The Samaritan
"...fast-paced and easy to read with lots happening on each page."
Synopsis:
When the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in the Santa Monica Mountains, LAPD Detective Jessica Allen knows she's seen this MO before - two and a half years ago on the other side of the country.
A sadistic serial killer has been operating undetected for a decade, preying on lone female drivers who have broken down. The press dub the killer 'the Samaritan', but with no leads and a killer who leaves no traces, the police investigation quickly grinds to a halt.
That's when Carter Blake shows up to volunteer his services. He's a skilled manhunter with an uncanny ability to predict the Samaritan's next moves. At first, Allen and her colleagues are suspicious. After all, their new ally shares some uncomfortable similarities to the man they're tracking. But as the Samaritan takes his slaughter to the next level, Blake must find a way to stop him even if it means bringing his own past crashing down on top of him.
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Review:
Carter remains as elusive as he did in 'The Killing Season', Cross' debut novel. We still know little about Carter apart from him being ex-military, and that Carter Blake is not his real name. Blake believes the killer is someone he knows from his past. However, Cross gives so little away about Blake's 'previous life' that I would have preferred to either been given more information Blake or for the killer to be a complete stranger and therefore not have anything to do with Blake's past. For me, it just didn't work as it wasn't one way or the other. That said I still like the way Blake manages to get out of every corner he is backed into, can think on his feet, stays one step ahead of everyone and can disappear into thin air. Blake is both the hunter and the hunted in 'The Samaritan' which for a thriller is heavy going at over 500 pages, but it's fast-paced and easy to read with lots happening on each page. Not quite on par with his debut, but certainly no disappointment.