The Quiet Kill

by Luke Taylor

Quill Creek, Alaska, 1991. 22 year old Sarah Enos is stabbed to death. The killer was never found. The truth of it sinks into the snow. Until 23 years later when Loeb Cohen becomes obsessed with Quill Creek and the quiet killing of the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.

Genres: Mystery

300 pages, Paperback

First published December 9, 2014

About the author

Luke Taylor is an author and musician from Renton, Washington.

He has been writing since age 7 and playing guitar since age 13, publishing 7 novels across several genres and the instrumental hard rock album, Perpetual Winter, available on all digital platforms. He has also released an album with his melodic death metal band, Skölhammer, called Tiger's Tail, which is available both digitally and as a CD Digipak. For more information on Luke and his music, check out Luke's website

Luke has several series and standalone novels in the works.

Luke is happy to accept your friend request and hopes one of the many books or songs he has written will feel like it's written just for you.

Reviews

[Trang Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most addictive page-turner of all time. The Quiet Kill was beyond my expectations. Not only it has the right amount of suspense, the writing was simple, clear, perfect to keep us hooked from the beginning. In short, the story is about Loeb, a writer in need of a break, a vacation to really sort out his life. He is pushed by his friend Cat to go to Alaska and stay there for a while. But their vacations will soon be transformed into a sinister journey while they are busy digging the past about a murder that happened a few years ago. Luke Taylor's vivid and eloquent description make a killer combination for this thriller mystery. And let's talk about that ending, damn! A 5 stars truly deserved since it has everything I love : big plot twisting, the characters are well developped ( I have to admit that Loeb and Cat have such an unique relationship, they complete each other like Yin and Yang ) and the storyline is impeccable. You can tell the difference when an author doesn't rush to end a book and give us an ending worth our time. Looking forward for other books from Luke !

Thank you to the author for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Trang- Book Blogger and Book Reviewer
http://bookidote.wordpress.com
The full review will be soon published on the blog !

[Amber Hetchler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I will be forever grateful for this book, because it pulled me out of a massive reading slump. Thank you, Luke!

Now on to the real review.

Cat and Loeb are two of the most interesting characters I've ever read. Especially Cat, I don't think I've ever read anyone quite like her. It's so refreshing to read such unique characters. But as much as I loved Cat, Loeb is definitely my fav. His awkwardness and clumsiness was so adorable. He was faithful to Cat and respectful to her. It was a pure love. Guys, pull up a chair and take a lesson from Loeb on how a real man acts. We need more men like Loeb in this world!

I don't want to say anything spoilery, so I won't go into details about the plot, but I will say that this book was creepy at some points! A few times I was mildly scared because I was reading it in the dark in my room alone with only a book light. I felt like someone was about to walk into my room and stab me. xD Luke's writing is some of the best I've ever read. The imagery is just stunning, it never fell flat. So you can imagine why I was so frightened: I had vivid images of someone breaking into my house and coming to kill me. I was unsettled, especially by the ending scenes. (Not the very ending, that was cute) :)

Like I said before, VERY VERY HIGH PRAISE ON THE WRITING. It was very intelligent and it made the story flow nicely. I highly recommend this book.

[Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novel received courtesy of Luke Taylor, author

I am a huge fan of Luke Taylor. I got hooked on his books when I won a copy of "Evening Wolves". He has since sent me the 2nd book in that series and now "The Quiet Kill", the beginning of a new series.

I must confess that I didn't like "The Quiet Kill" as much as I wanted to. However, I loved the story. I loved the characters. I loved that Alaska became another character in the story. So what is it that I'm struggling with? It's the editing...I believe that some of the "wordiness" in the book is explainable by the realization that the main character is a writer. Maybe based a bit on the author? I don't know. I just feel like a really good edit could release the story to be the shining star that it is.

Now that I've finished this one, I'll be waiting on whatever Luke Taylor writes next. If you haven't discovered him yet--find a copy of "Evening Wolves" and be ready for a great story!

[Ashley Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Video review: https://youtu.be/SxbJ32PKxwY

Before I start, I want to say that I think that Goodreads.com should offer partial star rating options. This is not the first time where I liked a book more than three stars, but just shy of a 4.

I liked this book as a whole (I mean really, the cover-and back cover- are amazing), the plot was good, and the ending (even if I did call it today at lunch-I randomly told a co-worker sitting next to me, I will tell her tomorrow I was right) was exciting! I loved the fast-paced feel to this book

The love dynamic between the two main characters felt forced and awkward, which kept pulling me out of the story-that's why I gave it a less than 4 but more than three stars. But other than that, this read held my interest and I kept finding myself anxious to read more.

[Svetlana Dyachenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once upon a time there was a man named Loeb Cohen, Loeb was a writer. He was a very talented writer, in his twenties he wrote the super popular bestseller Fractures. He wrote it to his muse, his love, Catriona (call her Cat), who was a waitress. Their relationships were tangled, complicated and awkward, but they fixed it with one kiss. So Cat and Loeb became a couple. Cat wanted to visit Alaska, namely Quill Creek and she told about it Loeb.... that’s how they ended up in the plane that was headed to Anchorage. Namely in the plane Loeb found out about the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, Sarah Enos, who was stabbed to death, the murderer was not found. Of course he was into it immediately as a writer, he wanted to unravel it as did Cat.... This is where mystery begins.

I did enjoy The Quiet Kill, there is everything you need for exciting reading, the setting, which gives this special atmosphere to the book, the interesting plot and characters, the villain, who is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the romance (I must say this book is not about romance and you won’t see hot scenes and passionate kisses here, but relationships between main characters are very sweet), mysteries and puzzles. It really was the fascinating journey with Loeb and Cat, through which we unraveled the mystery of Sarah’s murder, step by step.

So far it was the best book of the author, IMHO.

I recommend this book to everyone.

[David Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me awhile to get into this book but once the story shifted to Alaska I got a second wind. The writing style was different than I had experienced before, like raw sugar cane as opposed to refined. The main characters, Loeb and Cat are intense. Intense in self reflection and in their emotions. Instead of talking they snarl, old wounds are as fresh as today. Intense like when I was a teen experiencing my first crush.
Not a bad book, just not really my style, but rewarding in its way. Someday I will have to check up on Mr. Taylor and see what he has been up to. I wonder if anyone at a store for example has called him Mr. before? That's when you know you are getting old Luke. Old!
( won on Goodreads)

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. First off, I thought it had a very cute romance. A lot of books have insta-love which is really boring, but in this book you really got so see how each character changed throughout the book and how they grew closer to each other. It showed them falling in love which I thought was cool.
Second, the mystery was great. I haven't read many of these types of books lately, so this was a nice refreshing reminder that I really enjoy mystery/crime books. I thought this book's mystery was very well planned and carried out. This whole book was fantastic! Well Done Luke!!! :)

[Jacqueline (Fall In Love With The Sound of Words) · Rating 5 out of 5]

GOD DAMN! Luke Taylor has got some talent! My only regret with this book is that I hadn’t read it as soon I received it. I was lucky to have spoken a few times with Luke on Goodreads and I was really impressed with the reviews and average ratings of his books; so when he asked if I wanted copies I was thrilled!

The Quiet Kill is a wonderful story, that takes us on a journey with two people fighting their own sets of demons while falling in love; all while trying to a solve a decades old unsolved murder; in Alaska.

I felt that this novel was a really enjoyable slow burn, I was already half way through when I realized how attached I had already become to the characters! I love Cat, she is definitely not your average heroine; and I love it! As for Loeb, he could I think learn to stop beating himself up a bit but he was adorable! I am enamored of the two of them together!

The plot was great! The mystery actually kept me guessing. In fact I had absolutely guessed the wrong person the whole time. It was very easy to just skip over this person in the suspect line-up; that is if you put them in the lineup at all! All of the red herrings were smoothly played.

Taylor’s writing style was a little different than what I was used to, but it was really unique. He has a vocabulary, and style that is smooth and engaging. I highly recommend this book!

[Aubrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Note: I was given this book by the author, Luke.**
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it every chance I could get! (Don't tell my boss but, I might have done some reading at work. It was during free time though so, no worries!!) I did not expect the ending at all! I can't wait to see what Cat and Loeb will get into next.

Thank you Luke for providing me with the opportunity to read this book. I am extremely grateful. You had mentioned that a real life experience led you to write this. What was the inspiration that led you to writing this story? Have you ever been to Alaska? I hear it is a truly gorgeous place.

[Heather Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

From page one, I was completely captivated by the easy flow, and vivid descriptions of The Quiet Kill. I loved the ripple of romance beneath the surface between Loeb and Cat, and I adored the mysterious circumstances surrounding their journey to Alaska. I was touched by the discussion of Russian culture, being party Russian myself, I conjured up memories of my own childhood, and piroshkies. I was drawn in, and finished this book in one night, unable to put it down, knowing I would just pick it up again. I am immensely looking forward to more books by Mr. Taylor, a budding talent! Five exuberant stars!

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5.0

Mr. Taylor has very idiosyncratic characters in “The Quiet Kill”.

Read full review in the 2016 February issue of InD'tale Magazine.

[Annette Olsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had potential but just never delivered. The author needed to put down his thesaurus and just tell his story. His use of imagery felt forced and over the top. He wrote like he had something to prove. When he just told the story it wasn't too bad