Killing Season: Part 1

Killing Season #1

by Faye Kellerman

In the first installment of New York Times bestselling author Faye Kellerman’s three-part series, she spins the electrifying story of a teenaged boy on a quest to find the twisted serial killer who murdered his sister… Ben Vicksburg’s world was shattered forever when his sister Ellen went missing four years ago in the small town of River Remez, New Mexico. Ben was the one to discover her body in a shallow grave by the river’s edge on the first anniversary of her disappearance. On that day, he made a promise to Ellen that he would do whatever it took to find the monster who kidnapped and strangled her. Several years later, the police believe Ellen was the victim of a serial killer known as the Demon, but Ben isn’t convinced. As a math whiz, Ben is able to see patterns that don’t match. And when he researches other similar unsolved murders, he’s convinced the killer is still out there stalking more young girls. Though Detective Sam Shanks, the lead cop on the case, thinks Ben’s obsession has gone too far and warns him to back off, he refuses to give up. But when Ro Majors, the most popular girl in school, offers to help him, Ben not only finds an ally in the beautiful cheerleader he’s quickly falling hard for, but he also learns they share a bizarre coincidence that brings them closer together. As their search leads to the grisly discovery of the corpse of Katie Doogan, Ben becomes more desperate than ever to find this cunning, methodical killer before he strikes again. Find out what happens in Killing Season, Part 2, as the danger intensifies when Ben and Ro travel to California in their search to uncover a serial killer's identity.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Young Adult, Mystery Thriller

Kindle Edition

First published December 29, 2015

About the author

Faye Kellerman was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Sherman Oaks, California. She earned a BA in mathematics and a doctorate in dentistry at UCLA., and conducted research in oral biology. Kellerman's groundbreaking first novel, THE RITUAL BATH, was published in 1986 to wide critical and commercial acclaim. The winner of the Macavity Award for the Best First Novel from the Mystery Readers of American, THE RITUAL BATH introduced readers to Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, termed by People Magazine "Hands down, the most refreshing mystery couple around." The New York Times enthused, "This couple's domestic affairs have the haimish warmth of reality, unlike the formulaic lives of so many other genre detectives."

There are well over twenty million copies of Faye Kellerman's novels in print internationally. The Decker/Lazarus thrillers include SACRED AND PROFANE; MILK AND HONEY; DAY OF ATONEMENT; FALSE PROPHET; GRIEVOUS SIN; SANCTUARY; as well as her New York Times Bestsellers, JUSTICE, PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD - listed by the LA Times as one of the best crime novel of 2001; SERPENT'S TOOTH; JUPITER'S BONES, THE FORGOTTEN, STONE KISS, STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS, THE BURNT HOUSE, THE MERCEDES COFFIN and BLINDMAN'S BLUFF. . The novels, STALKER and STREET DREAMS, introduced Kellerman's newest protagonist, Police Officer Cindy Decker. In addition to her crime series, Kellerman is also the author of New York Time's bestseller MOON MUSIC, a suspense horror novel set in Las Vegas featuring Detective Romulus Poe, as well as an historical novel of intrigue set in Elizabethan England, THE QUALITY OF MERCY. She has also co-authored the New York Times Bestseller DOUBLE HOMICIDE, with her husband and partner in crime, Jonathan Kellerman. She has also written a young adult novel, PRISM, with her daughter, Aliza Kellerman

Faye Kellerman's highly praised short stories and reviews have been anthologized in numerous collections including two volumes of the notable SISTERS IN CRIME SERIES, Sara Paretsky's, A WOMAN'S EYE; THE FIRST ANNUAL YEAR'S FINEST CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES; THE THIRD ANNUAL BEST MYSTERY STORIES OF THE YEAR; WOMEN OF MYSTERY AND DEADLY ALLIES 11. Her personally annotated collection of her award winning stories, THE GARDEN OF EDEN and OTHER CRIMINAL DELIGHTS, was published in August of 2006. H
Her other hobbies include gardening, sewing and jogging if her back doesn't give out. She is the proud mother of four children, and her eldest son, Jesse, has just published his fourth novel, THE EXECUTOR, from Putnam. She lives in Los Angeles and Santa Fe with her husband, Jonathan, their youngest child, and their French Bulldog, Hugo.

Reviews

[Ronda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Normally I really enjoy reading Faye Kellerman but with this book she went way off the rails. I should have stopped reading it by page 100 but wanted to see if it would get any better and sadly it did not. Its basically a book full of teenage angst and young love. If she would have spent more time on the bad guy it would have been much much better. This book could have been about 300 hundred pages shorter and still told the same story. I am supposed to believe that these high school kids go to a dance at their school on Christmas night. I am also supposed to believe they have cheerleaders for baseball which I have never ever heard of. In case you forgot her mention of the beautiful, gorgeous knock out girl in the book, she will remind you on every 3rd page. I get it-she's pretty-move on! I am also supposed to believe that a car's heater keeps working when the engine is off and keys are out of ignition. And lastly I am supposed to believe 3 kids going to college in 3 different states leave from the same airports within hours of each other. I am sure there were other things in this book that bothered me but these are the highlights.

[Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Faye Kellerman wrote the Peter Decker/ Rina Lazarus series. I liked the ones I read.
This huge, 700+ page book was not one of those.
I'm always surprised when a writer I like suddenly goes off the tracks. It wasn't just the plot, it was the characters. As with anything I review, this is simply my opinion. You may love this book; I'm not discouraging other readers.
What 17-year-old boy whose sister was murdered is peaceful, kind, gentle, never loses his temper and serves as peacemaker in his family? (Yeah, this one does.)
What 17-year-old-boy calls everyone "hon"? (He's not from Baltimore.)
What 17-year-old boy puts up with a spoiled, shallow, nagging, whining, rich girl, wants her as his girlfriend, even though she refuses to do anything except what she wants, and right now? (Yes, yes.)
The plot is tissue thin, but you get details of meals, clothing, cars, anything except the plot moving ahead. By page 400, we have no idea who the murderer is, and then, sadly I didn't care. I was hoping he would come in and wipe out the rest of the characters, because I dreaded reading another page. At page 550, I gave up. I didn't care what happened to any of them.

[Tyler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely horrible.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was good and interesting. yet the portrayal of teenagers was off, I think. She doesn't have their language patterns down. It might have been better and made more sense had the protagonists not been high school students. Just sayin'.

[Jody Hamilton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm about 2 and 1/2 hours into Part 1 of The Killing Season and I've had enough. NOTHING has happened, other than the knowledge that a teenaged girl was murdered and a new girl to the school had a sister that died of cancer. I'm done; ending the misery.

[Gloria Feit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turning her attention away from the long-standing series featuring Decker and Lazarus, Faye Kellerman has written a standalone involving a serial killer and rapist, a teenager obsessed with finding the murderer, first love, and hanky panky goings-on in high school. It makes for good reading throughout the rather bulky book.

The start of it all is the rape and murder of 16-year-old Ellen Vicksburg in a small town in New Mexico, not far from Las Alamos. Her younger brother, Ben, devotes his entire energy into finding her killer, amassing a vast amount of information during the next four years, despite warnings by police to stay away from such involvement (and frustrated by the lack of progress by these same officials). A mathematical genius, his analytical mind perceives patterns detectives miss.

The love story, as it may be, is gushy, and the sex and switching aspects of the high school students add nothing to the novel. On the other hand, when the author devotes her energy to the crime story she excels. The detail and progress of Ben’s investigations are riveting, although the conclusion might seem a cliché to some. Over-all, however, a fine effort, and recommended.

[Gigi K · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first saw this book, I thought to myself, there is no way I’ll be able to read a 700 page book. As I started to read it, I never wanted to stop because I always needed to know what would happen next. I ended up reading the first 100 pages in one week. Something about this book kept me very entertained and interested. I really enjoyed reading this book because love mysteries but I also love romance and this book had both of those themes in it. Another thing I liked about this book is how ben, was absolutely determined to find his sisters murderer. He never gave up and he always wanted to be a part of the investigation with the police even if they said no. This novel had all kinds of twists in it. One thing that I wasn’t too fond about in this book, (besides how long it is) was how the drama between the two characters kind of dragged on. I feel like the author focused more on the relationship with the two characters than the actual mystery, bens sister’s murder. I would highly recommend this book to teenage kids because the 2 main characters are teenagers and I think teens will be able to relate to some of the problems in the book.

[J Bel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with this book is pretty simple. It is a YA book to which some sex and four letter words has been added. The plot revolves around murders, as all Faye Kellerman books do, but that plot is overwhelmed by an avalanche of teenage angst. Another problem, at least for me having spent all of my professional life with teens, is that teenagers don't talk like that. Ms. Kellerman has created believable teenage characters before but the sentence structure and vocabulary she has chosen for the two central characters of Killing Season is just not genuine.

I am a Faye Kellerman fan and have read her books since Ritual Bath was released but this is not one of her best. I look forward to my annual visits with Decker and Lazarus. I will likely read the other two volumes in this series hoping they less YA.

[Carla Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really hard to put down once I got started - that's one thing I like about Faye Kellerman's novels when they work for me. As always, there are things I don't share with the protagonists - but, in spite of that, I still enjoy the books. That's good writing. There were times when I wanted to shake the main characters but their stories kept my interest. Interesting to find out, just now, that this is a series. Will look for the other books.

[Mary K Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 1, good start

If you already know this author then you know the quality of her writing. So, I advise you to just get the 3 books all at once so you can just keep reading instead of frustrating yourself. I took my own advice, I'm ready for #2. See ya!

[Barb VanderWel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.

[Janis D. French · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faye Kellerman always delivers.

Can't wait to pick up the next one in the series. The characters are always interesting and the story lines intriguing

[Teresa Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different from other books

Great writer. Different from her other books but still an enjoyable read. Not for everyone's taste but worth a look

[Cybercrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is Kellerman's best so far. A solid 3.5

I enjoy the characters in her series and this was quite different. Very well done.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book so much. The characters were genuine and plot was suspenseful. Plan to read the 2nd and 3rd books in this series. Enjoy Faye Kellerman

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved Faye Kellerman's Decker/Lazarus series and have been pleasantly surprised by the first book in the Killing Season series. Ben/Vicks is obsessed with finding the murderer of his sister, he finds collations with other murders that even the police overlook. His obsession makes him a loner until he meets girls Ro. a new popular girl in school. There is teen age angst thrown in and secrecy with family, friends and the police. Looking forward to reading the second book to continue the story.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hangman...An Apropos Title

Faye Kellerman, I have read everyone of your Decker books. And not one of them was a Cliffhanger! I am giving this one a 3.5 because it was and that was not shared in the intro. I really hate cliffhangers! If the next one is a cliffhanger...I am through with this series...NOW.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read all of Faye Kellerman's books. I especially enjoy the Peter Decker/ Rina Lazarus series, I really like those characters. I had to stop reading this book one half of the way in. I did not enjoy the characters and the crime parts were too grisly for me, so there was not much reason to continue. I was disappointed in this book.

[Christy Gollehon · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book is horrible. I'm debating on whether I can actually finish this. I don't know what the plot is supposed to be the main characters have what I would consider a semi abusive relationship. I feel like this book was written by a teenage boy pretending that he knows what people talk like and as revenge for the popular girl that wouldn't talk to him in high school.

[Peggy Koppel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good suspense book. It really picked up in the last fifth of the novel.
The book's main character, Ben, has a murdered sister and he is searching to find
out who the killer is. The killer goes on to commit more murders. It did read more like a Young Adult novel. The focus is on teenagers, love and angst.

[Emma Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Ben's sister is murdered, He becomes obsessed with finding her killer. This is a really good storyline but I feel that some of the dialogue between Ben and Ro is a bit forced and the language that is used doesn't really make me feel as if the characters should be teenagers. Nevertheless, The storyline that is used is really good.

[Judith A Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great job in writing mysteries

You can't go wrong when you read one of Faye Kellerman's books . Once you start it is so very hard to put the book down . I love her books and I will never stop reading them .

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I we're 14yr.old, I might have been able to stomach the sickeningly overwritten blossoming teenage love affair between Ben and "Ro". Waiting for the actual story to start was painful, like dipping pages between a good crime novel and tiger beat magazine.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a long, boring story of how teenagers aren’t. It’s sold as a murder mystery and it does circles that idea. I did not finish. I made it half way through and realized the story was meandering, unrealistic, and not worth my time to finish.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was 700 pages long and too wordy. The mystery 0f murdered girls was here and there but it was mostly about Ben and “Ro” and how they finally solved the murders! Too much for me! I will probably not read the next too books in the serie#!🥸

[Meg Gillette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faye Kellerman is a masterful storyteller and I recommend all of her books, but this is not the best example of her writing. Perhaps it is because it’s a young adult novel. I’d really like the opinion of some younger readers. For me, these adolescent characters often sounded older in their speech patterns. The writing was sometimes stilted. I was riveted by the story, but it didn’t flow seamlessly like her other novels.

[Leslie Arden Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I hope part 2 and 3 are as good as this one . The only thing missing is a Decker tie in. I hope there will be one.

[Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love all of kellermans books. killing season seemed more for young aduts I stilled read it and continue with the rest of the series hoping it will leave the youthful taste

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reads like bad YA fiction. Really disappointed in Ms. Kellerman's with this effort. I will read the other two parts, because I'm interested to know whodunnit.

[Julie Plummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. I like Faye Kellerman anyway, but this was her best yet.