Убийството като шедьовър

by John Case, Джон Кейс, Милена Илиева (Translator)

Телефонът звъни. Смразяваща тишина... бавно, равномерно дишане и сетне жален глас: “Тате!”. Кошмарът е започнал.

От Шон и Кевин няма и следа. Полицията се включва. Отначало заподозрян е бащата - Алекс. Но тогава защо никой не може да си обясни малката фигурка оригами, която Алекс намира, след като се връща в празния си дом? Или купата с вода, оставена на най-горния рафт на гардероба му. Или...

Алекс решава, че трябва да впрегне собствените си умения на телевизионен кореспондент, за да спаси близнаците от незнайния им похитител, когото е нарекъл Флейтиста. Който и да е този тайнствен непознат, очертаващия се профил подсказва, че Алекс е изправен пред едно чудовище с мисия.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Audiobook

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Writing as 'John Case,' Jim and Carolyn Hougan are The New York Times best-selling authors of The Genesis Code and five other thrillers.
An award-winning investigative reporter, Jim is the author of The Magdalene Cipher, a novel of conspiracy, and two non-fiction books about the CIA: Spooks and Secret Agenda.
Carolyn is the author of four novels, including The Romeo Flag.

The name John Case is actually that of Carolyn's grandfather ( John F Case), a journalist and author of Tom of Peace Valley (Boy Knight of Agriculture).

Reviews

[Metodi Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Един от най-завъртяните и добре написани криминални романи прочетени от мен до сега, определено е в топ 5 на моя списък за всички времена.

Самата идея е ужасяваща, а изпълнението на авторите е брилянтно.

Неколкократно съм я препрочитал, въпреки че отлично помня развръзката.

Препоръчвам!

[Farhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible piece of thriller fiction! Just when one despairs and is forced to think that nothing worth reading would come out in the tired thriller/suspense genre, along comes this beauty. The premise is simple: six-year-old twin boys are kidnapped without a trace. Their parents, grieving and shocked, grow distant from each other. The father, a media journalist, decides to launch an investigation of his own when the police investigation comes to a dead end.

Even before I'd finished the first ten pages of the novel, I was hooked. The story moved along at a great pace which never slacked till the very end, which was a remarkable feat for a 400-plus page novel, made even more remarkable by the fact that, despite the breakneck pacing of the narrative, the author covered every possible angle of the abduction and the ensuing police procedural part of the book. Crisp prose, a richly drawn cast of characters (even the peripheral ones were delightfully oddball), the author's human touch with which he handled his characters as well as the crime at the center of the story, and delicious asides into such wonderful sub-cultures as origami, stage illusions, and voodoo, make for a stunning read.

Intricately plotted, full of genuine good old detective leg work as well as occasional penetrating insights leading to the next clue, and told in such a credible voice as to render even the more outlandish parts of the book within reason, the story sweeps the reader along on a ride which is full of wonderfully disturbing, blood-curdingly harrowing, mouth-dryingly suspenseful, and genuinely entertaining turns and twists.

This is a superlative example of the thriller genre. My only quibble was that, at the end, the confrontation with the bad guy was much too short, but then again, it was in line with the rest of the book where the author never lingered over a scene even a moment longer than required, thus, never losing the pace or the interest of his readers.

I am going to dig up more of John Case in the near future. I am disappointed that the book has ended. It would take a while and a lot of luck to find an equally entertaining book sometime soon.

[Dennis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the reviews on the cover: "It left me breathless..." Yeah, me too, but that was just my sleep apnea kicking in when I started snoring. This was the most un-thrilling thriller that I've ever read, a book which never got going and depended a lot on reader gullibility and willingness to suspend all belief. Where do I begin...

A Wolf Blitzer-type correspondent for CNN has his twin sons kidnapped, a high-profile case if ever there was one - and the police shelve it. Is this some other real world of media madness that I don't know about?
Am I suppose to believe that the police would shelve a case of kidnapped identical-twin blonde boys belionging to a media star?

The second stupidity is that the journalist follows EXACTLY the same leads the police had, in a straight line, with a lot more success. Am I suppose to believe that top cops and FBI can't do the same with unlimited resources? That they're that stupid?

The book just piles this sort of stuff on until I just couldn't believe anyone with half a brain could either write or buy this story? The basic idea behind it has merit but the writing was unbelievably clumsy and badly-thought-through.

2023 - I later learned that John Case is a pseudonym for a team. I also see that I'm in the minority here but a lot of people just like these and I know some who don't read anything else. So be it.

[Arnis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alekss Kalahans varbūt savu dēlu Kevina un Šona pirmo sešu dzīves gadu laikā nav bijis tas apzinīgākais vecāks, bieži vien aizņemtības un jauna raksta, ziņu sižeta dēļ, būdams ārzemēs, palaidis garām būtiskus notikumus, bet nu Alekss ir apņēmies censties to labot, pat ja ar sievu Lizu attiecības ir pajukušas. Tādēļ, kāpēc gan neapmeklēt kaut kādu tur renesanses festivālu, kaut arī pašam labprātāk ērtības dēļ gribētos kaut kur tuvāk uz kādu muzeju. Ja jau dēliem, dvīņiem tik ļoti gribas, kā gan var atteikt.

https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

John Case is a pseudonym for a husband/wife team who writes suspense novels. The Murder Artist is one of these, although they classify it as a thriller. It follows a reporter, whose sons are kidnapped, as he tries to discover what has happened to them.

I cannot say much else about the plot here for fear of giving away key details and/or surprises. But I will say that I don’t think this is Case’s best work. It certainly kept my attention throughout; however, the ending was far too abrupt and unsatisfying for me to really recommend it. If you like suspense novels, though, give one of John Case’s other books a chance.

[Tineke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The book was long, but the descriptions, which were very interesting, and the easy reading made up for that. The ending was quite short, but that was not a problem at all for me.

[Yorman Andrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

La trama presentada en el libro me gustó -en la mayoría-, la forma en que el padre en sus desesperación hace lo posible por descubrir quien secuestró a sus hijos, sin importar lo que tenga que hacer para conseguir algo de información. La forma en que se presentan los secuestros y homicidios de otros gemelos y de como va descubriendo que en realidad si guardan relación alguna. Es algo que te atrapa pero, el final dejó mucho que desear, se sintió como apresurado y algo forzado, no es algo que me esperaba.
Y concuerdo con muchos, no lean la contraportada, es más, ni idea porque está.

[Ivanina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It reminded me of the old thrillers from the 90s. It was easy to read and I felt so close to the action. A lot of things were clear to me before they happened, yet I thought that was charming cause even though i had all the pieces, I was unable to predict the ending.

[A.N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best modern thrillers I have ever read and will read in my life. Highly recommended!

[Вени · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Soho_Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t remember why I picked up John Case’s “The Murder Artist”, but I suspect it may have caught my eye and I thought it was a true-crime novel based on someone who drew pictures of suspects or a court artist. Not having heard of John Case previously, there was little to lead me to this conclusion, except perhaps the title of forensic psychologist Paul Britton’s book “The Jigsaw Man”. If that was my line of reasoning, I don’t know why I picked up this novel, having read that book, which proved nothing other than that Paul Britton could probably use a psychologist himself. Fortunately, “The Murder Artist” proved to be a work of fiction and a very good one at that.

Alex Callaghan is a television reporter, usually focussing on foreign stories, which has resulted in his estrangement from his wife, a situation he is trying to repair. Part of this is a commitment to reduce his workload and have his twin sons, Kevin and Sean, staying with him for a month. Having promised to take the boys to a Renaissance Faire one weekend, he loses tracks of the boys at one point and they go missing, with him receiving a call from their home suggesting their kidnapper has taken them there, but he has left clues which focus suspicion on Alex, allowing the real culprit time to get clear whilst the investigation isn’t looking in his direction.

Frustrated with the delays and lack of progress being made by both Police and the FBI, Alex quits his job and sets about carrying out his own investigation. He discovers that the kidnapping of twins is very rare and even when you add in murders of twins, it’s still not a common crime and the mother of the last set of twins to be kidnapped refuses to talk to law enforcement, so the links between these crimes have been dismissed. However, the deeper into things Alex looks, the more he believes that the kidnapped and murdered twin crimes were carried out by the same person and, worse, that this person possibly has his sons and that he plans to kill them in the name of performance art.

If you listen to enough true crime podcasts or read enough news stories, it soon becomes apparent that crimes against children hold a special place in the minds of most right-thinking people and those who commit such crimes are held in a particular revulsion. Writing here, John Case proves why that should be the case, as it is the emotional devastation that losing a child can have which makes them harder to take and he writes this devastation in the lives of Alex and his estranged wife, Liz, incredibly well. Many crime thriller novels miss the emotional impact of the crimes in favour of the solution, but “The Murder Artist” features this heavily and the grief of loss is well portrayed, as is the feelings Liz has towards Alex when he has been accused, with her suspicion mingling nicely with her grief and anger on the page.

Whilst writing the emotional impact very well, the story is incredibly well-written as well, with a layered mystery taking in stage magic and voodoo and with the solution requiring a cross-country solution. There are several murders which do not obviously seem linked, but Case has linked them together well and, whilst the mystery itself is wild enough that it doesn’t seem entirely believable, the way the mystery is unpeeled layer by layer and the pace at which this is done is certainly realistic within the setting of the novel. Whilst some of the turns it takes may be unexpected, there is rarely a sense of deus ex machina and each step follows naturally from each, with even the way Alex funds his investigations and the feelings each evokes along the way fitting the narrative.

“The Murder Artist” is a fantastic crime thriller, which mixes the emotions and the actions perfectly in with a beautifully layered mystery. Roadblocks are set up and removed and whilst the mystery takes a while to solve, the pace of the novel keeps the reader interested and rarely slows, even as things take some time to play out. I may not have expected what I got from John Case, but he has proved with this novel to be a crime writer of no small amount of skill and I’m certainly keen to read more of his work based on this effort.

[Asia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love thrillers, and I've never read anything by John Case. The story started out amazingly, I love it, and I loved how elaborate the story grew with the kidnapper, but- the dialouge of characters that never grew deep or we never met again was SO long, and took up most of the book. The main character barely changes, and the story ends very abruptly like it was rushed and the author(s) wanted to just end it quickly. Most of the book was taken up by the search for the twin boys, but *SPOILER ALERT* once he finds them and kills the kidnapper, it just ends too quickly. I spend about 100 pages reasing about the kids being kidnapped, and Alex getting over his depression and guilt, then over 300 pages of him finding clues and all (and I loved the layout and detail- but sometimes that was pointless) and then not even the last 10 pages are about him killing the kidnapper and saving his sons. That kind of just stopped the emotion and effort I had been feeling since the authors barely showed any and rushed WAY too quickly, so I ended up disappointed. I will however check out Case's other books since I did like the effort and research put into this. I just wish it had been wrapped up better.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary, spellbinding thriller...

The plot is about investigative TV reporter Alex Callahan's identical twin 6-year-old sons who go missing at a Renaissance fair. He soon learns that they have been kidnapped. However, there is no contact from the abductor(s) and soon the police's investigation also slows down from lack of leads and evidence.

This is where Alex starts to take matters into his own hands and plays private investigator. His investigation leads him all over the US and he learns that magic and voodoo is involved. The more he learns about the abductor, the scarier it becomes and he knows that he has to find his sons as soon as possible, or they may depart this life in a terrifying way.

The novel's pace slows down towards the middle of the story, but picks up towards the end. However, Alex's quest to find his sons is still a captivating read.

My only quibble with this book is that some loose ends are left untied at the end, but maybe the author wants the reader to use his/her imagination and figure out how he/she wants it to work out.

[Peggy Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book for the 2nd time. I read so much I'm able to forget a lot of details, so can still enjoy a thriller if it's been a couple of years since reading it the first time. I really enjoyed this book, although it has a few things that make it unique. The protagonist is a reporter that is separated and trying to make the most of his custody time with his twin sons. They go to a Renaissance Faire and his twins disappear during the jousting. As is frequently reported with kidnappings, at first the security people don't take it seriously, and then they assume that the father "did it". The story of his search for his sons and the information about the history of magic is fascinating. They discuss the Magic Castle in Hollywood which I've visited several times, so that was fun for me. The wrap up of the story happens at blinding (and fairly unbelievable speed), and there is no denouement AT ALL, but I still found it an enjoyable read. Definitely recommend it.

[Ashwini Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pop thrillers, though not my cup of tea, sometimes do see a novel that sound original and innovative with its story-line and its basic premise of a concept. Thrillers and suspense bends can eventually be build around , but the central concept is what marks a book out. The one in this book is gruesome and when it really unfolds, it catches you by the gut. Atleast i felt so when i read it long ago . lol

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes it was a scary one, even reminded me of Stephen King style. The plot is absorbing. But the descriptions of all the ceremonies, murders, cruelty depicted throughout the book were the tough things for me to read. And the end of the book abrupts too quickly, I definitely expected more from it.

[Kakarot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible thriller- it was an awesome read. 6 year twins were kidnapped and i also have a twin brother so it was good to connect with the book.

[JayJay · Rating 1 out of 5]

No le doy menos solamente porque no puedo. Qué libro tan malo.

[Jax · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was indeed a page turner as promised. But…. It was obvious that the author did a lot of research into the various fringe groups & locations that play a role in the story. And it all gets crammed in there. Interesting, but a little excessive when I just wanted to get on with the search for the boys. I was also frustrated that the passage of time wasn’t noted more often. I didn’t know until near the end whether two months, three months, or more had gone by as Alex tracked all his leads. Finally, the end is way too abrupt. After all the detail provided in the previous 400 pages, I really expected - and needed - a more emotionally satisfying conclusion.

[All Mota · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 en realidad, no lean la contraportada

Jim y Carolyn hacen un excelente trabajo en este libro, que es entretenido, está muy bien investigado y es retorcidamente atrapante.

Aunque en la portada sólo aparece como autor Jim Hougan, en las primeras hojas se aclara que es una colaboración, pues la investigación y varias de las ideas de la historia son de los dos, por eso creo importante resaltar esto, ya que es increíblemente atrapante.
Trata de un padre que va a una feria medieval con sus gemelos, y los pierde, no por un rato, sino al punto que se crea una investigación por la desaparición de los gemelos, la madre de estos, ex esposa de Alex, nuestro prota, lo culpa aunque no quiere, él también se culpa, los padres de ambos se ven involucrados, el caso se vuelve mediático y todo toma un giro increíblemente raro, en especial a partir de la segunda mitad del libro.

Es un viaje, no tanto del desarrollo del personaje, pues al final es la culpabilidad y la ira la que lo dirigen durante la mayoría de la novela, sino del punto A al punto B de la historia, el escenario cambia, todo se vuelve macabro, hay una secta elitista y ritualista, hay errores constantes de parte de Alex y la narración, como buena novela negra, lleva al personaje a caer en los huecos más profundos de sus ser para renacer simbólicamente con más determinación y casi como un fantasma vengador (cosa en la que hace mucho énfasis el autor).

Toda la idea de los rituales, la edad media, los asesinos seriales y demás, están tan bien colocados que dentro de todo lo extravagante que es claramente la historia, dentro del mundo construido y la realidad en la que se mueven, no cae pesado o fuera de lugar ningún elemento, siendo el final en sí, el único elemento que no termina de encajar por completo con la narrativa desarrollada, pero esto es simplemente mi percepción de este último detalle.

[Snejina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Много интересна! След цялата завъртяна история,можеше да усложни малко края, но въпреки това..

[Tristan Robin Blakeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a better intentioned thriller mystery than actually was realized. The premise was terrific - and it's always a bit of an extra heart racer when it's children that are at stake (that's not a spoiler - it's given away on the cover of the book). The leading character is a likeable, if fallible, fellow and there is good storytelling 3/4 of the way through. Then all sense of logic and reality seem to just fly out the window - impossible deductions and assumptions are made - and, as if the author suddenly realized he had wrap it up to draw this story to a close, abruptly manufacturers an unsatisfying (to me) ending.

So, for a good 4-5 hours I was definitely spellbound by the tale and the atmospheric surroundings it was placed - but the ending lost me completely and I ended it unsatisfied. Like a delicious French dinner finished off with a popsicle. It was good, but you feel cheated.

[Book'd Hitu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gripping thriller by John Case right from the page one.
If you are into reading the suspense stories, this is one is a must for you.
This is a story of a father named Alex who lost his twin sons Kevin and Sean in a funfair. As the events unfolds one by one, he come to know that they are kidnapped by a magician for a grand magic show called Real Magic in which one kid will be killed during the show in actual and other one will also be killed after the show.
To hold the readers' interest, I will not reveal further on the story. Author has done a lot of ground work as far as the magic tricks are concerned. He has splendidly woven the story and expressed the pain of a father very well.
Efforts being put by Alex to find his sons are really painful, involving him being buried live in a grave by a group of magicians just to gain their trust.
A must read for thriller and suspense fans.

[IleneOnWords · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started off very well as a simple thriller, then it got way too muddled with way too many details! It had potential!!!!

[JOHN BARLOW · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing tale of despair, hope , disappointment and ultimate success. A real cliff-hanger ! Highly recommended.

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written book, that keeps you on the edge of your seat and turning the pages.

[Daphne. · Rating 5 out of 5]

No alcanzan a idealizar lo especial que es este libro para mí. Fue el primer libro físico que tuve, con el que inicié mi librero. Y el primero que me quiero atrever a reseñar aún cuando, después de leerlo por cuarta vez, sigue dejándome sin palabras.

La premisa es simple. Un padre que lleva a sus gemelos de seis años a una feria medieval en la que se desaparecen. A raíz de esto, y después de que la búsqueda por parte de la justicia no le dé esperanzas, se aventura en la pesquisa de encontrar a Kevin y a Sean. Sencillo, ¿no? Quién diría que nos toparíamos con magia, vudú y una lluvia de culturas que te hacen terminar el libro en dos tardes.

Hougan logra algo fantástico y es mantener la atención del lector durante casi 400 páginas. Desde el momento uno te capta y no te suelta. El hecho de que los capítulos sean cortos también es un plus. Aún así, le atribuyo el logro a la prosa del autor; ligera, precisa y con ambientaciones que, si bien están cargadas de detalles, alimentan la experiencia en lugar de saturarla.

Destaco la investigación que tuvo que realizar el autor para alcanzar tal nivel de minuciosidad en la narración. Los capítulos históricos que se centran en los antecedentes de la magia o el vudú son realmente fascinantes y, si me voy a lo personal, le facilito el trabajo al sentir tanta admiración por el ocultismo y la magia.

La inclusión de personajes me resultó precisa y maravillosa. Hougan juega con las personalidades de los mismos y le da credibilidad a la historia. Es el caso de su esposa, por ejemplo. Conecté con la sensación de pérdida de una madre por sus hijos, aún cuando ésta no resaltó en la historia. La culpa indirecta que dejaba caer sobre Callahan a causa de que el secuestro de sus hijos sucediese mientras estos estaban en custodia de su padre, y que luego de ver los inútiles esfuerzos de la policía abandonara del todo a Alex me hizo conectar con el rumbo de la historia.

En fin, para no extenderme más. Una historia que me mantuvo enganchada hasta la última página, que disfruté a más no poder y que realmente no he logrado superar con ninguna otra narración de suspenso. Me quedo con las ganas de conocer más obras del autor y de leerla otra vez, ¿Qué más puedo decir?

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a television news correspondent, Alex Callahan has traveled to some of the most dangerous corners of the globe, covering famine, plague, and war. He’s seen more than his share of blood and death, and knows what it means to be afraid. But what he’s never known is the terror that grabs him when, on a tranquil summer afternoon, he ceases to be an observer of the dark side and, to his shock, becomes enmeshed in it.

Separated from his wife, and struggling not to become a stranger to his six-year-old twin sons, Alex is logging some all-too-rare quality time with the boys, when they vanish without a trace amid the hurly-burly of a countryside Renaissance Fair.

Then the phone call comes. A chilling silence; slow, steady breathing; and the familiar, plaintive voice of a child–“Daddy?”–complete the nightmare . . . and set in motion a juggernaut of frenzy and agony.

The longer the police search, exhausting leads without success, the deeper Alex’s certainty grows that time is running out. And when, at last, telltale signs reveal a hidden pattern of bizarre and ghoulish abductions, Alex vows to use his own relentless investigative skills to rescue his children from the shadowy figure dubbed The Piper.

Whoever this elusive stranger is, the profile that slowly emerges–from previous crimes involving twins, from the zealously secret world of professional magicians, and from the eerie culture of voodoo–suggests that The Piper is a predator unlike any other. A twisted soul hell-bent on fulfilling an unspeakably dark dream. A fiend with a terrifying true calling. What Alex Callahan is closing in on is a monster with a mission.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex Callahan is a television news reporter who makes his living from the death and suffering of others. The tables suddenly turn as Alex, newly separated from his wife, loses track of his six-year-old twin boys at a Renaissance Fair. When they don’t turn up, all believe that the twins have been kidnapped. Yet there is no ransom note, and after a while, the police and the FBI let the case turn cold. With no alternative, Alex quits his job and lives on credit card debt in order to pursue any tenuous clue that may lead him to his sons. Alex crisscrosses the country in search of a twisted serial killer who has left the murder of other twins in his wake. Along the way, we explore the worlds of origami, voodoo and the history of magic.

Perhaps it was meant to heighten the sense of despair, but the book is about 100 pages too long as Alex blunders up one blind alley to the next. The search meanders on until the narrative reaches its exciting conclusion during the last ten pages of the book.

[Bücherwurm Mainschleife · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amerikanischer Krimi, erschienen um 2007 im klassischen Erzählstil. Ungewöhnlich ist der Plot, über den ich aber nichts erzählen will, denn am interessantesten ist die Lektüre, wenn man nicht mal die 2 Kritiken auf der Rückseite des Buches liest.
Das Drama beginnt mit dem Verschwinden der beiden Söhne, Zwillinge, von Alexander Callahan beim Besuch eines Mittelalter-Freizeitlandes. Am Besten gefällt mir, dass sich die Erzählung, trotz des Schocks um die Entführung, eher ruhig entwickelt und damit sehr plausibel bleibt. Umso erstaunlicher und genussreicher wird es, wie sich nach und nach die Geschichte in Dimensionen entwickelt, die man so absolut nicht erwartet hätte. Tempo und Action steigen kontinuierlich bis zum Schlussakkord. Der ist, wenn man dort anlangt, spannend, aber ohne den obligatorischen Twist zu einer absolut unvorhersehbaren Lösung wie es häufig in whodunit-Romanen vorkommt.
Ein bisschen zu viel Felsenkletterei und kurzatmige Aktionen des Ich-Erzählers am Ende, aber auf jeden Fall ein Thriller der besseren Sorte.