Venom: Capturing his prey is only the beginning

by Jeffrey Ames

To save her own life and the lives of the ones she loves, Dallas police officer Courtney Bedell--the only living witness to a killer's rampage--is forced into a dangerous confrontation with the "Fiddleback," a psychotic predator with a taste for torture and murder. Original.

374 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2002

About the author

Pseudonym of A.W. Gray

Reviews

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truthfully, I enjoyed the book. There might’ve been some unnecessary dialogue, but I was able to paint a full picture and see multiple point of views, which is always entertaining to me. To be in the mind of such an off kilter human being could’ve given me nightmares with my imagination. While you can basically guess where the storyline is going, I enjoy the details through the end.
If just the thought of spiders really freak you out I would not recommend😅

[Amy Webster-Bo · Rating 4 out of 5]

if I had not figured out who done it and why half way through the book, I might have given it a 5 star, but it was great other then that

[Lena Tumasyan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this at a library sale. Picked it up cause I thought it would be scary simply based on the title. Didn't really pay attention to any description, wasn't familiar with the author, etc. So you could say I went blindly into reading this book, meaning, I didn't REALLY know what to expect. A fresh set of eyes.

This is a crime mystery thriller and I did NOT like it. It was too long. Had too much bickering and too much unnecessary dialogue from multiple people that are NOT closely connected to the main plot. The pace of the book is drawn out. Too many unnecessary characters all with similar-sounding names which makes this book even more confusing to read. A lot of the dialogue is overly dramatic, like the author is trying WAY TOO HARD to mimic old "40s" TV detective dramas. The dialogue is full of cursing and poor language choices. The dialogue and these extra characters and such just SLOW THE BOOK DOWN and WEIGHT IT DOWN. Honestly the book could have been parsed from the 371 current pages down to 150 if you got rid of all the extra NONSENSE.

The story line felt FORCED. Like when the main character's sister ends up at the house with PERFECT timing for the killer - well that's just TOO perfect. Felt fake, even for this story.

The only redeeming quality in the book is the madman - the spider man. His inner dialogue to himself and to the spiders was pretty cool. It was SO CRAZY, so full of self-loathing, self-demeaning, and self-critisizing, that it was the most interesting part of the story. He is so NUTS that you can't help but be engulfed in his thoughts. I would have actually enjoyed a whole book of this crazy killer's thoughts compared to there overly drawn out over the top trying too hard story like of this book. The rest of it was garbage.

I will NOT be reading any more books from this author, and probably this genre for a while.

[Jinx:The:Poet {the LiteraryWanderer & WordRoamer} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read Venom years ago, the details aren’t as fresh in my mind, but honestly I remember enjoying the killer’s, a.k.a. the Fiddleback’s, inner thoughts and workings rather than much else. It had its moments of suspense and intrigue but some of the characters felt flat and irritating, and a bunch of the dialogue slowed the book down. It felt cluttered, I suppose. It doesn’t stand out in my mind as one of the worst things that I have read but it certainly doesn’t shine much looking back either. I would recommend only to those obsessed with the crime, serial killer mystery genre. Not the worst but not the best.

"He is the Fiddleback-a predator with a taste for human prey, and an appetite for torture. Dallas cop Courtney Bedell is the only person who has ever seen him-and survived.

And now, to save herself and those she loves, Courtney must match wits with a madman unlike any she's ever known-and lure the Fiddleback into a web of her own design." -Book Blurb

[OFFICIAL RATING: 2.5 STARS]

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A serial killer loose in Dallas, a cop as the only living eye-witness, a life on the brink of destruction, what else could be more thrilling, more action-packed, more edge-of-your seat. Ames does a great job of drawing you into the story and making you care about the characters, he even does a good job portraying a mad man. A must-read for anyone who loves mystery.

[Heather Mclaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the fact that the serial killer had strange behaviors that I had not ever read prior to picking up this book but I felt like the other characters were a little flat and stereo-typed. It was decent but not really a challenging plot with nail biting action.

[Rea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was extremely creepy and wicked I loved it!

[Andrew Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little beyond belief.

[David Szatkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent crime thriller, "Venom" is in the style of "Silence of the Lambs." I haven't seen other books by this author, but I'd read others if I found them.