24 January 2022

Righteous Assassin drops you straight into the hunt for a serial killer who believes that he is the Angel of Death. A warped man who kills the worst of the worst among the New York population. You can expect a gruelling hunt filled with frustration as the police and FBI chase around town in search of this creative clever, killer.

This was my first encounter with Kevin G. Chapman. He writes a gripping, extremely detailed story filled with police procedures and a gruelling hunt for a killer. The story is written at different pacing, at times you are on the edge of your seat convinced the police finally have something only to be dropped back to square one with very little happening. This keeps you feeling as if you are part of the chase as you flip the pages, never sure what the next page will bring.

When rookie detective Dickson notices an unusual link between various brutal murders in New York, his experienced partner, Detective Mike Stoneman is not immediately convinced. However, Mike agrees to have a closer look at the various cases. With the help of ME Dr Michelle McNeill, they discover a link and soon they are on the hunt for a serial killer. This clever individual covers his track well and the detectives enlist the help of the FBI. However, even with the additional manpower, the killer is elusive. Can Detective Stoneman find this killer before he strikes again?

This book was a tiring read. You experience all the ups and downs of the investigation, sharing the disappointment as each new lead get the police no closer to identifying the man they are hunting. The author did a great job in allowing the reader to share the emotion.

Detective Mike Stoneman is an old school cop partnered with a rookie he needs to train. While Detective Dickson is good at what he does, Mike fears that he only received the promotion to Detective because he is not white. This adds pressure to the partnership and shows Mike not having full faith in his partner. As the story intensifies you are drawn into this tension as the emotions start running high. These two characters manage to put their differences aside and end up succeeding while building trust in each other. The author added in a mild love interest for Detective Stoneman which added the occasional smile and lighten this heavy tale just enough.

This was a hard read, and the “religious-nut” serial killer has been done before, but the author managed to keep it fresh and interesting while he drops you into the police hunt. That made it a gripping, emotional ride which I have to say I enjoyed immensely.

If you are a fan of a police procedural, hunting for a serial killer and keen on experiencing the emotional rollercoaster ride of the hunt, then this is the book for you. Be warned there are a few gruesome murders covered in this story, and while they are not excessively graphic, if you are not keen on gory details you might find yourself slightly uncomfortable with some scenes.