Customer Reviews

Vicious

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!!!!!

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+.

For over two years in the Seattle area, the "Mama's Boy" kidnapped and killed mothers while the children were left where he kidnapped the mothers and left the child some battered toys. The police never found him and never could explain why he abruptly stopped.

Widow Susan Blanchette whose husband and older son were killed, drives with her four year old boy Matthew to meet her fiancé medical supply salesman Allen Meker in Cullen, Washington. Allen, who adores Susan and cares about her toddler, has a great weekend planned for them. When they reach the place he rented, Susan believes there is a prowler, but Allen sees no one. While at a store, Jordan Prewitt, whose mom was killed by the Mama's Boy, kidnaps Allen. He intends to torture the man until he confesses he is the serial killer. While Susan searches for Allen, two psychopaths hijack her.

Kevin O'Brien provides an intense, perhaps too emotional, but electrifying thriller. Several characters share the lead including the three above and Jordan's friend Les while a strong support cast enhance the growing tension. The key to the plot is the reader keeps changing his or her mind as to who the killer is although that is a two edged as at times because needless subplots that adds nothing is applied to trick the audience to go down a sidebar. Still with terrific twists, fans will wonder who the Mama's Boy serial killer is.

Harriet Klausner

I must admit that this book kept my interest, but the whole time I kept thinking about how incredibly stupid Susan was. I mean, there are five or six given points during this story that you figure she should pack her stuff up in three minutes and get the hell out of there. This is especially true after seeing those pictures in the email. (I would have told her to leave the place as soon as her fiance disappeared.) Also, the last line in the book confirms that she is the dumbest woman in fiction, perhaps next to those idiotic teens in Friday the 13th movies. Come on. Didn't she learn her lesson?!?

The story line was pretty good, but it still seemed slow moving to me. Actually, I couldn't wait until I was done reading it. The story seemed somewhat far-fetched, or maybe it was the characters that didn't ring quite true. Either way, I would recommend this book, but not to the extreme.

I am a fan of Kevin O'Brien, having read everything he has ever written and usually enjoyed them thoroughly. Vicious is actually a good read, but compared to some of O'Brien's other books, I thought it fell short.

While other readers have commented on the wonderful pace of the storyline, I found it a little slow, which is why I had a harder time with this one. Usually, when I read one of O'Brien's novels, I feel as though i am going at warp speed - there is always something going on - its non stop action and non stop suspense.

While there was, of course, some of that in this book, I found myself having a harder time engaging. I loved the premise, the Mama's Boy Killer - was inspired! However, when we find ourselve in the scenes where the killer may or may not be confronted with the children of the mother's he murdered - the story just did not provide me with the jolt I am use to.

This is a difficult review for me to write - I really wanted to ADORE this book, as I have so many of Kevin's other books, but I have to go with "good" this time around.

The writing style is always entertaining and fun! and O'Brien is great at creating characters that are different and intriguing, however, even all of these elements could not make me rate this one a 4 star :(

I have been downloading a lot of Kindle freebies lately and have been very disapointed lately. I was honestly about to give up on freebies altogether.

Then came Viscious. I had a blast reading it. The author did a great job with character development and kept a very fast pace throughout the book. I honestly could not figure out who the killer was until very near the end. And, then, I was so engrossed in the action that I couldn't stop reading until the very last page was digested.

Thanks to the author for a fun read.

fast paced story that keeps you guessing, got this one free and now I am hooked already bought 3 more from him- I enjoy the writing style and story lines

I enjoyed this book. It continually kept me guessing who was the serial killer and who was threatening him. It is a page turner. this book has brought kevin O'brien to my attention and i will definetly be reading more of his books.