Icepick

by Paul Dale Anderson

Riverdale’s newly appointed head of homicide Lieutenant Andy Sinnott and criminalist Linda Davis team up to search for the elusive Icepick Killer, a serial rapist and murderer who punctures the eyes of his victims with sharp instruments. Captain Troy Nolan and Sally Brightson, honeymooning in the Bahamas for a month, are blissfully unaware of the homicides and arsons that plague Riverdale. Did Troy and Sally leave Riverdale in good hands? Is Andy up to the task of solving both multiple murders and an arson that killed an additional twenty people? Investigative reporter Joel Hickman thinks not, and Hickman pressures the mayor and Chief of Police Roger Elway to fire Andy Sinnott. When evidence points to Harvey Fredriks, Rat’s friend “George” from the novel Pickaxe, being the Icepick Killer, Rat teams up with Andy, Linda, and Pathologist Earl Stowe to prove Harvey’s innocence and track down the real killer. But even the best laid plans of Rat and men often go awry, and the killer targets Stowe, Linda, Lorraine Evangelista, Andy, and Rat as his next victims. Icepick is the eagerly-awaited sequel to Pickaxe and an exciting part of The Instruments of Death series of forensic mysteries by Paul Dale Anderson.

Genres: Horror

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 7, 2015

About the author

Paul Dale Anderson has written more than 27 novels and hundreds of short stories, mostly in the thriller, mystery, horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres. Paul has also written contemporary romances and westerns. Paul is an Active Member of SFWA and HWA, and he was elected Vice President and Trustee of Horror Writers Association in 1987. He is a current member of International Thriller Writers, Author’s Guild, and an Active Member of MWA and MWA Midwest.

Paul has taught creative writing at the University of Illinois at Chicago and for Writers Digest School. He has appeared on panels at ThrillerfestXI, Chicon4 and Chicon7, X-Con, Windy Con, Madcon, Odyssey Con, Minncon, the World Horror Convention, and the World Fantasy Convention. Paul was a guest of honor at Horror Fest in Estes Park, Colorado, in 1989. He is currently the chair of the 2015 HWA Stoker Awards Long Fiction Jury.

Reviews

[Kelly Furniss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A continuation in the Instruments of death series. This story was a bit different as we see how new characters Andy and Linda handle the case of a serial killer and arsonist as Troy and Sally are on honeymoon and unaware of the goings on in Riverdale.
However some familiar underground characters such as Rat feature heavily as he works with them to try and prove George's innocence and find the real killer.
Because this is number 4 in the series it has the same aspects as the previous stories I have reviewed. Anderson makes the tale easy to follow, the police procedural aspect is interesting and the charcterisation played out well keeping you pulled in to the storyline that always has that sinister edge to it.
I rate this the same as the others 4 out of 5 stars from me!.