Series: Forensic Instincts #3
Published by Harlequin, MIRA on September 24, 2013
Genres: Adult, Crime, Mystery, Psychological Thriller
Pages: 368
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher, TLC Tours
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
It begins with a chilling phone call to Casey Woods. And ends with another girl dead.
College-age girls with long red hair. Brutally murdered, they're posed like victims in a film noir. Each crime scene is eerily similar to the twisted fantasy of a serial offender now serving thirty years to life-a criminal brought to justice with the help of Forensic Instincts.
Call. Kill. Repeat. But the similarities are more than one psychopath's desire to outdo another. As more red-headed victims are added to the body count, it becomes clear that each one has been chosen because of a unique connection to Casey-a connection that grows closer and closer to her.
Now the Forensic Instincts team must race to uncover the identity of a serial killer before his ever-tightening circle of death closes in on Casey as the ultimate target. As the stalker methodically moves in on his prey, his actions make one thing clear: he knows everything about Casey. And Casey realizes that this psychopathic won't stop until he makes sure she's dead.
My Thoughts:
The Stranger You Know is Andrea Kane’s third installment in the Forensic Instincts series. I haven’t read the first two books, but I had no problem picking this book up and getting up to speed with the freelance forensic investigation team lead by behaviorist Casey. Hired by a father who doesn’t have long to live to investigate the cold case disappearance of his daughter from Columbia University several years previously, Casey and her team of specialists connect a group of murders and missing persons cases that fit a pattern: nearly every victim is a college aged red-headed female. The team consists of Casey, a retired FBI scent dog, a tech wizard, a former Navy Seal, a claircognizant, and sometimes an FBI profiler.
A year earlier, Casey and Forensic Instincts were called in by NYPD to help catch a brutal rapist. Casey was used as bait since she fit the offender’s profile, and along with one of her team members they brought the violent Glen down. Now Glen sits in prison, plotting his revenge against Casey. His reach knows no bounds, even behind bars, and his sadistic nature and rage haven’t abated at all during his imprisonment. Glen gets his kicks toying with Casey, taunting her as more women are tortured and murdered, getting closer and closer to Casey being the last and ultimate victim. But the question is, who is murdering these red-headed women since Glen is locked up? Is it a copycat killer or someone Glen is giving orders to?
Written in third person point of view, you get a look inside of a lot of the characters’ heads. This book focuses on Casey and the group’s psychic, Claire. I really enjoyed reading the way Claire’s abilities helped the team as she received impressions from objects and visions of the murders. Having a psychic on the team isn’t something that you see in most books like these, and it was refreshing. The crimes are written in some detail, so they are a mildly graphic.
I give The Stranger You Know a 4 out of 5. The pace was fast throughout the book, and even though this is the third installment in the series, it stands alone with no problems. The characters’ voices are distinct and easily distinguished. In a refreshing change of pace, the killer is revealed a little over halfway through the book, and the game changes from “Who done it” to “Catch me if you can” as the team races to keep Casey safe while preventing more murders. I enjoyed this book and the characters interactions so much, I definitely want to go back and read the first two books while I wait for the next book in this series.
And now for the giveaway of one copy of The Stranger You Know to one winner, courtesy of TLC Book Tours and the Publisher. Just enter the Rafflecopter widget below.
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The Stranger You Know sounds really interesting!
Thanks for the giveaway of Breath and Struck will be absolutely perfect if I win, because I just won an ARC of Resist by Sarah Crossan!
Em recently posted..Waiting On Wednesday (6)
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You’re welcome, Em!
Heather recently posted..The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane – Blog Tour and Giveaway
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THANKS for your great review.
I have this book in my TBR stack.
ENJOY your reading!!
Leaving a link to a post on my blog.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My W…W…W…
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Thank you, Elizabeth. I’m glad that you’ve added this excellent book to your to be read pile. 🙂
Heather recently posted..The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane – Blog Tour and Giveaway
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I’m going to be reading this too! I haven’t read the first 2 books either. But I saw our rating and glad you still enjoyed it. Hopefully I will as well.
Tabitha the Pabkins recently posted..Review: The Farm by Emily McKay
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I had no problem following along without reading the first two books. Now that I’ve read this one and seen the dynamics between the Forensic Instincts team, I’m going to go back and read the first two books. It’s very interesting and entertaining, and I want to see how the relationships have evolved over the course of three books.
I’m glad that you’re going to read The Stranger You Know too, and I hope you like it!
Heather recently posted..The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane – Blog Tour and Giveaway
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I’m glad to see that this one works as a standalone as well as part of the series!
Thanks for being on the tour.
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You’re welcome, Heather! Thanks for having me on the tour.
Heather recently posted..Halloween with HarlequinTEEN, Michelle Rowen & Wicked Kiss – Giveaways!!!
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I’m so excited for this! Thanks for the Giveaway
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