Book Review: The Face of Death

I have just finished a thriller that really shook me.

For friends who knew me, you read it right here. Yes, thriller. Not romance. I read romances so much that there was one time I blurted out loud, "Ugh, I'm sick of reading romance!" Rui within hearing distance exclaimed, "Ah, finally!"

Well, romance is still my favourite genre. Anyway, the reason I deterred from my preferred genre is because I ran out of books and am low in cash. Xiao Lu er bought this thriller together with me but didn't managed to read it yet. The reason is simply she doesn't read. Hah!

This thriller I read is actually just the second from the author, Cody McFadyen. I have no idea how to pronounce the last name. The title of the book is "The Face of Death". There were a few complaints I have for the book after reading it and one if it is how run-of-the-mill the title is.

To start things off, I don't read a lot of thrillers. The last one I read was my first real taste of Stephen King, "The Dead Zone". Though King's style of writing is undoubtedly more refined than McFadyen, I had trouble picking up the momentum reading King's.

Anyway, as I said, "The Face of Death" is a stand alone book though it featured the same protagonist from his first book, "The Shadowman." The main character is a female FBI agent, Smoky Barrett. The first few chapters touched on her background story. The thing that struck me here was how McFadyen didn't show any hesitation in making his protagonist's life miserable. You know how in most books the main character didn't suffer as thoroughly as some side characters. Here, Smoky Barrett's life was so messed up that I couldn't help but cringe at how anyone could have overcome it.

This book is about a team of FBI agents hunting down a serial killer named, "The Stranger". "The Stranger" has been tormenting this 16 year old girl since she was six, first killing her family and then anyone whom she has loved. She was kept alive by this killer but nobody believed her story that the killer existed. When "The Stranger" killed her latest foster family, the girl held a gun to her head, threatening to blow her head off unless Smoky Barrett met her. Being not really good in supplying a short recap, I have copied below a description of the book"

“I want to talk to Smoky Barrett or I’ll kill myself.”

The girl is sixteen, at the scene of a grisly triple homicide, and has a gun to her head. She claims “The Stranger” killed her adoptive family, that he’s been following her all her life, killing everyone she ever loved, and that no one believes her.

No one has. Until now.

Special Agent Smoky Barrett is head of the violent crimes unit in Los Angeles, the part of the FBI reserved for tracking down the worst of the worst. Her team has been handpicked from among the nation’s elite law enforcement specialists and they are as obsessed and relentless as the psychos they hunt; they’ll have to be to deal with this case.

For another vicious double homicide reveals a killer embarked on a dark crusade of trauma and death: an “artist” who’s molding sixteen-year-old Sarah into the perfect victim -- and the ultimate weapon. But Smoky Barrett has another, more personal reason for catching The Stranger -- an adopted daughter and a new life that are worth protecting at any cost.

This time Smoky is going to have to put it all on the line. Because The Stranger is all too real, all too close, and all too relentless. And when he finally shows his face, if she’s not ready to confront her worst fear, Smoky won’t have time to do anything but die.

The book is filled with gore. Very graphic details on how the murder took place. It is like the writer's head is filled with too much sick stuff and he doesn't hesitate at all to make any character of his choosing suffer.

I'm not so infused with romantic plots that I do not know what to expect from a thriller. Though I know the victims are going to die a horrible death, I couldn't help but dread the outcome. It was such a roller coaster ride in some scenes that I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I cried and snivelled through them. His writings of gore simply touched me.

However, there are some parts that seemed a bit too good to be true. I guess the contrast between this and what is bad is too stark that some times I have a hard time buying it.

The ending was a bit of a let down for its predictability. It was as though he ran out of energy at the end after writing so exhilaritingly.

Anyways, I love this book. I'm thinking of buying it from Xiao Lu er at a highly discounted price and have my mom take a go at it. Hehe, it makes me happy to provide my mom with a good read.

Oh yeah, if you're interested in what I have said, do check out his website: www.codymcfadyen.com