Customer Reviews

Killer Takes All

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Stacy Killian was introduced to us in SEE JANE DIE. She was a tough smart dedicated detective until the events in the other book. I really didn't care for SEE JANE DIE but I wouldn't have missed this one for the world. Stacy has moved to New Orleans to attend college, she was burnt out and wanted to change her life. But the cop in her just won't die.

Spencer Malone is a detective on the NOPD. He has just been cleared of a wrongfull theft in his dept. And when he comes back they let him choose where he wants to go to avoid a law-suit. He may have been slow to realize how much he loves being a cop, but now he knows what he has to loose and this affair has made him determined to be the best cop he can be.

They meet when Stacy's next door neighbors are murdered. Stacy can't let it go and if there is any chance she might be able to catch the killer she will use everything she's got. Even putting her life on the line. While Spencer thinks the boyfriend killed them, Stacy is sure it has to do with the role-playing game her friends were into. The White Rabbit is a game about Alice in wonderland, however in this dark version the winner must kill all of the other players.

Stacy meets the game's designer and his family. She is drawn into this weird family and gets caught up in the game which is played in real time. As more bodies appear linking Leo, the game's maker, to the deadly game Shannon finds he needs Stacy's insight. Is Leo the killer or is someone trying to kill him?

The victims and suspects multiply rapidly. This is a fast paced novel with unexpected twists and turns. The killer is not revealed until the end. This is one of Erica Spindler's best. I read it in one sitting.

Erica Spindler has built her career upon the unexpected. Her earlier work was in the romance field; she has gradually transformed herself into an author more closely associated with mysteries and, more specifically, romantic suspense. Spindler isn't afraid to vary characters and locales from book to book, and even where she revives a familiar character --- as in her latest novel --- Spindler does so with a change of place and circumstance.

KILLER TAKES ALL heralds the return of Stacy Killian, first introduced to the reading public in SEE JANE DIE. Killian has left behind her occupation as a Dallas, Texas homicide detective. Now pursuing graduate studies in English at the University of New Orleans, she is hoping to get her life on track and forget the violence of her past life and the heartbreak that it has caused her. Killian, however, is an unwilling and unwitting magnet for trouble. Her relatively idyllic life is abruptly shattered when the neighbors who share the other half of her shotgun double are brutally and mysteriously murdered while Killian sleeps, unaware, next door. Killian had become friends with the women, a factor that increases her moral sense of outrage one-hundredfold.

She begins her own de facto investigation almost immediately, much to the chagrin of New Orleans Police Detective Spencer Malone, one of the homicide police officers assigned to the case, and is quickly (if somewhat improbably) running laps around him and his partner, Detective Tony Sciame. Killian herself is soon warned off of her investigation by an anonymous attacker, an incident that makes her all the more determined to continue pursuing it. Her most significant discovery revolves around the fact that one of the victims was involved in White Rabbit, a shadowy role-playing game with extremely dark overtones. She does not believe that it is entirely coincidental that the co-creator of White Rabbit is currently residing in New Orleans.

Leonardo Noble, a legendary genius whose creations have earned him a fortune, resides in a brooding mansion several blocks from the French Quarter. His household is a quiet but seething menagerie of personalities that includes himself, his ex-wife and business partner, and his teenaged daughter, a genius in her own right whose brooding demeanor conceals some secrets of her own. Noble has received anonymous messages that seem to be connected to the murders of Killian's neighbors. Yet Noble and everyone in his household soon appear to be suspect in some way. As Malone and Killian find themselves unofficially and reluctantly working together, more murders occur --- foretold by cryptic notes --- and it becomes clear that someone is using the White Rabbit game as a vehicle for real-world mayhem. Anyone can be a victim --- and anyone can be the murderer.

Spindler continues her practice from her past mystery novels of doing a number of things quietly but extremely well. She is able to effectively weave a web of suspicion over a great number of characters, gradually eliminating suspects --- by mortality or otherwise --- but making it almost impossible to predict the outcome. Spindler also nicely balances her story and characters against the backdrop of New Orleans, that most exotic of settings. It is easy to forget that there is more to New Orleans than the French Quarter, that it is but one neighborhood in a city full of them, each possessing their own unique personality. Spindler never forgets this, taking the reader on a tour of the multifaceted personalities of streets and people making up the city --- and her tale is richer for it.

KILLER TAKES ALL is perhaps Spindler's best work to date, and one that hopefully will lead to further tales of Killian.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

I didn't think this was one of her better books. I found there to be too much reliance on RPGs, and for readers who aren't familiar with them, a good portion of the book leaves you in the dark about what's going on.

I didn't care much for Stacy in the previous book, and I found her to be particularly annoying in this book. Being an ex-cop, she should've had more understanding as to why she wasn't being included in the case as a civilian, and I found it irritating that she kept forcing the issue. I also didn't care for her cocky, condescending attitude towards the cops. Spencer and Tony weren't much better -- particularly Tony. It seemed that every time Stacy made one of her stupid smug comments towards Spencer, he'd laugh along with her and jump to her defense at the expense of his buddy. Great partner. I wouldn't want that guy watching my back.

When I start reading a book, I usually come up with a few characters who are possible culprits and hope the rest of the book will lead me to someone I never even thought about. Telling you that three characters are guilty before you actually find out it's the fourth one makes the author look like she's too lazy to wrap up all these red herrings and loose ends...particularly since all four were obvious from the start.

I also didn't care much for the Heather Graham style of writing, where the words "hell and "damn" are randomly thrown in throughout the book to emphasize that the characters are mature, upset or angry. It makes them sound like idiots.

Not her best, but still worth the read.

KILLER TAKES ALL focuses on the world of RPGs and the people who are hooked on them. RPGs (Role Playing Games) became popular with Dungeons and Dragons, and there have been many offshoots since. I'm not an RPG player, so at times this book was a bit hard to follow. Usually Erica Spindler's books are difficult for me to put down, but it took me over a week to read this one (very usual for me!) and I'm sure it was because of the RPG theme - I just couldn't get into it.

Stacy Killian is a graduate student in New Orleans, who retired from the Dallas Police Department (this story was covered in SEE JANE DIE, Spindler's previous book). Stacy left Dallas to start her life over, but it seems that the cop's instincts just won't stay hidden.

When Stacy's neighbor is murdered, she just can't let it go. She runs into a brick wall named Spencer Malone, a NOPD detective who's rough around the edges. Malone has a lot to prove - his aunt is his commanding officer, he got his promotion to detective so he wouldn't sue the police department, and he's just cranky. Some of his past life events are not explored in depth and the reader is left wondering what exactly is going on in Spencer's life and why. Things are eluded to, but not delved into so we completely understand.

Spencer Malone is not happy with Stacy's interference but let's her continue sticking her nose into his investigation. Maybe it's the romantic sparks, which they don't act on until the very end. Maybe he just thinks if he ignores her, she'll go away. Not sure why this happened the way it did, but again, it's something with which Spindler doesn't enlighten us.

Stacy is convinced that her friend's death is related to a RPG called White Rabbit, a take off of Alice in Wonderland that is dark and violent. She begins to check things out and continues to bump into Spencer. When she meets the game's designer, Leo Nobel, Stacy is instantly taken into his confidence. Seems people who are close to Leo are being killed, and Stacy is sure the game is the reason.

For avid mystery readers, the villain is no surprise. What was a surprise for me was the number of red herrings Spindler tossed out in the last 50 or so pages. It became absurd. I had it figured out from the beginning. The accomplices were somewhat of a surprise though but not a big enough surprise to make me really love this book.

Character descriptions are at times very in-depth and at other times glossed over. It's not uniform at all, especially with support characters that later become very important to the story. The plot relies too much on the RPG and it is assumed that everyone understands how RPGs work. I don't - I've never played one nor had one explained to me. So I was left in the dark on many things in this storyline and couldn't figure out exactly what was happening at times.

Overall KILLER TAKES ALL was a fair book, average really. I'd recommend it to those who understand RPGs and to others when your Must Read list has dwindled.

This book is readable, but I wouldn't recommend this book to someone looking for romantic suspense. First of all, there is very little romance in this book. The "romance" between the two main characters is barely touched upon -- there isn't even a love scene between them! Just a "morning after" scene, which I found highly disappointing.

Secondly, the plot in this book is remarkably complicated and involves five major plot twists in the last 100 pages (I'm not kidding here). I don't mind a suspense novel with a good twist or two, but I think too many twists hurt a story's credibility. I also found it difficult to keep track of all the different characters in the story as well.

Spindler is a good writer and writes in a fluid style. I'm willing to give her writing another shot, but I would suggest passing on this one.

I really enjoyed this book and I thought it was one of Erica Spindler's better tales. I've becomed hooked on her stories and this one did not disapoint. Although "See Jane Die" does not stick in my mind like some of her other books, I enjoyed this because I like Stacy's character. I also enjoyed the ending. Call me dumb, but I did not figure out the killer and was surprised by the ending, although I felt a little short changed. It was wrapped up a little too neatly but I guess all good things must come to an end. However, I hope Erica Spindler never ends her career-her books are too damn good!
I was glad to hear Erica and her family are safe in Illinois and did not suffer from the hurricane.

My daughter gave me my first Erica Spindler novel for a birthday gift. I was hooked. I have read all her books and continue to want more. This book is incredible. The twists and turns in the novel. You think you know who it is only to find out it is not who you thought it was at all. Keeps you on the edge of your chair.

This is by far her best work yet. I have been an Erica Spindler fan for a long time, it seems she just gets better and better. She is quickly moving up in the ranks as one of the best suspense writers to date.

I am a first reader for Erica Spindler. I really got into this book, read it in a matter of hours. I am an avid Dean Koontz reader, and I would say that this book flows like his writing. I was really disappointed by how it ended though. It didn't leave me satisfied with the outcome. Sorry, Erica. I tried.

Disturbed by a noise in the still of the night, Stacy Killian wakes to find two dear friends brutally murdered. The former cop's instincts are instantly on alert, but even with all her training, she has no idea how deep a rabbit hole she's falling down. The two women are only the first victims of a mysterious Game Master known as the White Rabbit. Unlike most D and D variants, this game was one where losing meant you died in fact. Now, as each card is dealt, another unwilling player dies. Picking up skills she thought left behind, Stacy must work with the two cops assigned to the case to win this deadly game.

*** Fascinating suspense leaps off the first page and does not let up until the last. Drawing on familiar images turned horrific, Ms. Spindler weaves a spell of terror around her reader, proving once more that she is a master of her game. ***