The Dicer

by A.B. Kayge

Homicide Detective Cal Miller is being taunted by the infamous serial killer, who the media has dubbed as "The Dicer". When another body turns up and he is no closer to finding the killer than he was almost a year ago, Cal and his partner Kenzi are at a loss. Unfortunately for Cal, things become very personal and he is put on a leave of absence with "The Dicer's" most recent kidnapping. Can Cal and his partner Kenzi find this killer before it's too late?


This is a suspense/thriller novel with lots of descriptive detail as to how each victim is tortured and murdered. If you have a weak stomach, than I would strongly advise against buying my book.

172 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 13, 2016

Reviews

[Sarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

An indie published book deserves a little grace, considering there is no team of editors, marketing specialists, or quality control personnel to ensure an error-free manuscript. In spite of this, The Dicer was one of the better indie published books I have read. The writing style was entertaining, and the author didn’t often get in the way of the story. I read it in one sitting, and although the genre is not my typical preference, I did enjoy my reading.

The novel features heavy visual descriptions and is weighed down by adjectives. In several places, five or more adjectives were strung together to modify a single noun. As I was reading, I felt that Kayge didn’t trust her readers, and felt it necessary to describe all the visual details of every scene. Too much exposition is given to describing the color of furniture, the items on a desk, or the exact outfits characters are wearing. These details do not contribute to the overarching narrative and do distract from the development of the plot.

This book exemplifies the importance of “show, don’t tell.” Nearly every character is introduced with a specific height, for example. I’m all for grounding story in concrete visual details, but I would have rather liked to notice Cal’s height in his actions (i.e., “he bent under the door frame to enter the room) than in a drive-by description.

I do believe that with a solid developmental/line editor, Kayge would have been able to get this published traditionally. The story is interesting, engaging, and her characters have some layers of depth. There are some logical jumps, especially near the end of the novel, but ultimately, Kayge told an interesting story and did it well.

[pam brokamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

This story really kept my attention, which is hard to do. Loved the closeness of the characters. Very suspenseful. Looking forward to the next chapter of their lives.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good suspense.

Caught me by surprise, thought it was a different character.
A lot of editing error, distracting.
Will see if author has other books