Twisted [Hardcover]

Andrea Kane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2008

New York Times bestselling novelist Andrea Kane leads you down a dark and twisted alleyway, littered with drugs, kidnapping, and murder. Navigating expertly between the mind of a deranged serial killer and the FBI special agents racing to end his lethal spree, Kane delivers a complex, unforgettable story based on extensive research with the FBI and its Crisis Negotiation and Behavioral Analysis Units. Twisted is Kane's most accomplished novel yet.

Who will be next?

Former FBI Special Agent Sloane Burbank survived a life-threatening injury sustained in the line of duty, only to face leaving a job she loves in order to recuperate. As an independent consultant, she now uses her specialized skills to train law enforcement and private organizations in crisis resolution. But when one of her closest childhood friends mysteriously disappears, and the woman's devastated parents beg for her help, Sloane takes the case—even though her ex-lover Derek Parker is the FBI agent in charge.

Special Agent Derek Parker, now assigned to the Asian Criminal Enterprise Task Force in the FBI's New York Field Office, has no time to spare for a year-old case he sees as a dead end—especially since it would mean working with a woman he never expected to see again. He's pursuing the leader of a Chinese gang and trying to solve a series of grisly murders in Chinatown, so he initially offers Sloane the case files and minimal cooperation.

But as more women disappear and others turn up brutally murdered, Derek's priorities shift, and he and Sloane come to the sickening realization that these random crimes are linked to the same crazed killer. No one can anticipate when he will strike again, but when Sloane becomes the target of the killer's twisted obsession, it's clear that his ultimate fantasy is even more psychotic than either of them ever imagined.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This chilling first of a new romantic suspense series from bestseller Kane (Dark Room) introduces 30-year-old Sloane Burbank, a former FBI agent trained as a crisis negotiator, now an independent consultant who works with law enforcement and others in need of her expertise. During a trip to Manhattan, Sloane receives a call from the mother of a childhood friend with whom she's lost touch, Penny Truman. When Sloane learns that Penny has been missing for almost a year, she turns for help to her former lover, Derek Parker, who happens to be the FBI agent in charge of Penny's case. Animosity between Derek and Sloane serves to increase the explosive romantic tension between the pair as more women disappear, evidently victims of a serial killer. A wealth of red herring suspects will keep the reader guessing until the conclusion of this no-holds-barred thriller. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Sloane Burbank, a former FBI agent and hostage negotiator recovering from a debilitating injury and now a consultant to New York law enforcement agencies, is asked by the parents of a childhood friend to look into the disappearance of their daughter. This request not only brings Sloane into contact with her former lover, Derek Parker, now an FBI special agent, but also with a demented and vicious serial killer who has targeted her and women who have been involved in her life. How she and Derek get back together personally as well as professionally to catch this guy is the story in Kane’s latest, which is exhaustively researched, as the introductory credits attest. More high-tech serial-killer tracking than romance, but with enough romance to placate those who like it, this is a superb, read-in-one-sitting nail-biter of a story, right down to the last word. --Mary K. Chelton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1ST edition (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061236780
• ISBN-13: 978-0061236785
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,108,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A CHILLING, CAN'T-PUT-DOWN THRILLER, April 7, 2008

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Twisted (Hardcover)

Not just anyone could gain access to the FBI's top-secret Quantico facility but best-selling author Andrea Kane could and did. When you read Twisted, you'll believe you're there with her every fascinating, grueling, shocking step of the way.

Dare you to put this book down after reading the following opener: "She was a true warrior. Even the weapon hadn't been enough to make her submit. Not like the others. Not until she'd felt the prick of the blade, sensed drops of her own blood........"

From the start we know that Kane has created one of the most frightening psychopaths of recent memory. Who is he? Why is he committing this heinous act? Will there be another?

To answer these questions Kane introduces Sloane Burbank, a former FBI agent. She left the Bureau to work as a negotiator after a stab wound deprived her of the use of one hand. Although her current schedule is packed Sloane immediately responds when she receives a call from the parents of a childhood friend, Penny Truman, who went missing some time ago. Penny's father is a renowned cardiologist, so he would have been prime for extortion but no such attempt was ever made.

Sloane's ex partner in the Cleveland office and former lover, Derek Parker, is the FBI agent in charge of Penny's case. He's busy elsewhere hoping to catch a man, Chen, also known as "Little Dragon." Three women have been slain in a similar manner - the only clue is that they all worked at Fukienese brothels which has been linked to Chen. Derek considers Penny's disappearance a nowhere to go case.

Nonetheless, Sloane prevails upon him to help her ( thus author Kane can show her skill at describing unresolved feelings between the two of them).

It soon becomes clear that Penny's disappearance may have been due to the machinations of the same killer responsible for the deaths of the prostitutes. As some of the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit it appears that Sloane is to be the next victim.

With traces of romance and an intriguing plot reinforced by assiduous research Kane has fashioned a chilling can't-put-down thriller.

- Gail Cooke

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More thriller than romance, July 28, 2008

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Twisted (Hardcover)

Former FBI hostage negotiator Sloane Burbank is taking time off from a debilitating injury when she's hired by a childhood friend's parents to locate their missing daughter Penny, who disappeared without a trace over a year ago baffling police and the FBI. When she seeks help from the local FBI, her former lover, Derek Parker is angry at being pulled off what he considers a more important case involving the Chinese mafia to babysit a PI who is tracking down a trail of clues that are now very cold. When clues start leading to a series of murders that seemingly tie to Sloane, they have to wonder who the ultimate victim is.

Kane's latest thriller includes some exhaustive research and a pretty ingenious MO for the killer (he is fascinated with Greek Goddesses and longs to create his own set of them). The romance is somewhat left on the backburner compared to some of Kane's other novels, but she manages to create a lot of tension between her two leads that leaps off the pages. With an engaging plot, and non-stop action, this is one hard story to put down.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twisted with a Climax You Won't Forget, May 13, 2008

By 

Tyler Hendrix (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Twisted (Hardcover)

Twisted is a great romantic suspense novel written by a talented writer. This intriguing plot takes place in the great New York City area. The book is structured in such multiple dimensions that you can't help but think she has experienced some of it along her life. The characters are brilliantly convincing all on their own. Main character Sloan burbank was a former FBI agent who retired due to an injury in Cleveland. She is going thru multiple surgeries and therapy due to that crazy boy slicing her hand. She wishes to join the FBI again as an agent but can't until her hand is healed. Meanwhile while her hand heals she devotes her times to her consulting business. Luckily with her many associates in the law enforcement she gets a bunch of work. Sloan gets a message from the mother of her childhood friend Penny Truman where she learns that she has disappeared. The Trumans ask her to try and find out what happened to their daughter. She knowing the victim well has an advantage of spotting clues that others overlooked. The romance and suspense now builds with her being forced to work with old lover Derek Parker in the force to find out what happened to Penny. The book ends with the identity of the sociopath remaining elusive. Sloan begins to see similarities in other disappearances of women and Derek starts to realize the connection with Sloan so that's when the book gets extremely interesting. It finishes with a climax you won't forget.