True Evil: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

by Greg Iles (Author)
Key Phrases: pajama man, virus cancer program, Eldon Tarver, Agent Morse, Andrew Rusk (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Smooth prose, psychological depth and crafty plotting lift bestseller Iles's latest suspense thriller, which puts a fresh twist on a familiar theme-the cat-and-mouse game between an FBI agent and a fiendishly-clever serial killer. One personal tragedy after another has struck Alexandra Morse, a rising star in the FBI who specializes in hostage negotiation: her father's shooting death in a robbery, her mother's diagnosis of advanced ovarian cancer, and a misstep on the job that left her face scarred and a fellow agent dead. Now Alex's sister, Grace, lies dying in a Jackson, Miss., hospital after suffering a stroke. Alex arrives from Washington just in time to hear Grace say that her husband has murdered her. After Grace's death, Alex learns that Dr. Eldon Tarver, a brilliant scientist in need of funds for research into developing a biological superweapon, has teamed with a Mississippi divorce attorney who offers select clients the opportunity to avoid a protracted court fight by arranging for their spouses to die. When Alex identifies the next intended victim, Dr. Chris Shepard, she goes undercover as one of the idealistic doctor's patients and soon finds herself in a race against Tarver as well as her own superiors, who have not sanctioned her investigation. This pulse-pounder is sure to be another bestseller for Iles (Turning Angel).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
The new novel by the author of, among others, Mortal Fear (1996), 24 Hours (2000), and (most recently) Turning Angel (2005)begins with a big surprise. Dr. Chris Shepard, a doctor in Natchez, Mississippi (where the author lives), is visited by an FBI agent who tells him two things: a local divorce lawyer has a series of clients whose spouses have all died suspiciously, and Dr. Shepard's wife paid this lawyer a visit about a week ago. Now agent Alex Morse wants Dr. Shepard to help her trap a killer. If Iles has a trademark, a single literary feature that identifies him, it's his intriguing, ordinary-people-in-extraordinary-situations premises that hook readers immediately, forcing us to read on. How will Chris Shepard, a successful doctor in a seemingly happy marriage, react to the news that his wife may be planning to have him killed? Will Alex Morse, the deeply troubled FBI agent (she's still recovering from her own brush with death), confuse professional responsibility with personal interest? Before you know it, you've reached the last page, and you're all out of breath--but you've had one hell of a ride. Plot-driven is too often used as a pejorative term; Iles shows the other side. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (September 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416524533
• ISBN-13: 978-1416524533
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (146 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,036 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, I have another new favorite author!, December 14, 2006

By	FRED (Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: True Evil: A Novel (Hardcover)

I picked this book up yesterday afternoon as it looked like a good gift for a friend. When I got home I started reading it, just to check it out, by 2:00 am this morning I had finished the book! I had Never heard of Iles before but he is now one of my favorite authors. On the surface there seems to be nothing new here: FBI agent tracking down an evil genius serial killer. But wait there is much more here, the cackling prose, the depth of character, and clever plotting put this a notch above the typical modern day thriller. The main character is Alexandra Morse an FBI agent on the rise who is a specialist at hostage negotiation. But Alex life is far from perfect, in fact her personal life has been tragic: mother dying of cancer, father shot dead during a robbery, and her sister is dying from a stroke. Alex herself has a scared face and feels responsible for the death of a fellow agent after a misstep on the job. Alex arrives at her dying sisters's death bed in time for sis to tell her that she has been murdered by her husband! Could an attorney and a brilliant scientist be teaming up to offer clients a way to dispose of a spouse as a way of avoiding a long divorce battle? It is up to Alex to go under cover to find out, even against her superior's wishes! Once Iles ramps up the tension there is no looking back, this author is at the top of the thriller game!

37 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can evil conquer all?, April 22, 2007

By	- Kasia S. (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: True Evil: A Novel (Hardcover)

Hands down this was one of the best books I have read in a long time. Greg Iles does a brilliant job of writing a book that reads like a movie, the plot and scenery so realistic that I had a hard time tearing myself away from the story, reading it in three sittings despite the 500 plus page span. I would suggest not reading too much of the dust jacket as it tells the reader a lot about the story and I found to be a bit of a spoiler so I waited until the book was over to read it and realized that not knowing some of those facts made the book even better.

The main meat of the story is about the wicked way in which people decide to get away from their spouses while keeping all the money without dealing with messy and long divorce procedures. Husbands and wives no longer keen on keeping their marital vows turn to Andrew Rush, a divorce lawyer who for a price gives them eternal piece of mind; he has the answer to a perfect murder that would be their solution if they proved to be capable of paying for and keeping it confidential. Working with a brilliant doctor who induces cancer or deadly diseases in people while they have no idea about it, Andrew seeks out rich and morally corrupt people to make money off the crimes they consent to. All was going well for the evil duo until they decided to kill of a wife whose sister is an FBI agent. Alexandra Morse is the heroine whose sister dies in agony telling her something that is terrifying, the dark truth about her husband and his plot that ultimately ends in her demise.

Outraged and lusting for revenge, Alex is on a mission while working on her own to prove that her sister was murdered. Using her FBI contacts and friends who can help her solve her sister's untimely death she seeks out all other victims who have died in a similar way with any connections to Andrew Rush. Along the way she finds the next victim of the lawyer and the scientist through an unfaithful wife who was seen meeting with Rusk. She decides to confront him and hopes that he can help her frame the murderers and saves his life at the same time.

There was so much more to this story that kept me at the edge of the seat that I wish I could tell about, but it would simply give away too much. The character development is flawless and so is the dialogue in this non stop ride of a thriller. The science behind cancers and diseases is well presented and very interesting while the main heroine is as real to me as my best friend. True Evil dealt with some really bad people and the quest to catch them while engaging in an iron battle of wits.

I can't wait to read more of this author as this was a delectable and engrossing book, something that will haunt my memory for a long time. I promise that the ending will be even better than one can predict and the book will leave a deep hunger for more good reading. This story will leave any bookworm full to the brim and deeply satisfied!

- Kasia S.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another home run, January 11, 2007

By	Kevin Hogan "Author of The Psychology of Pers... (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: True Evil: A Novel (Hardcover)

True Evil is a brilliantly conceived story of love and betrayal...and what happens next....

Returning star Alex Morse and new character Chris Shepard. Alex wants to save Chris's life but Chris doesn't see the threat from his wife that Alex does. And no one is safe in Mississippi in this 500 page thriller. Not Alex, not Chris...not anyone.

Oh, and we get to see Tom Cage again, and in more than a walk on role.

The intricately woven plot causes you to miss one nights sleep as you fly through the pages.

Iles writes like few others can. Almost as good as Turning Angel and certainly every bit as good as the five stars it gets today.

Iles just keeps writing these gems and I am thrilled that he does.

Kevin Hogan, Psy.D.
Author of Covert Persuasion
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