I don't often read crime novels by female authors, as unfairly I have always preferred male authors. However, Twisted by Andrea Kane has been both a revelation and a "wake up call" to me, a truly enjoyable top notch crime thriller. The story revolves around Sloane Burbank, an ex FBI agent, who when one of her childhood friends disappears agrees to help in the search for answers. She is helped in her endeavours by ex boyfriend and FBI agent and all round super sleuth Derek Parker. It soon becomes clear that a number of girls of a similar age have gone missing or have they been murdered...can Sloane and Derek save the day :) The story is finely balanced between the work of the police/FBI, the somewhat explosive relationship of Sloane and Clarke and the twisted mind of a tormented killer whose intentions and motive become clear as the story progresses. Can Sloan i.d the killer, find her missing old school friend and in so doing discover the fate of all the remaining missing girls. I thought the style of writing and the detailed discipline kept pace, and never lost the readers attention as exemplified below......
"Soon. The demons will demand it. There will be no shame in the pleasure I take. Not with her. I'l revel in the terror in her eyes when I have her. When she realizes it's me. When she finally comprehends that there's no escape. That my violation of her unworthy body is only the nightmarish beginning. That she's going to die. That her death will be prolonged, and preceded by unendurable suffering." The style of writing here with short taut sentences really adds to the overall quality of the storytelling. Some readers might argue that the ending has a predictable feel but I felt as a whole the book was superbly written, the interplay between the characters first class ( if at times exhausting..can you really live life at this pace!) and the "killer" horrific in both his manner and the way he hope to carry out and accomplish his evil intentions.