil, terrorized Algonquin, Illinois on a spree of kidnapping, torture and murder, the authorities release the butcher from psychiatric prison.

Tony longs to charge across the street to destroy Norton--no remorse--as if stepping on a cockroach. Only sheer force of will prevents his doing so.

The devil walks the world again. What shall Tony do about it? Aye, what indeed.

After all, this is what Tony does. It's who he is. The devil himself long ago made Tony into this hunter of monsters. What a sweet twist of fate this is, that he may still, finally, administer justice.

Will FBI Special Agent Linda Monroe stop him? She owes him her life, so how can she possibly put an end to his?

Two men are inexorably linked in the wake of devastation, ripped from the comfortable world they know and thrown into a dark place previously unimaginable. One is driven to evil, to seek a world where unfathomable misery and unbearable pain are the rules of the realm, where the look of death is upon all who practice the wicked craft, and it is a joyful grin, indeed. The other is driven to a gray path where he seeks merely to destroy such incomprehensible evil, to do what the law is not always able to do, to remove from the world the men who become monsters.

What Others Are Saying About Forgive Me, Alex:

"Lane Diamond has succeeded in bringing to the surface the dark and horrifying mind of a psychotic serial killer while at the same time bringing forth the desperate need for humanity and justice for the victims and their families." - Marilou George - The Kindle Book Review

"Psychological thrillers are my kind of books! Not only do I write them, but truly enjoy reading one that makes my skin crawl, my nerves skitter with fear and my heart thump a tad louder. This incredible novel by Lane Diamond handed me ALL of that, in spades!" - Ashley Fontainne, Author of "Zero Balance (Eviscerating the Snake)"

"FORGIVE ME, ALEX is classified as a psychological suspense thriller, and suspense should really be bolded and italicized. There is a certain level of mastery a writer must possess in order to effectively build this kind of breathless expectation in a reader, and Diamond does just that." - Anne B. Chaconas

"This is a book to rival any of the great thrillers you've ever read and is a definite must read!" -Kimberly Kinrade, Author of "Forbidden Mind," "Forbidden Fire" and "Forbidden Life"

"You know you are reading a great book when you need to stop reading but keep telling yourself just one more chapter, then one more leads to half the book." - Jennifer @ Can't Put It Down Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lane Diamond has succeeded in bringing to the surface the dark and horrifying mind of a psychotic serial killer while at the same time bringing forth the desperate need for humanity and justice for the victims and their families." - The Kindle Book Review

From the Author

I spent about 5 years working on Forgive Me, Alex. Why so long? Well, some of it had to do with market conditions at the time, but mostly I wanted to make it just right. I went through multiple revisions, then had several beta readers provide input, then had my editor take a final pass.

The end result is a book I'm pleased to offer, and one I hope you'll thoroughly enjoy.

My primary goal with this book was to take a glimpse inside the minds of the primary characters. I wanted to do this not just for the protagonist, Tony Hooper, but also for the antagonist, Mitchell Norton. I mean, everybody loves the good guy, right? But the bad guy needs some lovin' too! Or maybe some hatin'. Or maybe some gut-wrenching, oh-my-God-I-think-I'm-gonna-puke fascination.

What makes a serial killer tick? It can be any number of things, as the psychological sciences have taught us in recent years about the impetus for serial murder, or torture, or sick, twisted, sadistic sexual rituals. I hope I've given you enough of a glimpse into Mitchell Norton so that you'll know him well, even if you don't want to. (This is me grinning.)

As to our hero, Tony Hooper, well, he's not such a simple guy to figure out. Sometimes, he's not even sure he knows himself. I sought in this story to paint a picture of what might happen to a basically all-American kid when outside forces turn his world upside down. He loves hard, and therefore loses hard. We humans are such a complex lot, and I hope you'll find Tony's complexity interesting and compelling.

Strong relationships lay at the core of this story, which is ultimately one of love and loss, fueled by such a wide range of emotions. I've grown to love some of these characters, and I hope you, dear reader, will too. I plan to bring many of them back in my next book.

Thank you so much for taking a look.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 673 KB
• Print Length: 262 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1475008325
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Evolved Publishing (December 18, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006NTNQP8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,569 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Horrifying Psychological Thriller July 23, 2012

By The Kindle Book Review

Format:Kindle Edition

Forgive Me, Alex is a deeply emotional spellbinding psychological thriller. The story is delivered through the eyes of Tony Hooper whose life was forever altered by the exploits of Mitchell Norton a serial killer released from a psychiatric hospital after 17 years. The story goes back and forth from 1978 to 1995 when Norton is released and reveals in horrific detail the events that contribute to the culmination of the story. Tony watches from afar as Norton gains his freedom and has justice in the form of revenge on his mind. When eerily similar murders are discovered in his town of Algonquin after Norton's release, Tony is even more determined to put a stop to the madness.

This story affords us a look into the mind of a serial killer and the tremendous strength of writing in this book makes that a terrifying experience. The writing is exceptional in that it propelled me into the story and into the minds of the main characters as well as keeping me totally fixated on the story.The suspense and tension is this story is very palpable and I found myself thinking about this story long after I had finished.

The main characters of Tony and Mitchell are painted with such fine precision and depth I could almost feel their presence while reading. The character of Frank Willow the adopted Grandfather of Tony and Alex is a richly defined character who contributes a great deal of emotion and compassion to the story. The other characters in this story are all unique and well defined and successfully contribute to the sentiment, understanding and underlying current of the story.

The small town setting of Algonquin, Illinois which is the backdrop for this story lends a great deal to the emotion and reality as you get a glimpse into small town America and the bonds that are forged with people who grew up and lived in these towns. It also brings to the forefront the horror and sorrow that result from the actions of one deranged individual upon a town full of people. This is also the story of what happens to families and friendships and the feeling of well-being that existed prior to such devastating realities.

Lane Diamond has succeeded in bringing to the surface the dark and horrifying mind of a psychotic serial killer while at the same time bringing forth the desperate need for humanity and justice for the victims and their families.

I highly recommend this for its powerful and gripping story line. You will be held in a spell that will keep you wanting more and find yourself totally drawn in.

Marilou George - The Kindle Book Review

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gruesome, yet satisfying. January 3, 2012

By Tim C. Ward

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is gruesome and emotional right out of the gate. The main character, Tony, goes through some monumental losses throughout the story. These aren't the kind of losses that you can just blow off as insignificant because Lane's writing makes you really care about these people and what's going on. Lane excels in this area of sympathetic characters.

The sympathy you have for the characters makes this a tough read at times. I blazed through the first half in one or two days, which for me is saying a lot, especially with other books already in my queue. But, I got to a point where the gruesome scenes with the serial killer made me put it down. I give Lane credit for painting a very real picture of what it would be like to be Tony, to be the serial killer, and to be all the other people that suffer and were involved with this monster--even to the point that you sympathize with the monster himself.

Even though I didn't really "enjoy" reading the scenes with the serial killer, I was intrigued to get into the killer's mind, and they were very well written. This is the kind of book you can see playing out in your head as if you were there. Lane uses the first person to masterfully get you into the character's minds so that you can feel everything as if it were happening to you. I could see how and why this guy did these awful things, and it made the story more horrific because of how real it seemed.

In the end, I was pushed to find out what happens to the main character's girlfriend. As usual, Lane wrote a compelling love story for Tony and Dianna that really pulls you in at the beginning of the story. This is the hook that will keep you reading in spite of the gruesome actions by the serial killer because you want to know what happens between Tony and Dianna. Even though much of the book is written from 17 years after Tony first met the serial killer, you still don't quite know what happens until the end; and even then, he leaves you wondering and needing to know what will happen in the sequel.

Between 50% and like 70% I was thinking this would be a 4 star review because I figured I had Lane pegged on what would happen to Diane. I was partly right, and partly wrong. The conclusion left me realistically satisfied and very impressed with Lane's story telling. Life isn't a fairy tale, and I commend Lane for his conclusion. That, combined with Lane's excellent writing, makes this a 5 star book. I walk away with a deep emotional connection to these characters and their plight. They are like old friends, and any time a book can create that bond with characters, I say well done. He also did an excellent job with the moral question of what you would do if you were in Tony's place and life has been so traumatically difficult. How many loved ones could you see die before you justified vengeance?

The only problems I had a few problems with this book: a little bit of a lull after the middle, which is hard to avoid when you are setting up the ending, and in order to be real; and some of the sex and violence was more than I wanted to experience, but in the end, that's the ugly truth that Lane had to portray to tell this story right. As he warns in the intro, this book is not for kids.

If you are willing to experience some of the darker sides to life, you'll walk away with new "friends," and a deeper understanding of life and appreciation for the loved ones you still have.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Behind The Curtain March 24, 2012

By Marie Borthwick

Format:Kindle Edition

I have a sick fascination with serial killers. I'm not talking like so sick I want to date Jeffrey Dahmer or anything like that - I am not completely nutters! My sick fascination lies in my overwhelming desire to get into the head of serial killers - to find out what makes them tick.

I suppose this fascination is partly responsible for my going to university for a criminal justice degree, my wealth of grisly murder mysteries and my desire to watch horror gore (even though I can't stand blood in real life). My fascination with serial killers and their ilk make Lane Diamond's "Forgive Me, Alex" a more than perfect novel for curling up with my Kindle Fire.

The Cover
Lately I have been considering the cover more and more, its an important element when it comes to deciding to read a novel. The cover art for "Forgive Me, Alex" hit the money right on the mark. The gunshots, the blood, the peak of the newspaper article, the photo - it all ties elements of the overall story of Tony Hooper into a package that is beyond enticing.

The Story
The story is split between two time periods - 1978 when Mitchell Norton held court during his reign of terror and 1995 when Mitchell Norton is released upon society once again. There are many books out there that try to effectively "split perspective" in an effort to provide a unique experience for the reader. While a laudable ambition - few, if any (in my opinion), accomplish the goal they set out to conquer in any measurable manner.

Lane Diamond, he did it the right way. He was able to shift back and forth between 1978 and 1995 with such ease it never detracted from the story he was trying to tell and only added to the mystery of how things were going to turn out.

I appreciated the chance to "sit in the passenger seat" to Diamond's serial killer. While I will not make you groan by saying Diamond made a serial killer seem more human, less of a monster - his critical stroke of the pen provided a perspective that sketched out more defined dimensions of a character type that is so often seen as two dimensional and flat.

My Final Thoughts
I have actually read this story twice, yes twice! There are new things to discover each time you read it and I would encourage you to pick it up again, see what you can discover about Tony Hooper the second time around ... and see what you can maybe discover about yourself. I was able to understand my sick fascination with serial killers and horror gore a little better with the aide of "Forgive Me, Alex" - it is the only media representation of such a horrific character type that effectively goes beyond the curtain.

Initially I was bothered by what seemed to (me) the lack of depth of the female characters - one of the main ones being Agent Linda Monroe. However as the novel progressed, I saw the lack of depth less and less as a hindrance to the overall story and more as a representation of something Tony Hooper was grasping at to achieve.

Read if...
You like to read murder-centered stories.
You like to get behind the mind of the bad guy.
You like to know about the back story (just as much as the current story), the why of why things are happening the way they are.
You ever wanted to know what one of the more "sick" bad guys was thinking.

More About the Author

I write fiction, long and short. My writings cross over many genres and focus on diverse subjects, ranging from the mysteries of the human mind, with its fragile psychological and emotional states, to the everyday joy and anguish of life on Earth.

I've been an avid reader my entire life, and started writing at the age of 12. I love a good story, of course, a compelling plot and satisfying conclusion. Yet as a reader, I've always been drawn to great characters. The characters bring me back to an author time and time again. This shows in my writing, where I attempt to create authentic, complex, real characters you can come to love, and in whose company you feel at home. Or maybe you'll despise a character and want to stick a fork in his eye. Hey, bad guys are fun too!

I did my tour in the real world, serving in the U.S. Air Force, then working as everything from a forklift operator to a bartender in my youth, before settling in as Business Services and Project Manager for a large manufacturing and distribution concern. Now, at long last (Man! Why did I wait so long?), I'm putting pedal to the metal in pursuit of the author's life.

After many years as a Freelance Editor, with several clients published or aspiring to be so, I co-founded Evolved Publishing, where I wear hats as Publisher, Executive Editor, and Author. As an author, I started with a few short stories, and released my debut novel, a psychological thriller called "Forgive Me, Alex," in December 2011. The sequel, "The Devil's Bane," is under way and due later in 2013.

You can find out more about me at my website: www.LaneDiamond.com.