Split Second (An FBI Thriller, #15)

by Catherine Coulter

#1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter returns with another pulse-pounding thriller featuring FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock... 

A serial killer is on the loose, and it's up to FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock to bring him down. They soon discover that the killer has blood ties to an infamous and now long-dead monster. Savich and Sherlock are joined by agents Lucy Carlyle and Cooper McKnight, and the chase is on. 

At the same time, Agent Carlyle learns from her dying father that her grandfather didn't simply walk away from his family twenty-two years ago: he was, in fact, murdered by his wife, Lucy's grandmother. Determined to find the truth, Lucy moves into her grandmother's Chevy Chase mansion. What she finds, however, is a nightmare. Not only does she discover the truth of what happened all those years ago, but she faces a new mystery, one that has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations.

As the hunt for the serial killer escalates, Savich realizes he's become the killer's focus, and perhaps the next victim. It's up to Lucy to stop this madness before it's too late.

• ISBN10: 0399157433
• ISBN13: 9780399157431
• Publish Date: 19 July 2011 (first published 1 July 2011)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: G.P. Putnam's Sons
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

Kinda more 3.5 than 4.

This had several stories going on. The main one was a murderous rampage by the daughter of Ted Bundy. There are also secondary stories involving a shop keeper whose life has been put in danger and a mystery about one of the team and her missing grandfather. There was also a romance between two of the team and it worked well.

This is like Criminal minds lite. Nothing wrong with it but feels a bit formulaic, not in a bad way but I like how the characters interact. The romance felt fairly real, but at the same time there should have been a little more introspection about work relationships, I'm sure there are regulations.

Overall, not a bad read.

[Amanda]

Full review: http://onabookbender.com/2011/07/18/review-split-second-by-catherine-coulter/

The vast majority of this plot belongs in the mystery or suspense genre. If it had stayed there, I would have been okay with it. But the ring that Lucy finds brings a paranormal element that feels out of place with the rest of the story, and this only served to make me more skeptical about the ring’s powers. This was a mystery set in reality — save for the ring. If there had existed other magical objects capable of power outside the normal human capacity, this aspect would have been easier to swallow.

The romance between Coop and Lucy was weak, fast, and seemed to happen when we were not watching. It was easy to see that it was happening, sure, but we were never able to experience it the way I would have liked in a romantic suspense novel. The character perspective shifts were also a little rough; a few times, the character had switched before I realized, and I was left wondering why that particular character was having those thoughts until I reread the passage. I know that Savich and Sherlock are important figures in this series, but I was not sold on their characters.

On a positive note, the mystery itself was entertaining and left me wondering what would happen next. The question here was less of “Who did it?” and more “When will he be caught?” which had me intrigued, and kept me turning the pages.