Sandmann

Hannah Monakee #1

by Glenna Jarvis

Hannah Monakee is accustomed to being on the reporting side of crime. When a method killer targets her as his next victim, she struggles against a four-day timeline to figure out how a red rose, a mirror and music fit into his murderous design. Her investigation leads her deep into the mind of a madman intent on collecting the elements of his dead girlfriend's soul-elements he believes are harbored within the green eyes of three women. He's already killed two. All he needs is one more.

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 7, 2011

Reviews

[Reader Views · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sandmann” introduces readers to Hannah Monakee, a local reporter who follows true crime in her small hometown. In addition, she is the drummer in a rock cover band. She also seems to be the next victim of a mysterious murderer. Her former lover, Quint, happens to come back to town during the same period that some women have been killed. Is he now after Hannah after all these years? Are these killings somehow related to each other? Do they relate to Hannah’s brother’s death? Will Hannah figure it out before it is too late?

“Sandmann (Hannah Monakee Mystery)” by Glenna Jarvis has a lot of intensity and good insight into how the murderer thinks. The intensity goes from mild with Hannah’s interactions with her roommate and former boyfriends to fierce when Hannah is faced with the murderer’s antics. There is an additional level of heated tension with Hannah and her parents. Even though there have been numerous serial killer books, “Sandmann” uniquely looks at an opera and misguided love as the motivation of the killings. This reader enjoyed the unusual aspect and how it provided a unique insight into the murderer’s thoughts about the victims.

The small-town aspect of “Sandmann” works since the story combines the past and present as the past plays an important role here. It helps that this is the same small town that Hannah was raised in; she knows the history and she knows the residents. The small-town perspective also allows the police and Hannah, as a reporter, to show how they can work together, or not, when researching and solving mysteries, including these.

“Sandmann” is the first of the Hannah Monakee Mystery series and this reader is interested to see what Hannah gets into next. “Sandmann” is definitely good enough to stand on its own and the ending does not lead readers into another book. There are plenty of clues within this novel that lead readers to a number of possible suspects. Overall, “Sandmann” is well-written as it captures the readers’ attention pretty quickly and keeps it until the end.

[Heidi Lynn’s BookReviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I want to thank Glenna Jarvis for providing me with this book so I may bring this you review.

Sandmann’s cover by Glenna Jarvis is simply beautiful and well done. The rose is a key aspect to this book that I absolutely adored. Kudos to the graphic artist who worked side by side with Glenna to capture the essence of the book.

Glenna jumps into the action right away with two unsolved murders that are on an ongoing investigation. Each leaving a trademark black rose behind with their body. Now here where it gets interesting the killer said he would never hit a woman yet killing them was a different story.

I loved the music scenes with references to Guns and Roses and Tom Petty.

My favorite parts of the book were when the rose was brought up. That was the killers calling card so to speak. The author did leave us guessing why it was left places there was no murders though. That aspect of the book was very exciting! I loved it.

[Lexyjean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Living in the same area the book is based out of gave it a sense of familiarity and extra visual aids that a similar book in a different location would not have. The story was straight forward, but needed more for a good reader character connection. Also found that the author could use more faith in the ability of the reader to make connections and remember previous events to eliminate some of the repetitiveness. With the author having only two books out, that I'm aware of, there's is potential for great development. I would be interested in reading another book from this author in the future.

[BookNightOwl · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pretty good book overall. I did not know there was a second book until I was about done with this one. But I’m not going to read the second one just because the way this first one ended was good enough for me to know who it was and I’m convinced she will escape. So I have my own ending in my head.

Not a bad book though. It was good but not one I would re-read over and over again.