Twisted (Hardcover)

by Andrea Kane (Author)
Key Phrases: seatback bag, serial sexual killer, lesser goddesses, John Jay, New York, Mount Olympus (more...)

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 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #203,906 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 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 (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

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

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Light mystery/romance, April 9, 2008

By	Breeni Books "www.breenibooks.com" (Rockwell, NC) - See all my reviews

Sloane Burbank is making use of civilian life after leaving the FBI, teaching Krav Maga self-defense classes. A call from the mother of a childhood friend will quickly bring her back to her old career associations, however. Sloan's friend Penny has been missing for close to a year, and her case is stalled. Penny's mother hires Sloane to dig a little more and see if she can get the investigation moving again.

As similarities between Penny's disappearance and newer abductions begin to surface, Sloane is determined to discover the common denominator in the crime spree that may lead to the killer. In the meantime, she'll need to work her FBI connections to get all of the information she can, and that includes ex-boyfriend Derek Parker. To make matters more difficult, Derek isn't ready to move quietly past the breakup. The two are going to have to work through their differences if they want to capture the murderer before another woman becomes his prey. Time is of the essence.

I wanted to like this book; I really did. But it reminded me too much of a newer J. D. Robb novel I'm also reading, Creation in Death, that was initially released almost a year before Twisted. Both contain a strong female law enforcement agent who becomes the ultimate prize of a deranged serial killer. But while Robb's novel contains actual legwork and investigating on the part of the main characters, Kane's novel seems to be comprised of a lot of filler to make up for the fact that they feed all of the information into a computer and let it solve the mystery. And the probability is slim of the computer pinpointing the murderer in the detailed way that it does, based on the limited clues it was running.

I also couldn't figure out why the author kept throwing in "9/11" like Rudi Giuliani on a campaign trail. It really had nothing to do with any of the events in the book, as far as I can see. There was the fact that many FBI agents were transferring to counterterrorism units, but it bore no relevance to the case Sloane was working on.

Twisted's strongpoint is that the reader is kept in suspense regarding the identity of the killer until late in the book. Once that first big clue arrives, the climax takes off. Of course, strong female protagonists make for good material and high sales these days. We don't like our women weak and submissive any longer. Sloane Burbank does not disappoint.

In summary, I'd have to say Twisted is a pretty good light mystery with a little romance thrown in. Don't expect intricate networks and convoluted clues to tease the brain. If you keep hoping for a challenge, you're not going to get it. Is there such a thing as mystery "fluff?"

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twisted, May 13, 2008

By	Tyler Hendrix (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

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.