Closing the Circle: A San Francisco Serial Killer Novel

by P.A. Wilson

A mutilated body in the Palace of Fine Arts. A clue leading to a suspect...or is it the next victim?

Felicity Armstrong’s day is shattered by the sight of a dead body. The SFPD see a connection to her, but Felicity denies knowing the dead man. When the second body is found, doubt creeps in.

She is the only one who believes in her innocence. Committing these crimes isn’t something you forget.

Then it all changes. No longer a suspect, Felicity fears for her life as it becomes clear that the killer has a plan.

What would you do if your friends are murdered one by one?

Get this pause resisting psychological thriller and keep your lights on.

Audible Audio

First published December 10, 2010

About the author

Before you read about me, how about a link for some free ebooks? Click on my website and pick your genre, there's a free book for each. http://www.pawilson.ca/

Perry Wilson is a Canadian author based in Vancouver, BC who has big ideas and an itch to tell stories. Having spent some time on university, a career, and life in general, she returned to writing three years ago and hasn't looked back since (well, maybe a little, but only while parallel parking).

She is a member of the Vancouver Independent Writers Group, and has self-published several novels. The second book of the Charity Deacon series, Greed, is due out in the fall 2012. (A French vacation pulls Charity and her best friend into the shady world of gun smugglers and missing people.)

She also writes the Quinn Larson Quests, which follows the adventures of a wizard named Quinn who must contend with volatile fae in the heart of Vancouver, and the Madeline Journeys, a fantasy series about a high-powered lawyer who finds herself trapped in a magical world. Her previous stand-alone novels are Breaking the Bonds and Closing the Circle.

Reviews

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felicity runs her own small business providing temp workers to other businesses. She has a small team of regular staff who are more like family, since she has none of her own and a few close friends. A murder victim’s body is found with one of her business cards nearby, so the police come to ask her if she knew the victim.

Whilst she doesn’t recognise the first victim, there are more to come and there seems to be a link to Felicity. The police haven’t cleared her as a suspect, but things escalate and the trouble is following her. An FBI Special Agent, Sam, is brought in on the case as the bodies pile up and a serial killer is suspected.

He finds working with Felicity a challenge, trying to stay professional and not get emotionally too close to her. The killer is targeting people close to Felicity, so what is their end game? Do they want to kill Felicity or do they have another plan?

More bodies pile up while Sam and the police try to find the serial killer and Felicity refuses to be left on the side. As it is people and close friends of hers that are being killed, she might be able to see what the link is and help find the killer faster, before someone else has to die. Or the killer comes for her. A great thriller with lots of guessing for the reader. Twists and turns and a bit of an introduction to Wicca brings along an added bit of interest.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Special Agent Sam Barton, FBI, is in San Francisco to hunt down a serial killer who’s inscribing ritualistic symbols into his victims. Barton figures out the victims connect back to one Felicity Armstrong, business owner and Wiccan. The killer seems to be using some sort of perverted mishmash of Christian and Wiccan beliefs in his rituals. He’s left notes at Felicity’s home and office, indicating that each victim was being punished for some ‘crime’ against her. Sam and Felicity have to catch him before his obsession inevitably ends at her feet.

There are some holes in this story. If the killer is leaving notes at Felicity’s home and office, particularly since he goes to her office on more than one occasion, then why aren’t those locations under 24-hour surveillance? Why aren’t the police asking how this guy keeps getting into her office and home without obvious signs of break-in? For that matter, how does he know the code to her home alarm? How does he have a copy of her house key? Also, it would nice if the author knew how to spell athame, since we’re supposed to buy into Felicity’s identity as a Wiccan. The characters are okay, although not entirely deep. The story is straightforward, and definitely leaves too many questions unanswered. I enjoyed this story, but it wasn’t fantastic.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to InstaFreebie and the author for the copy of this book.

"Closing The Circle" had a bit of everything in it - thriller, horror/paranormal with a smidgen of romance thrown in for good measure.

Basically a thriller novel, it tells the story of multiple murders perpetrated by a serial killer and the use of his own warped version of Wicca.
Our main character Felicity Armstrong the focus of the killer, and we see her trying to cope with the ongoing loss of those closest to her, and FBI Agent Sam Barton who is trying to find the killer and protect her.
It was remarkably well written with warm characters you could invest in and a pace that fitted the action perfectly. The tension and pace was ramped to the max during the scenes involving the finding of the bodies, the killers point of view and the hunt to catch him; yet slowed to a more gentle and calm pace for Felicity's personal moments and the growing connection between her and Sam.
Highly recommended for an entertaining, unputdownable read.

[_booknerd.4ever_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I was having a hard time getting into it. I kept at it and finally started to enjoy the plot. There were some spots where the story-line slowed down quite a bit; however, it would pick back up shortly after that. The plot was good with lots of twist and turns. I felt I was missing some parts of the story. For example, the chemistry between Felicity and Sam. It seemed like they kind of knew each other prior to this story. The reason the serial killer picked Felicity was a lack luster reason. I wanted more depth into the why besides the reason given. He seemed to know so much about her that he couldn't have gained just by watching her. I hope to read more about Sam and Felicity in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book...

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a superbly written book by P.A. Wilson about a killer in San Francisco that grabs you from the beginning and does not let go until the final words on the last page. There are no red herring suspects in this story, only a very dark, gruesome, and grisly trail of dead bodies piling up throughout the city. It is also a story that involves Wicca beliefs and practices, as well as a very slow developing love story between the two major characters. And, It is also a display of the effects widespread terror has on people and how they react emotionally and physically to it. This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Hidden Gems Books.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second read from Canadian author P.A. Wilson was great, as was my first read! Exciting storyline, characters that you can get into. I'll be reading more from this author.