Each time he struck, he took two victims. Day after day, he waited for the first body to be discovered--a body containing all the clues the investigators needed to find the second victim, who waited...prey to a slow but certain death. The clock ticked--salvation was possible.
The police were never in time.
Years have passed; but for this killer, time has stood still. As a heat wave of epic proportions descends, the game begins again. Two girls have disappeared...and the clock is ticking.
Rookie FBI agent Kimberly Quincy knows the killer’s deadline can be met. But she’ll have to break some rules to beat an exactingly vicious criminal at a game he’s had time to perfect.
Lisa Gardner is the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller author of the Frankie Elkin series, as well as the Detective D.D. Warren, the FBI Profilers and the PI Tessa Leoni series.
Her current suspense novels feature Frankie Elkin, an everyday, average person who specializes in finding missing people. When the locals have given up, when the media has never bothered to care, Frankie takes on the challenge. From looking for a missing teen in inner city Boston to searching for a missing hiker in the wilds of Wyoming to rescuing a possibly kidnapped girl on a remote island in the Pacific, Frankie is on the case!
Lisa lives in the mountains of New Hampshire with two crazy pups. When not writing, Lisa loves to hike, play cribbage, and, of course, read!
When it comes to writing thrillers, mysteries and crime novels, writer Lisa Gardner is the one to look out for. Talk about on the edge of your seat and let's not forget the twists and turns in this book.
The Killing Hour is the fourth book in the Quincy & Rainie series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm really looking forward to reading the remaining books in the series. If you're looking for a fast paced thriller/mystery/suspense, then don't let this one pass you by, but be warned it may keep you up all night as you won't be able to put it down. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Pierce Quincy’s “daughter was also regarded as a little bit of a head case.”
“Didn’t like authority figures. Didn’t like her fellow classmates. Didn’t seem to actually like much of anyone.”
And little wonder! Kimberly Quincy is certainly a woman with attitude issues. Her sister and her mother were brutally murdered. When her turn came up as the target for the serial killer who had revenge targeted FBI profiler Pierce Quincy’s family, she escaped by the narrowest of margins. Her father, who lived inside the minds of sociopaths and violent killers, seemed to have little understanding of love and little room left over for thoughts of family and parenting, human kindness and normal relationships. In spite of that, Kimberly Quincy decided to walk her father’s path.
The FBI’s training regimen for new agents is brutal in the physical and mental demands it places on recruits, already in an elite class having been culled to only a small handful from thousands of applicants. Security around the training grounds is strict. Despite that, in the middle of a daily training run under the blanket of a debilitating heat wave, new agent Quincy discovers the body of a young girl. The brown stuff hits the high-speed whirring blades of a fan struggling against that smothering heat when Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Mac McCormack arrives with the claim that the young girl is the victim of a newly active serial killer whom he had been investigating unsuccessfully for several years.
The proverbial game is afoot, the race is on, and a gloves-off jurisdictional rumble royal is inevitable. The killer is taunting the authorities with a note, “… clock’s ticking … can you hear it? … heat kills” Up until now, the killer’s “signature” was to abduct two girls at a time, to kill one immediately and leave her body in an easily accessible location with a set of taunting clues that pointed to the location of the second girl who had been released, weakened, tortured and seriously unequipped, into some of the most brutal, desolate, and physically demanding terrain in the country. Her survival time could be counted in hours and every passing minute reduced the likelihood that she could escape or be found alive. “… clock’s ticking …”!
GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) Special Agent Mac McCormack has been profiling the killer since the very beginning of his reign of terror, with no success and no end in sight. Now, with a heatwave descending, the game begins again. Kimberly Quince decides to check out, to take a leave of absence from her FBI training and to join McCormack in the hunt for the killer. She’s determined to help these young girls avoid the fate that her mother and sister suffered at the hands of another killer.
THE KILLING HOUR continues the success of Lisa Gardner’s FBI Profiler series with taut suspense; compulsive page-turning readability; gruesome, detailed graphics; continuing development of the relationship between Pierce Quincy and Rainee Conner; an obvious new romance that will doubtless be developed in the next book in the series; a spectacular unpredictable final reveal that comes out of left field after readers are led astray by false leads and red herrings; and – something I always enjoy as a great plus in suspense thrillers – some awesome, informative, educational sidebars on a variety of topics related to the investigation. In THE KILLING HOUR, the study of forensic linguistics comes up for special consideration. It was all new info to me and definitely fascinating.
Picked this one up for just 99p in the Kindle Autumn Sale.
I've read Gardner before and she's one of those guaranteed good reads. Everything is just enough for an afternoon away from real life. The right amount of cleverness in the plot, a dash of romance, some truly despicable killers, a real pace, and a fulfilling conclusion. I know this author is going to do right by me. So when i'm having a bad week (yes i know it's only Tuesday), I know where to turn.
I wasn’t really into the story or characters. But one thing I will give the author credit for is the fact that the forensic science and the environment of the settings was very well researched.
I know most people liked this book, but I truly hated it. I'm a fan of Lisa Gardner...gave Love You More 5 stars!
I found this book boring; I found myself skipping paragraphs at the end just to get it finished. It wasn't at all suspenseful; I felt like I was reading a detailing of "facts" and I just did not feel any chemistry between Mac and Kimberly.
I expect my review will not be a popular one. I really tried to like it but just couldn't!
If you are looking for a creepy, icky, gross murder mystery in twos (and then more) - this is the book for you! A serial killer is taking 2 girls at a time, leaving one dead in the open with clues on or in her body on how to find the second girl. The killer also places an ad in the local paper basically saying heat kills. The killer then goes absent for a few years and when he comes back on the scene this time, he takes 4 girls. The first girl is found on Quantico's FBI Academy training ground by Kimberly Quincy a new recruit whom we met in the previous book. I like this series enough to read the whole of it, but I'm just not that crazy about the main females (Rainie and Kimberly), way too much baggage and quite frankly a bit too simpering! Other than those bits, the clues, race, and obstacles thrown in their paths to find the other 3 girls is very captivating and edge of seat thrill.
When I first started reading this book I wasn't too sure about it. It is listed as part of the Quincy & Rainie series (NOTE: Lisa Gardner calls this "the FBI Profiler series") but actually the star of the book is Pierce Quincy's daughter, Kimberly. Following the events of The Next Accident she has enrolled in the FBI academy. But does she really want to be like her father? She loves him and was always proud of him but she has her demons following the murder of her mother and sister. So what is the real motivation for wanting to be an FBI agent?
This is a serial killer story with a little twist. He takes two victims at the same time. The first victim is killed outright and is left with clues that point to where the second victim can be found. The second girl is left alive in a desolate, remote, and hostile place with only a gallon of water. A place that has been ecologically destroyed by man. The second victim can be found and saved if the police can figure out the clues left with the first victim. Clock is ticking. Then suddenly the killings stopped.
Several years have passed since the killings in Georgia. Now he appears to have started up again but this time in Virginia. Kimberly puts her training on hold and teams up with the lead investigator from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. She will get an assist from her father and Rainie who are also called in. This time the killer has taken four girls. Clock is ticking.
Far fetched? Yes? When I first started reading the book I wasn't too sure if I was really going to enjoy it. I figured maybe 2 or 3 stars. Finish this one and move on to the next one. But the story really picks up and keeps you reading. You think you know who the killer is. At one point you are even told who it is. But wait! Not so fast. There may be an explanation and maybe it really isn't who you figured it was or who you were told it was. The ending is a heart racing, adrenaline rush that will keep you turning the pages. Can Kimberly and team save any of the girls? Clock is ticking, heat kills!
Rivetting! Lisa Gardner never fails to provide a spine tingling tale of suspense!
The residents of Atlanta are gripped by terror everytime the temperature reaches heatwave proportions. Because that's when the killer strikes...he kidnaps two college girls who have been having a night out in a bar, dressed in their finery, high heeled shoes, purse...he leaves one where she is easily found, with clues on her body to find the next one. If the law inforcement agencies can read the clues quickly enough, they MAY find the second girl alive.
GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) Special Agent Mac McCormack has been profiling the killer since the very beginning, with no end in sight. Now, with a heatwave descending, the game begins again. New Agent Kimberley Quincy, while doing part of her training course, stumbles across the body of a young girl...she is in the grounds of the Bureau's training facility at Quantico. It seems the killer wants the FBI's finest in the game now!
The race is on...clock's ticking..can you hear it?...heat kills! Kimberley and Mac combine their efforts to find the killer...they are led to many different parts of the country, in terrain so rugged and dangerous that very few could survive!
The twists and turns of this plot, the anguish of the families, the horror of what the killer will do, make this an extremely chilling and exciting thriller! I had trouble putting this one down, and recommend it highly!
What can you say about Lisa Gardner other than - she is just fantastic! A 2004 book and the 4th in the Quincy & Rainie series! A very good read..... 'nuf said!
The Killing Hour by Lisa Gardner is the 4th book in the FBI Profiler Pierce Quincy series. Kimberly Quincy, daughter of Pierce Quincy and who we met in the previous book, has started training at the FBI academy when she comes across the body of a murdered young girl who is soon linked to previous murders and abductions in Georgia 3 years earlier. A superb, fast-paced thriller where Kimberly teams up with Georgia detective Mac McCormack to find three more girls before they perish in harsh conditions. Kimberly is very similar to her father, strong and determined and together with Mac, they make a formidable team. Their relationship seems to mirror that of her father and Rainee.A immensely enjoyable and suspenseful book that was difficult to put down.
Best of the series yet. A serial killer takes two girls at a time, leaves one dead in the open to be found with clues on her body to lead to the second girl. He has been silent for a few years and then together with GBI special agent Mac McCormack, Kimberly tries to beat the clock and find the victim before times runs out. Once again Gardner delivers a great story, full of suspense, a complicated plot line and a little romance thrown in for fun.
This book was terribly average. It's about a serial killer who picks up two girlies at a time. This killer leaves one girl dead as a map for investigators to find the other (possibly still alive and suffering) victim. Unfortunately, the other girl is always left in an isolated, treacherous, hot location with only a bottle of water. The clock is a-ticking while investigators attempt to locate her.
Kimberly is a tortured young woman currently attending the FBI academy when the book begins. She stumbles across the first body and throws away her dreams of becoming an FBI agent in order to pursue the case because the corpse resembles her deceased sister. She joins sexy special agent man Mac. Mac has been following this elusive killer for years. What follows is a by-the-numbers serial killer chase. Young women (who we never get to know) die, the duo fall in lust (all off screen, bleh, what a tease) and a victim struggles to survive. The only captivating thing about this book was the latest victim's struggle to survive. The other characters (and there were too many for me to remember) just didn't grab me as they were all people I'd read about numerous times in books like these. It was an okay read just not something that will stick with me.
I read lots of serial killer novels, but few have hooked me the way The Killing Hour did, from the very first page. Mac McCormack, special agent of Georgia's Bureau of Investigations, literally runs into FBI trainee Kimberly Quincy. Mac is on the trail of a cold case serial killer, whom he believes responsible for the murder that Kimberly discovered while out on her fitness workout. The FBI is less than thrilled about a body dumped on their Virginia campus, about Mac's presence, and about having one of their students suddenly involved. The plot thickens as Kimberly's father, the nationally renowned criminologist Pierce Quincy, is hired along with his partner to help solve the heinous crime.
It takes no time at all for Lisa Gardner to amp up the action. She certainly knows how to build and sustain suspense, and her descriptions, whether of memorable murder scenarios (think vipers), search and rescue operations, or the rigors of unrelenting, vicious summer heat are riveting. Her characters are winning and real (including the villains), the romantic interludes few but genuine, and her pacing nonstop. This is one thriller that lives up to its billing, an exciting, un-put-downable nail biter that will linger long after the covers are closed.
Another really good story from Lisa Gardner. She just can't write a bad book. This one has Quincy and Rainie, Quincy's daughter, Kimberly and Mac and a very nasty villain. The story starts slow but very quickly speeds up. Highly recommended as r all of LG's books!
Beautiful FBI trainee Kimberly Quincy who defies her superiors by working a serial case while she is still in training, runs into ruggedly handsome Mac McCormick, a special agent of the GBI who has been working the serial case for years. Did I mention Kimberly is beautiful and Mac is good looking? Mac invites Kimberly to join forces and body parts (they hump each other while working the case - of course). All kinds of irregularities here, including letting a victim who survived the serial join the hunt. I’d like to see a story where the “rogue agent trainee” is either a male or “not beautiful.” Wonder if old Mac would go out on a limb for them? At least Kimberly was not a single mother of a young son (but her Quantico roommate was, so stock character was not totally absent).
Thriller!! This was so exciting!! The serial killer took two girls each time, killing one quickly in order to leave clues on her body that would lead to the other girl. If the investigator could unravel the clues fast enough the second girl could survive. The clock was ticking each time the killer struck. Kimberly, a rookie FBI agent, and Mac the original GBI investigator are thrown together by the find of a new victim on the FBI training field. They team up and grow closer as the investigation drags on. Loved the characters, story and excitement!
I am probably a bit late to the game with this author, however better late than never!
This book came as recommendation and I can see why. It's a tight, well planned and well structured thriller/crime story. It commences by following Kimberly through her FBI training programme where she is suddenly thrust into an unresolved serial killer case. Girls are being kidnapped in twos and the death of one has clues to the whereabouts of the other.
It's a great race against the clock, with often gritty nail biting scenes that twist and turn all the way through. There is also effective use of the perspective of the killer that is so often missed by authors of the genre. Overall clever writing that I haven't come across since reading Nesbo and am glad to have more installments to stick my teeth into, solid four stars!
We meet Pierce Quincy whose specialty is profiling...and Rainie Connor, who are partners in a private investigating firm that the police have called in to help. The police are beginning to believe that there may be an inside implication. Not only that but this killer leaves clues on the body that points to the next victim. It's an interesting plot and a fantastic story but it did become bogged down with too many characters causing the reader to sometimes have to go back to see how that person fit into the storyline. I was slightly disappointed with the killers motive but that didn't distract from an otherwise well written and compelling adventure.
Another book that the title doesn't match the story plot. There's a killer on the loose whose been killing for years, young females in pairs, and now he's killed again but this time, he takes four girls simultaneously. The killer uses his victims as a game; the first victim is used as a pawn to locate the 2nd victim. This killer places his victims in such remote locations that is impossible to find unless you use the clues he leaves behind.
This story's background is about the environment and how we take it for granted. The plot is good but the information from biologists, geologists, botanists, and many other specialties hinders the story, dragging it with background overload. This time Quincy's daughter is working alongside her father and she's learning things about herself that causes her to psychoanalyze her life. The acts committed by the killer is gruesome and not for the weak at heart or sensitive tummies.
I enjoy reading this author's work. With all the data included, she takes the time to research her information and the plots are full of suspense with chapters ending with cliffhangers.
Love this series! Each novel in the series is so different. There is no set formula and each novel has a different main character.
The killer in The Killing Hour loves the heat. It brings out his crazy. During a heat wave, the killer kidnaps 2 girls. He kills one right away and then leaves the other one in a remote location. It is up to the FBI to use the first dead girl to locate the second girl and hopefully save her in time.
Kimberly Quincy is the main character in the 4th novel in the series. We know who Kimberly is (Quincy's daughter from the previous novels), but now we get to see her in action as a FBI rookie. I like Kimberly as a main character, I felt that I could easily relate to her. I also enjoyed that father Quincy and Rainie were in this novel and we got to see what they were up to.
It is weird that I enjoyed the villain in the novel? Gardner had me totally thrown off at the end of the novel with who the killer was.
It's sad that I'm almost caught up with the series!
I absolutely adore this series and these characters. I loved that we see Kimberly all grown up and struggling with real life issues even as she pursues her dream of becoming an FBI agent in Academy classes. I love Mac - such a southern charmer with real heart. This story is horrifying - one of the cruelest serial killers I've ever read about...and I read a lot of books with serial killers. As always, I'm was so happy to see Quincy & Rainie appear in this book - helping work the case. And I like that the author is keeping their relationship real by allowing them to have issues. The fly in the ointment for me with this book is the length made so by too many long descriptive passages about the science or technology procedures being used in the case. Love the info, but there's just too much and it distracts from the intriguing murder mystery plot line. I finally started skimming. Not good. So yes, I highly recommend this book and series. Just be aware that this one is a bit long and drawn out. 3.5 Stars for that reason.
Normalmente no leo libros de sagas sin haber leído los anteriores y este es el número 4 de la serie, pero tengo entendido que los primeros 3 no están traducidos al castellano, y aunque ciertamente son casos independientes y cerrados estos personajes traen historia (y qué historia además!!!) pero bueno se pueden leer porque te vas enterando un poco de quiénes son y el caso es totalmente nuevo. En cuanto a este caso en cuestión me pareció bueno dentro del género, un poco perverso y bastante rebuscado, pero me fui involucrando bastante en la trama, llegó un momento en que sentí que se repetía mucho la historia y no avanzaba y hasta casi llegar al final que lo sentí un poco precipitado y hasta decepcionante. Pero en líneas generales y en el marco de novela policiaca me parece que está bastante bien.
There are currently over seven hundred reviews of The Killing Hour posted here on Goodreads, so there is not much point in reviewing the plot. Just some opinions, then:
🔹There wouldn't be thrillers without unpleasant scenes of people suffering and dying. This book is no exception.
🔹Rainie, so important and moving in other volumes of the series, is somewhat of an afterthought in this book. And a rather soggy afterthought at that.
🔹Technical aspects of the story are fascinating. Details of forensic techniques are impressive.
🔹Likewise, information about the physical settings, in forests and swamps, at Quantico or an old sawmill, is very well done.
And now for some spoilers:
I have not read all of the other reviews here. Some (or all) of these points might be discussed in them.
4. Kimberly is the daughter of well known former FBI profiler Pierce Quincy. She has wanted to be in law enforcement since she was a kid. She was exposed to the crime world when her sister and mother were killed six years earlier. Now she is involved in a case where a body is found on the grounds of a marine base where she is currently taking a course to become a full-time FBI agent and she is determined to solve this case and find the killer behind all of it.
5. Theme 1:Don't be alone at night because you don't know what will happen to you. Theme 2:Always make sure you have something to protect yourself if you're under attack.
6. "Footsteps. Hard and fast behind her. In her initial panic, Kimberly had sprinted toward the trees. Bad idea. Trees were dark, and far from help..." (Gardner 52). Kimberly is being chased by a stranger around the dark area of the marine base and since she is still in training, she doesn't have a weapon to defend herself. "Why are you carrying a knife?... They took away my Glock." (55). Kimberly felt the need to carry her own knife that she wasn't permitted to carry on the marine base because she didn't have anything to protect herself.
7. These quotes helped show what the situation was really like for Kimberly. The details of the night and how quiet it was really made the situation feel real. It shows what the life of an FBI officer in training is really like. It talked about how she was unarmed and how unprepared she was when she was attacked.
8. Older teens would enjoy this book becuase it is an adult fiction book that they can relate to with Kimberly being only a little bit older. Adults would also like this book because it is a mature book with a lot of plot twists that would keep adults interested throughout.
Este libro está mal escrito, mal traducido o mal editado, pero me ha costado mucho acabarlo viendo tantos errores sintácticos. Y ese uso y abuso de "pues" constamente. Un horror en ese sentido. La historia no es original, aunque entretiene.
This was an entertaining police/detective procedural (although none of the major characters seemed to follow procedures, lol).
The most fascinating part of this story was not how they tracked down the killer, but how they tried to locate/save one of the girls. The clues they used to do so, was very scientific and I was amazed how they were able to narrow the search area.