Twisted [Paperback]

Jay Bonansinga (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Publishing a novel about a giant hurricane hitting New Orleans eleven months after the very real Hurricane Katrina is a dicey undertaking. But Bonansinga pulls it off with grace and reverence for the Crescent City—especially since, according to the novel's foreword, he turned in the first draft one month before Katrina hit. The chills don't stop with the novel's prescience. In his second leading role, stoic ex-FBI profiler Ulysses Grove comes to post-Katrina New Orleans for the funeral of a friend, professor Moses De Lourde, but finds a string of related murders—De Lourde's included—that compel him and former flame Maura County, a journalist, to team up and find the killer. After the pair do further research into De Lourde's secret theory tying hurricanes to ancient ritual human sacrifice, clues to the killer's identity emerge, and the case turns up links to Grove's past. As the city battens down for another disastrous storm season, Grove's chase is just beginning. Those who haven't read the previous Grove novel might find themselves playing catchup, but Bonansinga has a talent for painting suspenseful scenes in vivid colors, put to especially good use in the final showdown. (July)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786017244
• ISBN-13: 978-0786017249
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,117,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fast-paced action thriller, July 12, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twisted (Paperback)

Professor Moses De Lourde tries to survive a storm in New Orleans when he hears a clicking noise. He looks outside his window to see a man running away from his home. He leaves his home and while outside calls his friend FBI Forensic Profiler Ulysses Grove, but the call is somehow interrupted. Later a mortified Agent Grove learns that his pal is dead.

At the funeral Ulysses is reunited with reporter Maura County, who he previously worked with to apprehend the Sun City serial killer. After the murderer was caught, an exorcism was performed on the FBI Special Agent; the video caught something leaving Ulysses' body. He notices on Moses' body that some parts including the eyes are missing; the same thing that happened to two other people he knows during the eye of the hurricane. He wonders if something is after him using his friends as dead bait. Ulysses decides to confront his adversary by being in New Orleans during the eye of a Katrina like intensity named Hurricane Fiona.

Jay Bonansinga writes an action thriller that starts at light speed and soars even faster until the climatic final hurricane. The reader is unsure where the supernatural or the more mundane is at work as the story line lives up to its title with plenty of twists. Though the action is top rate, the key characters, especially Ulysses, are fully developed and believable. Fans will want to join Mr. Bonansinga in the eye of the storm from the distance of their armchairs.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat tepid sequel of sorts to "Frozen", March 3, 2007

By 

coachtim (Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twisted (Paperback)

Bonansinga's chilling 2005 novel, "Frozen" (pun intended) introduces the reader to FBI profiler Ulysses Grove, author Maura County, and Professor Moses De Lourde as the trio star in a plot that revolves around an original serial killer murder spree. The reader will want to start with "Frozen" before making the decision to wrap themselves around "Twisted" because each of the characters above play important roles once again.

In "Twisted", Grove and County reluctantly agree to reunite to track down another serial killer, but this time, the catch is that this psycho ONLY murders victims who are within the eye of a hurricane. A pretty preposterous scenario in this reviewer's humble opinion. The stage for the novel is post-Katrina New Orleans and Bonansinga does do a great job working the city and especially the French Quarter into the novel.

On the downside, there are few new characters added to this novel and very little in the way of character development of the murderer. IMHO, Bonansigna takes a fairly original concept (when and where the murders take place) and turns it into too much fantasy for my liking. In particular, the "hurricane chase scenes" (many which are on foot, no less) are extremely dubious.

"Twisted" is worth your time if you are a fan of Bonansinga's or if you have read "Frozen", but just don't expect too much! A word of caution to residents of New Orleans and its surrounding area, "Twisted" may hit too close to home for some of you and may be disturbing!

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It!!!!, April 25, 2008

By 

C. Tilbury "Artistic Murder Bloodhound" (Richmond, BC Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twisted (Paperback)

I am a new fan of Jay Bonansinga's work and I have been reading whatever I can get my hands on that he has written. Very well done, action packed and intense....just the way I like 'em!