Fan Mail

Sophie Anderson #3

by P.D. Martin

On her first day in her new job in Los Angeles, FBI profiler Sophie Anderson finds herself investigating the murder of a bestselling crime writer who was strangled with a pair of stockings, just like the character in her last book.

Before her death, the writer had received letters from "A fan" that had grown increasingly disturbing.

When Sophie discovers a link to the murder of a second crime novelist, and another goes missing, she must get inside the mind of the crazed fan before another writer dies.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

389 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

P.D. Martin--Phillipa Deanne Martin--was born in Melbourne, Australia, and developed a passion for crime fiction and storytelling at an early age. This interest was backed up with formal education through a bachelor of behavioral sciences (with majors in psychology and criminology) and a postgraduate certificate in professional writing (creative writing).

Phillipa also writes children's and young adult fiction under Pippa Dee.

Follow this author on Facebook - www.facebook.com/pdmartinauthor
www.facebook.com/PippaDeeAuthor

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four months ago, when The Murderers’ Club had been caught and brought to justice, all except for NeverCaught, FBI profiler Sophie Anderson left it to IT expert Special Agent Gerard of the Bureau’s Cyber Crime Division to track him down. When Justin Reid telephoned Sophie with offers of help to track him down, he was passed on to Gerard. Reid owned a company which produced cyber technology’s most amazing creation yet, and the excitement rose when it appeared they were closer to NeverCaught than ever before.

Four months on and Sophie was in her final week with the Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico, having decided to head to Los Angeles and work at the Bureau’s Field Office instead. She felt with her gift of seeing into the murderers’ minds, and locating the victims, she would be better out in the field, plus the warmer weather wouldn’t go astray either.

The day after she arrived in LA, still unpacking in her new apartment and not even officially on the job yet, she was called to the murder of a prominent and best-selling author, Loretta Black, whom she had met, along with her assistant Debbie Holt, at the Quantico office when Loretta wanted some FBI tips for the new novel she was writing. She had been drawn to Holt by her friendly nature, but was somewhat bemused by Black’s rudeness back at Quantico. Even so, she was horrified to learn Black had been viciously murdered in a scene exactly like the one in her current new release.

Working with Detective Dave Sorrell from Beverly Hills Homicide, Anderson found herself drawn into Black’s murder immediately. Her new boss, Brady, wasn’t happy at the way she had been approached, especially as she hadn’t officially started on the job when Sorrell telephoned her, but he grudgingly gave his consent for her to carry on. And when suddenly it was discovered that another author had been murdered four months previously, and in a scene the same as one from her book as well, it seemed they had a terrible serial killer on their hands. The fan mail the authors had each received was scrutinized…was their killer a crazy, vengeful fan?

With the clock ticking, another author missing, and Anderson’s unique ability not working at its best, the frustration was mounting. The task force struggled to come up with any further leads and Justin Reid was sending Sophie roses! She didn’t have time for this!! She needed to concentrate on the case at hand….could they find this killer before he struck again…would they?

Again, Aussie author PD Martin has excelled in the Sophie Anderson series. I have loved all three of her books, and look forward to the fourth in the series. This was gritty, extremely fast paced, and loaded with action. A book I can highly recommend.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bombing along the highway and the navigator says "Merge in 100 feet" Seriously? At speed, that would be about 1 second. The rest is slow and overwritten:

I looked at the screen and it read Norton. I picked up the phone, "Hello Norton." "Hello Sophie" "I'm on the highway" "I have a lead" I knew he was going to say that, I know everything that anyone says or does.

I may be paraphrasing here but it was sooooooooooooo poorly written that I was mentally editing it as I read - and would have done if only it wasn't a library book. Thank god I didn't buy this drivel. I just wish I could get a job as an editor - they are sorely needed if this stuff is getting by them.

[Tm Buffalo · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only thing I can say about this book is that it kept me reading until the end but it was not good
I even bought a second one by this author for a,quarter so maybe when I'm desperate I'll read it maybe

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved all the twists and turns. The details and the profile Sophie wrote you think you know who the killer is But are you sure? Do you really have it all figured out?

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series. I really like Sophie, and I love the way the characters are developed and reflected upon throughout the series. While some of the aspects of this story seem a little unbelievable, I feel as though I am able to forgive some things as I am now really into the entire storyline! I will say, I think the movement from hands up in the air, no clue what's happening, to having an epiphany and solving the mystery of the killer, was way too fast. The book could have slowed that part down for sure. My favorite thing about this series is the underlying threads that connect one book to the next, and I think this book did a really nice job increasing the reading excitement by tying back to the last book in the series. Definitely an interesting and surprising twist at the end. Can't wait to read the next one!

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

According to Goodreads I finished Body Count (Sophie Anderson #1) on 1st December 2011 and The Murderer’s Club (Sophie Anderson #2) on 23rd February 2014 and thoroughly enjoyed both, so it really was about time I read Fan Mail. It was definitely worth the wait! As soon as I started this book, I was reminded why I love this series.
This book is particularly disturbing as the murder victims are crime fiction authors.
Brilliant writing with a chilling twist.
Book 4 has been purchased.
If you haven’t read this series yet then I highly recommend you give it a try.

[Jaci Fazekas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author. I really enjoyed the characters and the fact that Agent Sophie Anderson has physic abilities. I will be purchasing more books from this author.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the premise and the cases were interesting.

[Mylaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I figured out all the plot twists right away. The book wasn't poorly written but the narrative lacked excitement. I didn't feel engaged by the story.

[Suzee · Rating 3 out of 5]

although I did enjoy the book, I worked out the killer and the other misdirection early on. I was just waiting for the narrative to catch up and announce it.

[Deb Mervold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great suspense and an interesting premise.

[Samantha summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book @ characters. Was a don’t want to put down type read

[Andrea Corley · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a more in depth review, please visit my blog, Chorley Chronicals!

I have very quickly come to know and love the Sophie Anderson series! I don't typically read series books back-to-back, but I find myself wanting some Sophie when I haven't read about her after a few days! She is a character that has just taken me over and I must say, one of my favorite fictional characters!

I just randomly came across this series, and actually accidentally read book 4 first, but thoroughly enjoyed it! I had book 1 on my TBR for quite some time, when finally, for some odd reason I picked it up from the library, thus what started this wonderful addiction! I was so excited about how great book 1 started and finished, that I wanted to share it with everyone, which I did! This series is now all of my friends new favorite series!!!

I find myself getting amerced into the writing of P.D. Martin. I get lost in her words and have much appreciation for the fact that she takes the time to explain procedures that other writers assume the reader already has a working knowledge of what he or she is writing about! There is always at least one word that I have to look up in every book that I read, but I appreciate Martin's attempt to give the reader greater knowledge about the happenings in her book. I feel like each book of hers that I read, gives me a broader sense of enlightenment, and that I have further extended not only my vocabulary, but also have better recognition and comprehension of the life of an FBI Profiler!

I think that Martin has such unique plots and characters that make me smile just sitting here thinking about them as I type out this review! I am always ecstatic to see what she has come up with next with each new book, and Fan Mail was no exception! I enjoy the detailed and skillful profiles that Martin provides via Sophie throughout each book, as she is working each case. Martin writes fast-paced stories, that keep the reader engaged throughout and seems to have an excellent knowledge base about the stories she is writing! Martin has such a knack for awesome endings and each book brings a new excitement about what is coming up next!

I appreciate the extension of Book 2, The Murderers' Club, as at the end of the book, I just had a feeling that the story wasn't over, and I couldn't have been more right, nor could I have been more thrilled, because let's just face it, that book was pretty flipping awesome!! The outcome of that part of the book was still left pretty open, so I'll be very interested to see if it comes up again either in book 4 or later in the series!

Overall, I just love this series and can't wait to jump right into Book 4, (again...since I read it first several years ago!) Killing Hands! I am so thrilled to have found this excellent author, and am starting to get worried because I am nearing the end, so I certainly hope that Martin has plenty more in store for us, and am anxiously awaiting an announcement for the release of book 7 in the Sophie Anderson series!

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Australian FBI profiler Sophie Anderson, on her last day at FBI headquarters at Quantico before transferring to the Los Angeles field office, is given the task of showing crime author Loretta Black around the facilities. She finds Black to be rude and overbearing, and is glad when the tour is over.

Within days of Sophie's arrival in Los Angeles, Black is found murdered in bizarre circumstances. She has been killed in exactly the same way as the victim in her latest book. It doesn't take long for Sophie to link this crime with the murder of another crime author several months earlier in San Francisco. She too had been killed in the same manner as one of her fictional victims.

When another author disappears in circumstances similar to the plot of her most recent book, Sophie is involved in a desperate race against time to catch the killer before he can kill again.

FAN MAIL is the third book featuring psychic FBI profiler Sophie Anderson. I have to admit that I don't normally like woo-woo in crime fiction, and Sophie's psychic ability initially made me wary of this series. However, thankfully Martin has resisted the temptation of having Sophie have a convenient vision and voila! - crime solved. Actually there was one such moment, relating to a side plot, but I didn't mind that instance as I'd already figured it out for myself some time before without any psychic intervention!

Rather Sophie's visions help provide her with a better picture of the victim and the crime scene, and she combines this with the more usual profiler techniques to build a better picture, more quickly, of the perpetrator. She chose to transfer to a field office so she could make better use of her psychic abilities at crime scenes when the details are likely to be fresher and her visions stronger.

Alongside the main plot, the finalisation of the investigation from the previous book, THE MURDERERS' CLUB continues. I would recommend reading the earlier book before starting FAN MAIL as it contains significant spoilers. As we follow the course of the investigations, a lot of detail about investigative and forensic procedures is included and, while mostly interesting, it sometimes gets a bit tedious and has a tendency to slow down the story.

It takes a brave crime author to write a story about a serial killer murdering crime authors! But luckily Martin had no such qualms because FAN MAIL is good fast paced thriller with an interesting and unique character in Sophie.

[Rachel Groves · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book in the Sophie Anderson series and a very different case to the first two books. There's still murder but perhaps not a serial killer this time ... or is it?

Sophie has to be the guide for a crime author around her FBI office (life imitating art perhaps) who she really doesn't take too. It's not long before the author turns up dead and seemingly in an imitation of one of her novels.

As Sophie investigates more cases come to light of authors killed in the same manner as their fictional victims and their fan mail becomes a key part of the investigation.

It certainly felt like a brave story for an author to write - a serial killer selecting authors as victims and letting them die in the methods they invented for their books as some kind of divine justice.

Like the first two books it's well written and that plot keeps developing right to the end of the book. Sophie is an Aussie in America, working as a profiler for the FBI and she's both a likeable character and a strong female lead. She gets psychic visions/dreams but this doesn't dominate the books rather adds an extra dimension to the story. Sophie is definately an FBI office first with her paranomrmal abilities an additional tool.

She is developing her visions and realises their usefulness for working in the field rather than being office bound. But it's primarily a crime series.

Another very enjoyable installment in the series.

[♥Just another bibliophile♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author has a great concept in which she writes her stories. I enjoyed this book. This specific book has a few similarities to a story I'm currently writing, I dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing... But I think this is written awesomely and definitely had interesting ending. Although from the start it was predictable that J. Reid would turn out being 'AmericanPsycho', it was also predictable that Sandra Black wrote the letters to her sister and that "A fan" was not going to end up being the killer. I don't know if I just have a "predictive brain" but I seemed to pick up on these things before they happened, leaving it not as surprising as I'd expect. Aside from the "predictiveness" in this book it's quite a good read and I definitely plan to read the rest of the Sophie Anderson series. The characters are great. I like how the author focuses more on the characters and detectives solving the crime instead of focusing more of his attention on the brutality of the crimes, as a lot of crime authors do.

She (the author) mentions a "Ford LANCER" in the book, which I'm sure doesn't exist. I just had to point this out because it annoys me when there's mistakes or grammar/spelling errors in books. :)

[StinaStaffymum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book, as PD Martin continues to delve into the mind of a killer, this time centering around "a fan" who seemingly is killing off crime fiction authors in the same manner as those of the victims in their latest books. A page-turner which keeps you guessing to the end - can you figure out the murderer? And another mystery plaguing Sophie?

While I missed Sophie being with the BAU, watching her fall into place in the LA Field Office and with the lead detective in this case, I could almost picture myself in the sun also rather than the chilly climate of Quantico. lol

Be warned - her books are best read in order, as this book has details pertaining to the previous one "The Murderer's Club" and a theme which we may pick up in her next and/or coming books.

[Nurture Waratah · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it was fairly obvious whodunnit from about a third of the way in, this is still an enjoyable book to read. I really liked the main character, Sophie Anderson, and I found the concept of an FBI agent with clairvoyant tendencies intriguing. I also found the idea that a killer was targeting crime authors and using their books for inspiration to be quite interesting. Despite having guessed who the culprit was, I enjoyed watching the police as they struggled to piece together the evidence and come to the same conclusions as I did. This book isn't a masterpiece, but it is a fun read and well worth your time.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this the third book in the Sophie Anderson series, we find FBI profiler Sophie Anderson moving from Washington DC to LA for her new job in the LA field office. Sophie isn't just any old profiler though she also has visions that help solve crimes.

She is on the hunt for a serial killer that is targeting mystery writers. The killer is called "A Fan" in letters that are sent to the writers over a period of time.

There is also a continuation of the storyline from the first book - The Murderer's Club as the people apprehended are coming to trial and new information is learned in that investigation as well.

Great series!

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I figured out the murderer by page 65. However, I did enjoy all the fascinating forensics information and was completely engrossed by the continuation of the AmericanPshycho storyline. That guy scares the wits out of me! I still have a soft spot for Sophie but really missed the sexual tension of her relationship with Darren Carter. I understand Sophie was a victim and is suffering from PTSD in addition to her visions being horrific, but she really needs a bit more going on in her personal life. It makes her more 3 dimensional.

[Cara]

DNF @ 56%.

Was really hoping to get into this but couldn’t.

1. Didn’t like that the main character (Sophie) was “psychic”.

2. Unnecessary description of things that disrupted the pacing and overall flow.

3. The inclusion of a profile (in the boxes) of the perp (didn’t add anything to the telling of the story).

4. The inclusion of the fan mail that the dead author got (despite the book being called that).

Sadly, despite the description (which describes a kind of book I normally like), the execution was not something I vibe with.

[Jannene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this a 3.5. I didn't really get into this one like I did the other one. The plot was believable and as a mystery reader it was creepy. The characters were well developed and I did enjoy reading about them. I guess my problem was it was too much reading of the other books and I got confused. Plus, it may be believable but I wasn't full engaged in the story line.

[Darla Stokes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third in a series. I'm not sure if I've read any others or not. It feels familiar, but I don't really remember. It didn't seem to matter--the parts referring to previous books were explained well enough.

I did enjoy the procedural aspects to the story, though I figured out whodunit fairly early on.

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book, and the first I actually had to pay for full price (the first one was at a sale, the second was free from the publishers, then this one, then I won the 4th from the author on facebook, and the 5 I just bought today, and the 6th was a free e-book) and it was great! Loved it!

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the third in the Sophie Anderson series. P.D. Martin does a good job of keeping the story flowing and it is an easy read. I found the inserts of the books written by the murdered authors an interesting way of keeping the reader engrossed in the story.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good suspense novel, I was on edge the whole time I was reading it and couldn't wait to find out what was happening next. I traded sleep for reading last night just so I could finish it. Really a great read

[Debbie Zappen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this 3rd installment and looking forward to the next one!

[Janetlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Sophie Anderson's character in this series. Good read!

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book in this series. Looking forward to the next.

[Tatyanna]

this new book by P.D Martin should be as good as the murderers' club! It recently came out in the U.S.A and Austrailia. i hope to read this soon!!