Barbara’s rating: 3.4 out of 5 Stars
Series: An Alexander Gregory Thriller #5
Publication Date: 5/2/24
Period: Contemporary London and Cambridge
Number of Pages: 254

Let me get this over with, right here at the beginning, I thoroughly DISLIKE cliffhangers! This author’s books usually pull me into the story so deeply that I cannot put the book down until I’ve read the last page. I cannot tell you why, but that just wasn’t the case with this story. It took me almost a week to read it and when it ended in a cliffhanger, I just threw my hands up. Had I known about the cliffhanger when I was halfway through the book, I would have just stopped reading at that point instead of slogging on through. The writing was fine and the story could have been one of the most exciting yet – but, that wasn’t the case. In some places, the movement of the storyline seemed almost nonexistent. I almost always give this author’s work a 5-star rating, but I just couldn’t do it this time – and that pains me greatly because it could have been so great.

We first met Dr. Naomi Palmer in the third book of the series, Bedlam, where Gregory checked into a highly secure mental hospital in America at the request of the FBI. Naomi and Gregory formed a bit of an attachment there and that attachment has grown since their separation. Now, Naomi has written a book and has come to England to promote it – and to promote her relationship with Gregory as well. We always knew Gregory had a soft, mushy, vulnerable side – but he didn’t know it. Now, he does. What we don’t know at the end of this book, is whether that soft, vulnerable side will survive or be crushed by events that didn’t finish playing out in this book.

Several years ago, Dr. Gregory Alexander and Professor William (Bill) Douglas profiled a sadistic serial killer for Scotland Yard. That profile was misused by the police and the wrong man was arrested, tried, and convicted. The true perpetrator was later found, and Carl Deere was set free. In reparations, Carl was paid millions of pounds and all records of him were erased – including his DNA profile.

One of the reasons Scotland Yard was so determined to arrest and convict Carl – even over the objections of Bill and Gregory – was because he closely matched that profile. He just hadn’t acted on any of those ‘urges’ yet. From prison forward, Carl had no reservations whatsoever about acting on those ‘urges’ – nor did he have any reservations about seeking revenge on those he blamed for incarcerating him. All of them, from the smallest role to the biggest, will receive the same punishment – the same sentence – death.

With the higher-ups at Scotland Yard in denial about the sudden spate of murders being related to Carl’s case, and their absolute refusal to have anything with criminal profiling, can Gregory and Bill manage to find and stop Carl? How many lives will be lost? Can Alexander save Bill from harm?

I can recommend this story if you have read other books in the series and enjoyed them. Perhaps you’ll love it with the cliffhanger and it will make you yearn for the next book that should solve the cliffhanger. I think that one of the things that bugs me about this book (and this series) is Scotland Yard – especially the leadership – looking like they are a bunch of bumbling twits. Scotland Yard is one of the premier law enforcement agencies in the world, but they won’t have anything to do with criminal profiling? Just how far behind the times are we supposed to believe they are? Most police forces – everywhere – even in small towns and villages – have what would pass for a criminal profiler. Why wouldn’t Scotland Yard? Anyway – while I didn’t get totally sucked into this story, I am looking forward to the next book, Amnesia.