Customer Reviews

Split

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The sequel to "Fetish," "Split" was a decent story, although it didn't dazzle me the way the debut story did. Makedde is back in Vacouver, BC and a year has passed since the tramautic events in Australia - she is trying to put them behind her, but she continues to have nightmares, and is suffering from insomnia. Being a student of forensic psychology and with plans to work with law enforcement officers with help them with PTSD, among other things, does she seek professional help herself? Nope - she denies she even has a problem to everyone. *rolling eyes* This is pretty much what bugged me about this book - her self-denial of the problem and reluctance to seek assistance for her issues after what happened to her in the previous book. Not only that, but her attitude toward Andy really bothered me - but that is just me. To reduce my rating by a full star because the attitude of the main character bothered me is strange, I know, but it did reduce the enjoyment of the book for me.

However, the story is good - a serial killer is stalking the college campus; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police discover shallow graves containing three bodies, all shot through the back of the head. It doesn't seem to be quite execution style - one officer suggests that it almost seems like hunting. The action heats up when Andy arrives with his mentor from Quantico to attend a panel about psychopaths and they are asked to assist.

I hope that this series is continued. I think that there is a lot of promise here.

She appears to have gotten her life together, working as a model to pay for her Masters in Forensic Psychology at the University of Vancouver, but Makedde Vanderwall has never gotten over being kidnapped by the Stiletto Slasher in Australia. She knows she was lucky to have escaped thanks to the last minute rescue by her lover Detective Andrew Flynn. However, unable to cope with the near tragedy, she returned to her Vancouver home wanting nothing to do with her lover, who saw her at her most vulnerable.

A year later Makedde is unable to sleep and when she does snooze she suffers horrific nightmares. She has not been with a man since she left Andy, but campus security guard Roy Blake persuades her to step out with him a few times. Andy comes to the school to attend a symposium and to help the locals with a serial killer case in which college students are the victims. Makedde realizes she remains vulnerable with Andy and decides to avoid him and see Roy, but their paths will soon cross as she is the next target.

The heroine is a spunky, assertive person who readers will care about as she tries to get over the trauma that still haunts her. Warm and caring Andy, who still loves her, seems too passive when it comes to persuading his beloved that they belong together so they never come across as a pair. Tara Moss creates a terrific protagonist starring in a suspenseful well written story line with a shocking and unforgettable climax.

Harriet Klausner

I'll start with the good: the plot was reasonably interesting, and it certainly held my attention at times. Some of the characters were unusual and quirky, which was nice. Throughout most of the book I wanted to keep reading and find out what happened next.

However, Split broke down in a lot of ways. The characterization was inconsistent; sometimes I had trouble believing someone was the same person from scene to scene. The internal monologues were overlong and tedious, drawing out the various characters' moping and wallowing until I just wanted to tell them to get over it and move the hell on.

There was a distinct lack of chemistry between characters who needed it. I had difficulty believing that Mak and Andy were so irresistibly drawn to each other (not helped by the fact that Andy was a very one-dimensional character), and had almost as much difficulty believing that Mak and her new boyfriend were getting on so well. Side characters came and went with little reason. Mak's lesbian friend appeared partway through the book (after enough time had passed, frankly, that by the time she showed up I was shocked to find out Mak had any friends) and only stayed long enough to serve as the requisite shocking, funny, sex-crazed gay friend.

The interminable interior monologues marred the book in other ways as well. For one, they hid the fact that when you strip them away, there really isn't a huge amount of plot to this book and very little mystery either. For another, they derailed the pacing at ever opportunity, even during the climax of the book. Yes, the climax of this thriller/mystery got derailed by interior monologue. That's about the worst thing you can do to a book of this genre; after all, you can commit many other sins, but you'll be forgiven if you have a gripping climax. If not... Well.

This isn't a horrid book, certainly not one of the worst I've read, but I don't particularly recommend it either. Nothing about it is particularly interesting or gripping, and parts of it are downright boring--one of the last things you want to hear about a `thriller.'

Mak Vanderwall is trying to put her troubled past behind her (her brush with a sadistic killer in the brilliant debut in the series, Fetish) and is back at the University of British Columbia campus for her psych studies. But the campus is gripped by fear as a killer is snatching away female students and hunting them down like animals. Mak's 'psycho magnet' days are not over yet!

In this second bestselling novel from Moss she delves even further into criminal psychology, psychopathy, polygraph and even has a cameo from famed psychopath expert Dr Robert Hare. A must read for fans of psychological thrillers. Moss's in depth research with police, forensic scientists and the FBI shows through to make for a suspenseful, chilling and absorbing read. No wonder it was nominated for the Davitt award.

Mak is back at campus at the University of British Columbia, and trying to put her experiences in Sydney (in the debut novel in the series, Fetish) behind her. She falls for a handsome security guard at a time when the campus is on high alert from a killer stalking students and hunting them down like animals. Mak becomes the next target. Her days of being a psycho magnet are not over.

In the second adventure of Mak Vanderwall, the author Moss delves even deeper into her subjects of profiling, psychopathy, polygraph and more, even including a cameo from world famous psychopath expert Dr Robert Hare. Highly recommended read for psychological crime lovers.

In the second bestseller by young crime writer Tara Moss, her heroine Mak Vanderwall is back at uni to get her Forensic Psychology PhD at the University of Vancouver and to try to move on from the dramatic events in the first novel Fetish. She suffers insomnia and paranoia which eventually ends up being more than warranted as her 'psycho magnet' qualities draws her into the path of another killer. The dark forests on the outskirts of Vancouver make for a frightening setting as the killer grabs his victims and sets them out into the woods to be hunted like animals. Mak must use her wits and strength to survive his terrible game...


Mak is a wonderful, feisty female protaganist and a pleasure to read. I enjoyed this novel and look forward to the next one in the series. Recommended.

I am always impressed when an author's research shines through in their work without distracting or overpowering the plot and flow. Moss's writing has matured and this book is even better than the first one, with crisp dialogue, fast pacing, and more suspense. Some scenes reminded me of the horrible Robert Hansen case, where he would release women into the wild and hunt them down like deer. Definitely the perfect book for thriller lovers!

Makedde Vanderwall is a world famous model who was abducted and brutally raped by a sadistic serial murderer, during her stay in Australia. Now back in Canada and studying for her Doctorate at the University of British Columbia, she once again becomes the focus of a crazed psychopath who is targetting young women from the local area. While attending a conference on forensic psychology, she is dismayed to find that Andy Flynn, the Sydney detective with whom she had a brief fling, and who was responsible for saving her life in Sydney, is attending the same conference. She is reluctant to relive any old memories as her insomnia and general mental health seem to deteriorate she relives the past. It's a pacy read and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Tara Moss' Fetish wasn't intriguing in itself. But Makkede Vanderwall, the central character, was interesting enough to have me search for the second book in the series. Sometimes it takes an author that first book to get his/her groove on. I'd hoped Split would show a maturing writer who added her own unique twists to the stalker story.

Unfortunately, Split fails to intrigue readers and leaves much to be desired in character development. It is a sad attempt to begin a stalker series in which Makkede is always pursued by psychotic men for one reason or the other.

Hello. How many times can the same woman get stalked and it not get old? I'm reminded a bit of Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series. If something were to happen, it would to the intrepid herione.

There are a total of four books at press time involving the model. I had to order this book from Australia and waited nearly a month to get it. If I had saved the money, I could have bought enough books for free shipping here on Amazon.

In the second bestseller by young crime writer Tara Moss, her heroine Mak Vanderwall is back at uni to get her Forensic Psychology PhD at the University of Vancouver and to try to move on from the dramatic events in the first novel Fetish. She suffers insomnia and paranoia which eventually ends up being more than warranted as her 'psycho magnet' qualities draws her into the path of another killer. The dark forests on the outskirts of Vancouver make for a frightening setting as the killer grabs his victims and sets them out into the woods to be hunted like animals. Mak must use her wits and strength to survive his terrible game...


Mak is a wonderful, feisty female protaganist and a pleasure to read. I enjoyed this novel and look forward to the next one in the series. Recommended.