Vicious [Paperback]

Kevin O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2010

For more than two years, he held Seattle in a terror grip - a cold-blooded killer who abducted young mothers right in front of their sons and murdered them execution style. Then, as suddenly as the killings began, they seemed to stop. Susan Blanchette is looking forward to a relaxing weekend getaway with her fiancee, Allen, and young son, Matthew. But something about the remote lake house doesn't feel right. A woman vanished from the area a year ago, and now Susan thinks she's spotted someone lurking around the property. And when Allen disappears, her fear grows. A psychopath has returned, ready to strike again. Someone who can't resist the urge to kill, who derives pleasure from others' pain, and who is drawing nearer to Susan as each minute of the weekend ticks by. But she's just one pawn at the heart of a killer's deadly game - a killer who is unrelenting, unstoppable, and absolutely vicious.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Deftly woven plot twists save bestseller O'Brien's latest serial killer novel from predictability. The Mama's Boy killer spent two years kidnapping Seattle mothers and murdering them in front of their young sons; then he dropped off the radar for a decade. Widowed Susan Blanchette is on her way to Cullen, Wash., for an idyllic weekend with her toddler, Matthew, and her fiancé, Allen; high school students Jordan (whose mother was a Mama's Boy victim), Leo, and Moira are headed there as well, to celebrate Leo's birthday. When Jordan meets Allen, he thinks he recognizes his mother's killer, but if Allen is Mama's Boy, who just kidnapped Moira? While the pace of the novel is strong and the story intriguing, O'Brien (Final Breath) tries too hard to manipulate readers with implausible character actions, over-the-top emotions, and unnecessary obfuscations. (June)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (June 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786021365
• ISBN-13: 978-0786021369
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For seventeen years, before his thrillers landed him on The New York Times Bestseller list, Kevin O'Brien made his living as a railroad inspector and did all his writing at night. His second novel, ONLY SON (1996), was optioned for film rights, thanks to interest from David Seltzer (THE OMEN)and Tom Hanks. It was also chosen by Readers Digest for its Select Editions--along with John Grisham's THE PARTNER. "Seeing my photo on the back cover--alongside John Grisham--really made me feel as if I'd 'arrived' as an author," Kevin admits.

Kevin has been writing full time ever since. But he hasn't forgotten his railroad "ties." So--if on occassion, you find a scene in a Kevin O'Brien thriller in which a dead body is discovered in a railroad yard, well, now you know why.

THE NEXT TO DIE (2001), his first thriller, was a USA Today Bestseller. More bestsellers followed with MAKE THEM CRY, WATCH THEM DIE and LEFT FOR DEAD. His 2005 spellbinder, THE LAST VICTIM won the Spotted Owl Award for Best Pacific Northwest Mystery/Thriller, and became a New York Times Bestseller. Kevin O'Brien continued his New York Times Bestseller streak with KILLING SPREE, ONE LAST SCREAM and FINAL BREATH. His 2010 thriller, VICIOUS, was also a bestselling ebook. His latest thriller, DISTURBED, will be available in April, 2011.

Kevin lives in Seattle, where he's involved with the Seattle 7 Writers, along with Garth Stein, Jennie Shortridge, Erica Baeumeister, Carol Cassella and several other award-winning, bestselling authors (www.seattle7writers.org). Among the S7W projects is THE HOTEL ANGELINE: A NOVEL IN 36 VOICES, a collaborative book with 36 authors--including Erik Larson, Jamie Ford, Elizabeth George, Robert Dugoni, Susan Wiggs and several others. In Kevin's chapter, someone meets a violent end...naturally. Library Lady, Nancy Pearl, furnishes the Introduction. All sales for this forthcoming ebook will go to promote literacy and writing in schools. Kevin loves Hitchcock movies, and is hard at work on a new thriller.

You can visit his website: www.kevinobrienbooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reads Like a Book Alfred Hitchcock Never Filmed, June 3, 2010

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vicious (Paperback)

VICIOUS is Kevin O'Brien's 10th thriller, and I daresay that his audience will find it to be his best to date. As for fans of horror novels or mystery stories, they will spread the word that this book is a horrific mystery that fills the bill in all ways, a tale that will keep readers bouncing off the wall all night long.

The novel takes place primarily over the course of what will be an extremely long day for some of the characters and an all-too-short period of time for others. Susan Blanchette is no stranger to tragedy, having lost her beloved husband and older son in a terrible accident. She has started to put her life and that of her surviving son, four-year-old Mattie, back together. Allen, her fiancé, is a part of that process, even as she experiences some unspecified misgivings about starting over. When Allen suggests --- almost insists upon --- a trip to Cullen, an isolated vacation spot near Seattle, Susan agrees, hoping that a change of scenery will do them both good.

But Susan and Mattie haven't even arrived at their destination before things become unsettling. First, Susan feels like she is being stalked in a fast food restaurant by a handsome but pushy stranger who wants to be too friendly too quickly. When the man shows up again as Susan makes a comfort stop at a convenience store in Cullen, she is all but certain that he is up to no good.

Meanwhile, Susan's life and fate are about to become intertwined with three teenagers with whom she has a chance encounter at the convenience store. One of them, a young man named Jordan Prewitt, is a secondary victim of a notorious serial killer dubbed "Mama's Boy" by the media. Mama's Boy had been active 10 years previously in the Seattle area, and one of his victims was Jordan's mother, who was abducted in front of the then-eight-year-old boy and murdered. Jordan became obsessed with the man, researching his other crimes as well as similar occurrences from around the nation.

It turns out that Allen has rented the very cabin where one of the abductions happened. Worse, murders similar to those committed by Mama's Boy have begun to take place again in the area around Cullen. And just as Susan begins to feel as if she is being watched, Allen vanishes seemingly into thin air. She has no idea what is going on; all she knows is that she wants to take Mattie and go back to Seattle, either with or without Allen. Jordan, meanwhile, thinks that he has solved the mystery and is about to administer some rough justice on the man who changed his life forever. He may be wrong, though, and before the day is done in a normally quiet vacation spot, more than one innocent life could be lost forever.

VICIOUS reads like the book Alfred Hitchcock never filmed. Most of it takes place within a square mile or so in three different places, but seems to be written on a much larger scale. One thing is certain, however: you won't think about renting a cabin in an idyllic setting without thinking about O'Brien's latest thriller and reconsidering your vacation plans, among other things.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!, May 25, 2010

By 

Patricia Goodspeed - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vicious (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. Fast and furious pace. Keeps you guessing and second guessing. I read this book in two days. Could barely put it down. Great read!!!!!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, June 9, 2010

By 

Nancy Abbe (Kent, Wa.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vicious (Paperback)

What a great read. I loved this book and could hardly put it down. Kevin is a superb writer and this book proves it.
Thanks for the "shout out" also. Kevin you are no. 1 with me and I know your next book will be a page turner too.

I would recommend "Vicious" to anyone wanting a non-stop read. Also, all of Kevins books rate a 10+.