Customer Reviews

Messiah

5 star:		(105)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I am an avid reader of thrillers/suspense novels and have read numerous horror thrillers including books by Stephen King, John Saul and Thomas Harris. "Messiah" is one of the best thrillers I have ever read. When I purchased the book, I did not know what to expect as "Messiah" is the first effort by Boris Starling. I was not disappointed in the least. In fact, my only disappointment is attributable to the fact that the book had to end. Mr. Starling has apparently done significant research and has produced a compelling masterpiece of suspense with an imaginative and original storyline. I recommend this book to anyone who loves mystery thrillers. I am eagerly awaiting Mr. Starling's next effort!

I picked this book up because of the blurb on the front which said, "The most terrifying thriller since 'Silence of the Lambs'". I thought, "What a bold statement for a book to make." Believe me, this book does not disappoint! It takes place in England which threw me at first because of the different terms they use, but you get past that in a hurry. This book is simply one of the best books I have read this year. I have recommended this title to over a hundred people! No really, I have. And I have yet to hear anything bad about this book. I can't wait to see what else Mr. Starling writes. If you are a fan of Thomas Harris, Jeffrey Deaver, or John Sandford, I urge you to buy this book! You will not be disappointed! It will be the best money you've spent on a book this year. The ending is mind blowing and I literally had to stop and think about it.

Boris Starling's "Messiah" starts out deceptively slow paced as Detective Superintendent Red Metcalfe confronts the first crime scene of this novel. A hanging - made unusual by the removal of the victim's tongue and its replacement with a silver spoon. But he hardly has time to interview the deceased's girlfriend when he receives a second call. This time a bishop has been beaten to death, and once again the victim's tongue has been removed and replaced with a silver spoon. Red intuitively knows that this will be a bad case, and that he is hunting down a fiendishly clever serial killer.

Metcalfe, with his team of Duncan Warren, Kate Beauchamp, and Jez Clinton, find themselves faces with a killer who knows how to leave no trace at the murder scene. The murders seem to occur at random, and the victims seem to have nothing in common. Red, who is noted for his ability to get into the minds of criminals and killers is completely stymied. The team seems helpless as killing follows killing, and every lead points to a dead end.

Starling keeps up interest by first alternating the narrative with flashback of Metcalfe's life. In college he turned his brother in as a killer who is still serving a life sentence. Later Metcalfe was the driver in a hit and run accident. A secret he still hides. The second narrative feature is the gradual inclusion of tidbits from the killer. These are extremely well done, providing insight but never giving anything away.

Without ever appearing so, this is an extremely tightly plotted thriller. There is very little that does not happen for a reason. Clues are carefully presented and disguised without ever revealing too much. The story twists and turns as the murders point in different directions without ever becoming banal or repetitive. The murders themselves are ghoulishly spectacular, making this both a fascinating mystery story and a great serial killer read. A very fine piece of writing from a promising author.

There's nothing restrained about Messiah, a book awash with blood, mutilation, family conflicts and over the top religious symbolism.

Despite often patchy writing and some one-dimensional stereotyped secondary characters, Messiah manages to stay a class above the many other wannabe serial murder thrillers. Many other books also offer a twist at the end that supposedly, "you'll never guess". In Messiah, a couple of times you think you spot it, but you really WON'T guess this one. Many books contrive human failings for their detective heroes to make them more realistic, but you'd never predict the true nature of Red Metcalfe, the complex and tortured main character of Messiah.

Read it, murder fans! DON'T flip to the last pages first! And if you enjoy this book, then don't miss Val McDermid's "The Mermaids Singing", it's like this but even better, I promise...

I first bought Boris Starling's "Storm", and liked it a lot. I then began looking for other books by Boris Starling and came across "Messiah". I don't know how people could go around bashing this book. I found it very educational and suspenseful. This book was about Detective Red Metcalfe following the blood trail of a serial killer. Although Red didn't have any likeable attributes, it didn't hamper the plot any. I felt that this book was a clever thriller that made the reader think and try to piece it all together. I didn't suspect the killer until the last minute. I had to read it again to pick up the little clues that the author left throughout the book. Overall I thought this was a very well written book, and that Boris Starling is a very talented writer.

Messiah is one of the most engaging thrillers I have ever read. It begins with a bang and the tension and suspense literally does not let up until the final pages. The books twists and turns and it is impossible to know what's coming next. Some of the narrative techniques used in this novel are unlike anything I have ever read before, for example, narratives told in the first person of the killer.

Without giving anything away, this novel reminded me a lot of the movie "Se7en". The religious aspects and the overall pace of the novel (as well as other things that I won't say) bring that movie to mind.

I must say, this is one of the most gruesome novels I have ever read and I was actually scared out of my mind during some of the murder scenes (and I am an avid reader of Dean Koontz and Stephen King and even THAT doesn't scare me). This is more than just a tale of murder, however. It is a tale of dark secrets from the past, a tale of trust, and mostly, a tale of betrayal. The ending is shocking and very satisfying. I was shaking my head repeatedly saying "oh my God, oh my God..." during the last 5 pages.

VERY STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!

Oh my god (no pun intended). This is the best book of the year. I could not put it down until I knew who Messiah was. It's like the "Sixth Sense" movie. At then end you want to read the book again to see the obvious that you missed while reading it the first time. Compared to "Silence of the lambs" I have to say that Messiah is way better. So many original ideas and plot twists. I can't wait to read his next book.

I pick up Messiah having just finished Red Dragon and Lambs (that was probably unfortunate for Starling... Boris not Clarise). I was so pumped for serial killer thrillers after RD & SOTL that I did allot of research and found Messiah had high reader ratings.
I would probably give the story itself an above average 4 stars. Though it was somewhat predictable (or maybe I just guessed lucky), I enjoyed the plot. I liked how it took some time to figure out exactly what the "bad guy" was up to and the many plot twists were interesting and well planned.
I wasn't as impressed with the writing. I found it to be average; not terrible, not great. I remember struggling through several chapters of boring character development that seemed to be pointless filler. There was plenty of background info but the characters still seemed flat. Same with the settings. I guess it was like reading in black and white where some other writers (Preston/Child, Harris, Crichton) seem able to write in full color. I'm also not big on novels written entirely in the present tense (but hey this is all about opinions, right?). I would recommend this book but it wasn't anything special.

Excellent, well written thriller that will keep you turning pages late into the night. The dialogue was terrific, if you don't care much for dialogue tags. As great as the tale was, however, I saw the end coming from about mid-book. Little innocuous details given are sometimes good for foreshadowing, but a huge, gaping hole that gets left uncovered is kind of hard to overlook.

Also, did anyone notice the shocking similarities to Thomas Harris' Red Dragon & Silence of the Lambs? The Killer hanged one of his victims exactly like in "Silence," Red's marital woes, exactly like in "Red Dragon," the leaving of the silver spoon in the victim's mouths (In "Silence" it was a butterfly).

Anyway... this was a fantastic, intelligent read.

I read somewhere that the killer in this book rivaled Hannibal Lecter. Now, with a recommendation like that, who could refuse? The plot, the general concept of this book was wonderful and the play of the story was riveting - if that's what you're looking for, it's an incredible read. My problems, however, were three-fold.

First of all, and this is a relatively minor point, the constant British pop cult references were a bit difficult to fathom at times. I consider myself an intelligent person, but I suppose I'm just not up on the latest lingo from the British isles. Also, and this part drove me nuts, I just hate it when an author writes a book as if he's surveying the scene right at that moment. You know, "Person X is walking to his car. He gets in. He sees the killer." That sort of thing. Somehow it seems to impede the flow of the story. Finally, as good a character as he is, this killer in no way, shape or form compares to Dr. Lecter.

That all said, it's a worthwhile read, relatively believable, with many satisfying twists and turns. I like also the sort of antihero portrayed here in the lead detective - the tortured soul out hunting an even sicker tortured soul. THAT part is very much like the Thomas Harris novels.