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A murderer is on the loose on the streets of New York City: nicknamed the Doomsday Killer, he's claimed six victims in just two weeks, and the city is terrified. Even worse, the police are mystified: the victims have nothing in common, defying all profiling, and all that connects them is that each received a sick postcard in the mail before they died - a postcard that announced their date of death. In desperation, the FBI assigns the case to maverick agent Will Piper, once the most accomplished serial killing expert in the bureau's history, now on a dissolute spiral to retirement. Battling his own demons, Will is soon drawn back into a world he both loves and hates, determined to catch the killer whatever it takes. But his search takes him in a direction he could never have predicted, uncovering a shocking secret that has been closely guarded for centuries. A secret that once lay buried in an underground library beneath an 8th Century monastery, but which has now been unearthed - with deadly consequences. A select few defend the secret of the library with their lives - and as Will closes in on the truth, they are determined to stop him, at any cost ...… (more)
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an interesting concept and a good story . i quite enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.
note to author: please fire the guy who writes the
In present day, New York City, nine strangers are found slain. The homicide detectives can't find any connections among the victims or the manner of their deaths. But each of these
While in a small town in France, a child is born - the seventh son born on the 7th day of the 7th month of 777. His parents are superstitious and when the child refuses to speak, he is abandoned to a monastery. The monks discover the child's gift and keep his existence a secret for decades. Until the child's legacy is uncovered by archeologists in the 1940s.
Winston Churchill and Harry Truman work together to keep the monk's secret from coming out. The discovery becomes the heart of an expensive government secret project.
Will Piper, the Doomsday Killer, and the secret that has survived centuries tie together in an engrossing and complicated novel.
ISBN-10: 0061721794 - Mass Market Paperback $7.99
Publisher: Harper; Original edition (July 28, 2009), 419 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher.
Erm, actually, and perhaps not surprisingly, on closer investigation, SotSS, seems to be the first by our ‘Glenn.' I can only guess, that his agent said after he delivered this one, "what else have you got?" And in the kitchen cupboard drawer- under ’The Tenth Chamber’, was - amongst others - ‘The Devil Will Come.’ He’d have been better of with finding the shopping list in that one’s case. But that’s just me.
Anyway, here we have the FBI hunt for a serial killer with an irritatingly random modus operandi and a religiously undertoned historical mystery thriller ensues. That turns into a race against time, manhunt-type suspense thriller. There, I think I’ve about covered it all.
It holds the attention, even with some darting to and fro sometimes just months, sometimes back to the 8th and 9th century. It’s an intriguing enough plot, at least up until around half way, when it becomes reasonably clear what’s going on. But even then, there are some big surprises and enough unexpected twists to keep me going to the end. Oh, and there’s an alternative - and reasonably plausible - explanation for what might really be hidden at Area 51. If you believe there is something hidden there. Or that there IS an Area 51...
'Will Piper' is a decent, solid sympathetic character. An FBI suspect profiler with a believable back-story (as CNN might say. Often). Actually, a level of believability I’ve not encountered too often in books of this ‘me too’ religious secrets thriller sort. Style-wise, it put me in mind of one by Michael Connelly I read. An attention to and description of, believable character detail that had me thinking I should me taking more than mental notes, as it’s as sure as whatever that some of this is gonna come in useful for solving the case, both for the character and for me.
There are a couple of other unexplained, perhaps fortuitous “there’s lucky!" circumstances or coincidences, but not enough to get in the way of enjoying the book as a whole. One does need to spring over (as we say here in Denmark) the idea that only the male genes are passed on to sons from their fathers. That only male children are born in these special circumstances - I don’t remember there being any mention of girls being born. You’ll know what I’m on about if you read the book
I'd also like to find out why the Isle of Wight. Having had countless holidays on the IoW in my younger days, I knew that the book's medieval passages in 'Vectis' were on the IoW. I think he's got some relationship with the UK somewhere down the line. For an American, he's clearly got a practiced ear for us English, you can tell that from the sections, the dialogue especially of the parts set in England and even the section with the Scottish people ring very true. Though I'd have used 'pal', instead of 'mate.’
All in all though, a vast improvement (actually I suppose it was more a 'good start', as this actually came first) on the others I’ve read of Glenn Cooper’s.
The Piper character solves the serial killing in the standard modern FBI way (although too many coincidences for my liking) without really grasping the supernatural significance of the underlying mystery - sort of a Mulder without the seond sight.
The sequel is already set up and the opening chapter supplied as an appendix to this book. A good story with plenty of twists to think about, but slightly too formulaic in structure and planning (you can almost hear the TV film theme music...).
I really enjoyed this book. It does move through time, but the author handles it beautifully. The concept is original and the reader gets to have more information than the detective. It was fun. I understand there will be a second book featuring Will Piper. I will definitely be reading it.
One
Some of the characters were really annoying. We'd learn a lot about a secondary character, learn about their background, but it didn't further the story along. We're just told it to fill up pages. Again, for me, this brought the story to a screeching stop, I do like the main character of Will, but the jumping from time to time, and all of the unneeded background of secondary characters, just took away from the character of Will and what he was going through.
Overall, I'd say skip it. I don't plan to read any more books by Cooper.
It's not a bad story, but there's some serious handwaving going on, why the Library was moved to the US in 1947, post war there was no real reason for this, the UK would have held on to that more tenaciously. The end did want me to keep looking for the series though, the whole story could be interesting, though the amero-centrism may make me very cranky by the time I get further on.
It's hard nowadays to develop any kind of unique serial-killer concept, but without spoiling the plot, The Secret of the Seventh Son has done it, near-perfectly (if you buy into the quasi-mystical-biblical solution). Unlike other reviewers, I had no problem with the 'time-jumping' in the narrative because it was clear from the beginning that the jaunts back to the 8th - 12th centuries were vital to solving the mystery and explaining how all these unrelated people were being killed in such different ways.
Everything else in this novel was delicious gravy - the descriptions of Area 51's inner workings, the thrill of Vegas card-counting, the all-too familiar details of a struggling screenwriter, a romantic twist and a rather unlikable protagonist who manages a bold transformation... and even the way Cooper worked in the actuarial mechanics of life insurance and made it a huge revelation fitting with the plot, worked well for me. My only regret is that the publishers didn't keep the original title of 'The Library of the Dead', which was so much more fitting. If you like Rollins, Preston/Child and the like, don't miss this one.
My complaints about this book: there were so many characters and shifts in time (from past to present, etc.) that it took me a while to get into the story. It was also a bit difficult to
There was a LOT of sexual violence in this book. It was unnecessary and disturbing. If you might be triggered by that, then this book is definitely not for you.
Overall the story was interesting. I'm not sure if I will read the sequel.
First line:
~ David Swisher spun the trackball of his Blackberry until he found the e-mail from the CFO of one of his clients ~
I found this to be a fascinating read! I was caught up in the story right from the beginning, got a little confused as we jumped back
The suspense built for me nicely. I did not figure out who the serial killer was until the author revealed it.
I really liked the way the distant past events, the three separate story lines all come together at the end. Unlike others who have reviewed this book here, I found the characters quite believable and enjoyable to follow. I look forward to the sequel. (4 stars)
In addition to the modern story, the plot takes us to 1947 Britain, a monastery in the eighth and thirteenth centuries of Britain, and even Area 51 in Nevada. Several different story threads are followed. Eventually, these threads are woven together in a compelling conclusion. It's hard to review this book without giving away some spoilers so that's all I'm going to say.
I found this book to be a great mix of modern day thriller, a little bit of the supernatural, and some historical mystery as well. I thought the concept was fascinating and I definitely plan to read the second book of the trilogy very soon.
This is a wonderful début novel with an intriguing, unique
I'm now left wanting more and more by this author and sincerely look forward to his next novel...