Killer Instinct (Paperback)

by Robert W. Walker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The opening of this psychological suspense novel smells of evil: the body of a prostitute is found hanging upside down in an abandoned Wisconsin cabin, an arm severed off, genitals mutilated and her blood missing. Coroner Jessica Coran, a made-for-Jodie Foster character, heads the FBI team assigned to track a latter-day Count Dracula. As it turns out, the serial bloodsucker is a mousy medical-supply salesman who often stalks his victims at hospitals in a gray van. Calling himself Teach, he uses a tracheal tube to siphon off their blood, his methods not unlike Jessica's obsessively meticulous autopsies. Clearly, killer and medical sleuth are two of a kind: soon the vampire sends his counterpart a love letter and longs to sink his fangs in her neck. He's a far more soulful figure than the novel's mechanical gumshoes. "Virgin blood was hard to come by, but according to the books, it had the most curative powers," Teach muses as he lies in a bloodbath, unworried about AIDS. The plot may be predictable, but Walker has created a complex, chilling high-tech tale that many readers will lap up. Walker wrote Curse of the Vampire under the pseudonym of Geoffrey Caine.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
On the trail of a serial killer with a penchant for a unique form of torture--the draining of blood from his victims' bodies--FBI medical examiner Dr. Jessica Coran suddenly becomes this "Vampire Killer's" most desired prey. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Diamond Books (July 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557737436
• ISBN-13: 978-1557737434
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,958,247 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some of his "facts" are pure fantasy., January 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Killer Instinct (Paperback)

I've read all of Patricia Cornwell, and have just about OD'd on Ridley Pearson, and this was an Amazon suggestion. While it was a decent read, I found two major problems by page 37. First of all, what Medical Examiner would be out in the middle of nowhere conducing a scene investigation in a skirt and high heels? Sexist, if you ask me. Secondly, he paints the "small town medical examiner" as some sort of villain and says HE will embalm the victim. Having both funeral directors and medical examiners in my family, I know that no ME will embalm a body...and you do not need an MD for embalming. It was a decent read, but some of his descriptions and action scenes get a little drawn out. I found myself skimming some parts. I may try another Coran novel, but it won't be my first choice.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, July 21, 1998

By	Pam "SMB,SLT" (Flint Hills of Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killer Instinct (Paperback)

Okay, I confess I keep trying not to find authors new to me, but I was searching the "horror" and the Instinct series caught my eye. I have learned to my chagrin that I need to sit down and read a few pages before running off to buy a bunch of books. (I didn't always have such sense.) I was lucky to find the whole series sitting there and sat down to see what kind of book it was that started such a string of books.

I was hooked from the first page. Robert Walker did make me thing of Cornwell and Scarpetta, and in a way of Sanford and Davenport. I read the first fifty pages and then took the books to the checkout counter so I could get home and dive into the rest.

I recommend these books to all who enjoy the likes of Cornwell and Sanford and who as an earlier reviewer put it, spend some of their time with their doors locked and all the lights on in their house hoping that evil stays outside and far away.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to delve into world of Jessica Coran, June 14, 2001

By	Jill Shelton (Highland, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killer Instinct (Paperback)

This was actually the 2nd book I had read by Robert W. Walker. The first one was the 2nd book in the series. I have to say that I love books based on forensics and serial killer being tracked. This book was good but would have been better if I had read it first. The characters are well defined especailly Jessica Coran. The Vampire Killer was a little hard to believe as well as the fact that the FBI in this book feel that bleeding to death is a level 9 on the torture factor. I have read far too many books to believe that there aren't more sadistic kinds of torture far above blood-letting. But it is an enjoyable read and gives a lot of insight into the reasons behind Dr. Jessica Coran for future books.