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Dancing for a Stranger: A Markos Mystery
Donny is looking for The One. How many women will he kill before he finds her? Five young dancers are found dead, their windpipes crushed by a serial killer. When Aphrodite, a burlesque dancer, interrupts his latest attack, she becomes his new object of desire. Dr. Andromeda Markos, along with Detective Sean Malone, and their childhood friend, Dr. Anastasia Antoniadis, fight to discover the killer’s identity before more women fall victim to his brutal violence. As they close in, the killer’s mind unravels and the friends must race against his tangled psyche in order to save one of their own.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 27, 2018
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7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 20, 2018
Authentic
The characterization of Donny was excellent. I taught assault prevention classes in college. Perps need to dehumanize their victims. Aphrodite’s attempts to get Donny to see her as a person were textbook. Also constantly overriding her fear and looking for an opening to escape are part of the training. A terrific piece of writing. That is why I gave this book 5 stars.
The characterization of Donny was excellent. I taught assault prevention classes in college. Perps need to dehumanize their victims. Aphrodite’s attempts to get Donny to see her as a person were textbook. Also constantly overriding her fear and looking for an opening to escape are part of the training. A terrific piece of writing. That is why I gave this book 5 stars.
July 14, 2018
I read the last book in this series and found it enjoyable, and was eagerly awaiting his one. I have to say I LOVED this book. It had just the right amount of excitement, tears, suspense and happy for me. I really hope there’s more coming! I want to know what happens to the rest of the characters!
August 4, 2018
Fun and Scary
I loved this book. You continue the stories of three friends as a serial killer fixated on one of them. It’s very suspenseful and exciting. I liked how the author immerses you in the ladies’ culture and how she gives a true picture of the killer’s point of view.
I loved this book. You continue the stories of three friends as a serial killer fixated on one of them. It’s very suspenseful and exciting. I liked how the author immerses you in the ladies’ culture and how she gives a true picture of the killer’s point of view.
May 1, 2018
Creepy and fun at the same time.
September 19, 2018
A Cozy Thriller … If There Was Such a Genre
Dancing for a Stranger appears to be the second book in the Markos Mystery series written by Isabella Adams. It sees the return of Dr. Andromeda “Andie” Markos, family physician and amateur sleuth, along with her three gal-pals and her boyfriend, Detective Sean Malone. In this installment, Andie and Sean are hunting a serial killer who has taken an unhealthy interest in one of Andie’s friends, Aphrodite.
The story starts strong when Aphrodite interrupts the killer mid-act. After that opening, however, the pace slows as backstory dominates – you learn a surprising amount about how Andie feels about her aging car, as well as her thoughts about Sean, her friends, her ex-husband, her daughter, and the Greek culture as transplanted to Tarpon Springs, Florida. It’s a solid section for character development, but the crime thriller takes a back seat. Then in the second half, the tension ratchets up as our serial killer stalks his prey. Despite the unsavory character and sleazy settings, Dancing with a Stranger is not a gritty crime novel. The author generally alludes to the murders and the sexual abuse the killer endured as a child. That fact, coupled with the good-natured ribbing and unwavering warmth shared among the women makes this book feel something like a ‘cozy thriller’ – violence, but not enough to interrupt the friends’ Saturday morning coffee dates.
Realism suffers in places where it would have helped maintain the story’s tension, particularly in the actions of the police. For example, there was no fingerprinting when they recovered a car the killer had used; a trip to a state prison became a romantic interlude for two detectives, Andie, and a friend; there was no statewide bulletin even after the police had the killer’s name and occupation; and so on. The killer, driven by an insatiable urge he called ‘The Beast’ took extreme chances – killing in plain sight of the backdoor of a strip club; posing as a doctor doing CPR in a hospital room when he was caught in the act; returning to the same strip club to kill in one of their public restrooms. His brazen actions further highlight the lack of what most would consider a standard police response.
Overall, the story brings into contrast the brutality of a deranged, serial killer and the warmth and support of good friends. That comparison would have been more balanced and considerably starker had the drama felt a bit more real.
Dancing for a Stranger appears to be the second book in the Markos Mystery series written by Isabella Adams. It sees the return of Dr. Andromeda “Andie” Markos, family physician and amateur sleuth, along with her three gal-pals and her boyfriend, Detective Sean Malone. In this installment, Andie and Sean are hunting a serial killer who has taken an unhealthy interest in one of Andie’s friends, Aphrodite.
The story starts strong when Aphrodite interrupts the killer mid-act. After that opening, however, the pace slows as backstory dominates – you learn a surprising amount about how Andie feels about her aging car, as well as her thoughts about Sean, her friends, her ex-husband, her daughter, and the Greek culture as transplanted to Tarpon Springs, Florida. It’s a solid section for character development, but the crime thriller takes a back seat. Then in the second half, the tension ratchets up as our serial killer stalks his prey. Despite the unsavory character and sleazy settings, Dancing with a Stranger is not a gritty crime novel. The author generally alludes to the murders and the sexual abuse the killer endured as a child. That fact, coupled with the good-natured ribbing and unwavering warmth shared among the women makes this book feel something like a ‘cozy thriller’ – violence, but not enough to interrupt the friends’ Saturday morning coffee dates.
Realism suffers in places where it would have helped maintain the story’s tension, particularly in the actions of the police. For example, there was no fingerprinting when they recovered a car the killer had used; a trip to a state prison became a romantic interlude for two detectives, Andie, and a friend; there was no statewide bulletin even after the police had the killer’s name and occupation; and so on. The killer, driven by an insatiable urge he called ‘The Beast’ took extreme chances – killing in plain sight of the backdoor of a strip club; posing as a doctor doing CPR in a hospital room when he was caught in the act; returning to the same strip club to kill in one of their public restrooms. His brazen actions further highlight the lack of what most would consider a standard police response.
Overall, the story brings into contrast the brutality of a deranged, serial killer and the warmth and support of good friends. That comparison would have been more balanced and considerably starker had the drama felt a bit more real.
July 30, 2018
I had some problems getting into this book at the beginning, but that may be because I haven’t read the first one so I wasn’t familiar with the characters. Since strippers were the murder victims, I was expecting more of the setting and characters to be in that world. Instead, one of the main characters who is a stripper is only doing it to finance her dance troupe, and her best friends are a doctor and a medical examiner. So I think my expectations influenced my initial reaction to the book, which actually told a good story.
Like other reviewers I thought the character of the villain was especially well drawn (I almost felt sorry for him as I learned why he's so twisted), and I liked the characters of Stacy and Sully and the relationship that develops between them. The action near the end (I’m not going to say what it is because that would be a spoiler) is especially good.
I’m only giving the book three stars (gave it four on Amazon--I wish Goodreads and Amazon would use the same star scale!) because it needs a good proofreading/copyediting for typos, words that shouldn’t be there (probably because the text was changed somewhere along the line), missing words, and possessive words that should be plural. These things could be caught with a careful read-through. It’s a good story, and for grammar Nazis like me, it distracts from that story.
Like other reviewers I thought the character of the villain was especially well drawn (I almost felt sorry for him as I learned why he's so twisted), and I liked the characters of Stacy and Sully and the relationship that develops between them. The action near the end (I’m not going to say what it is because that would be a spoiler) is especially good.
I’m only giving the book three stars (gave it four on Amazon--I wish Goodreads and Amazon would use the same star scale!) because it needs a good proofreading/copyediting for typos, words that shouldn’t be there (probably because the text was changed somewhere along the line), missing words, and possessive words that should be plural. These things could be caught with a careful read-through. It’s a good story, and for grammar Nazis like me, it distracts from that story.
October 16, 2018
Best friend's, Andromeda, Aphrodite, Anastasia, Sean, Sully, and Stacy (Confusing much?) lives takes a turn when a loathsome looney takes a shine to Aphrodite, a dancer come stripper who witnessed his latest rape/murder attempt of a skanky co-worker.
During this book, the more interesting internal dialogue and intrigue of the rapist takes a serious backseat to the friendships and love interests of the friends, who spend most of their time professing their love of each other, in Greek may I add, and Greek food.
The book really takes off in the last quarter after the dancer is kidnapped by the bad boy but I don't want to give away any details that are juicer than mousaka. Let's just say it's worth the wait and very well written, in comparison to the beginning which could have used a more critical eye to ratchet up the tension as well as a once-over by the grammar police. Still it's a good read that's sure to satisfy.
During this book, the more interesting internal dialogue and intrigue of the rapist takes a serious backseat to the friendships and love interests of the friends, who spend most of their time professing their love of each other, in Greek may I add, and Greek food.
The book really takes off in the last quarter after the dancer is kidnapped by the bad boy but I don't want to give away any details that are juicer than mousaka. Let's just say it's worth the wait and very well written, in comparison to the beginning which could have used a more critical eye to ratchet up the tension as well as a once-over by the grammar police. Still it's a good read that's sure to satisfy.
September 16, 2019
Dancing for a Stranger, the second book in A Markos Mystery series, has us once again following Dr. Andromeda Markos eccentric group of friends. Aphrodite, the burlesque dancer, life is in danger after she interrupts a serial murder, and he becomes fixated on her. It is up to Andie, her boyfriend Sean, the cop, and her group of friends to keep Aphrodite safe. When Aphrodite is kidnapped the tension really picks up and you will not want to put the book down. What I like about this series is there is just the right amount of friendship, romance and danger to keep you turning the pages. I have enjoyed reading this series, even though I did so totally out of order.
January 5, 2019
What a gripping story! I can't wait to find out what happens to Andie and Sean!!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews