Wednesday 16 July 2014

A bustle in the hedgerow - Ben Miller

                                                                             



The strangled body of a 9-year-old girl is discovered behind a hedgerow bordering her school playground in York, Pennsylvania.  The local authorities’ only clue lies in a scrap of paper left in her front pocket, with a short phrase printed on it in an unfamiliar language.
Jackson Byrne, an FBI agent who specializes in investigating crimes against children, has just completed a book tour promoting his best-seller about solving his most recent high-profile case—the abduction and murder of a celebrity’s young daughter.  Unexpectedly, Jack receives an invitation from an old family friend and powerful political insider urging him to run for the U.S. Senate.  At the same time, his FBI division learns of the murder of another child with a similar mysterious message, launching them into a search for a serial killer given the moniker The Playground Predator.  As Jack becomes torn between his excitement about a new career and others’ expectations of a celebrated investigator, he must also continue to deal with demons from his past.
While Jack’s devoted wife, a sycophantic young FBI colleague, and an ambitious and attractive female reporter all try to influence his path, none of them pulls the strings as effectively as the enigmatic Randall, the psychologically disturbed but brilliant Playground Predator himself, who orchestrates his own master plan, eventually dragging Jack into an inevitable showdown.


Book link:


About the author




Ben Miller was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in psychology at Yale University and his Medical Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. Since completing residency training in Pediatrics, he has worked as a hospital-based Pediatrician and Diagnostic Referral Specialist at The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.
Ben currently resides with his wife and two daughters in a suburb of Pittsburgh. He continues to work on his next novel while teaching and practicing pediatrics.

My Review


I thoroughly enjoyed this suspenseful thriller that deals with a psychologically disturbed serial killer, nicknamed the ‘Playground Predator.’ It is not for the fainthearted but will appeal to anyone who enjoys this kind of crime novel. It is quite disturbing in places as Jackson Byrne is caught up in the killer’s web whilst trying to run for the US Senate. Lots of twists and turns, manipulation and red herrings mean this is a book that will stay with you long after you finish it. You may also want to give your children an even tighter hug this evening. The only point that I did find confusing was that the characters are sometimes referred to by their first name, sometimes by their surname or by a nickname – but that could just be me!

4.5/5

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