The Killing Lessons - Hardcover

Black, Saul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1409152944 ISBN 13: 9781409152941

Publisher: Orion, 2015

Synopsis

When the two strangers turn up at Rowena Cooper's isolated Colorado farmhouse, she knows instantly that it's the end of everything. For the two haunted and driven men, on the other hand, it's just another stop on a long and bloody journey. And they still have many miles to go, and victims to sacrifice, before their work is done.

For San Francisco homicide detective Valerie Hart, their trail of corpses - women abducted, tortured and left with a seemingly random series of objects inside them - has brought her from obsession to the edge of physical and psychological destruction. And she's losing hope of making a breakthrough before that happens.

But the slaughter at the Cooper farmhouse didn't quite go according to plan. There was a survivor, Rowena's 10-year-old daughter Nell, who now holds the key to the killings. Injured, half-frozen, terrified, Nell has only one place to go. And that place could be even more terrifying than what she's running from.

About this title

Review

'Brutally compelling serial killer thriller... told at blistering pace.' (DAILY MAIL)

'Explosively exciting... The sheer brilliance of the prose and the pace of the action sweeps you up into a utterly believable world.' (SUNDAY MIRROR)

'Duncan/Black's superior scene-painting and psychological probing translate the mundane into the memorable. Similarly, the cliché of a serial-killing spree with a hidden logic is redeemed by the freshness of his characterisation of the seedy duo responsible.' (SUNDAY TIMES)

'The book is chilling and compulsive. It is exceptionally well written, with an excellent plot.' (Marcel Berlin TIMES)

This is a firecracker of a tale that whips along so fast , it's tempting to skip lines in eagerness to see where the plots heading. What stops you is the turn of phrase, which is so bright it can take your breath away. (METRO)

'Intelligent and moving as well as knuckle-whiteningly terrifying.' (Jake Kerridge SUNDAY EXPRESS)

'I loved this book. I loved the way I was taken through the story with no holds barred...The pace left me breathless, the characters are convincing and the story is a real adrenalin rush.' (THE CRIME WARP)

I found parts of the novel unbearable to read, but its pull is undeniable. (NJ Cooper BOOKS OXYGEN)

'Like rubbernecking at an accident, you can't tear your eyes away from this shockingly violent but compelling thriller.' (PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH)

This novel breaks brilliant. It's hard to tell what's the best part of The Killing Lessons: the sweaty-palm plot that races along like a squadcar on a high-speed pursuit, the breathtaking depictions of the characters, good and bad, or author Black's inimitable style. My vote? All three (Jeffery Deaver)

Book Description

A brilliant debut serial killer thriller from a frighteningly talented writer.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orion
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1409152944
• ISBN 13: 9781409152941
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 416