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Stabitha
“Just like you, I think about killing a lot. But unlike you, I don’t file these urges under F for Forget.”
Brian O'Connor is a serial killer. Maybe that’s why he's also an excellent NYPD homicide detective.
Since meeting therapist Emily Beatty, he’s been making great progress on his issues. Finally, someone to whom he can reveal the dark secrets and hidden pains that made him into a monster.
“Serial killing is no longer a blue collar job. It takes advanced technical expertise to get away with it these days. See, your parents told you that college would pay off!”
When a string of murders reveal that a serial killer’s on the loose, Emily becomes a prime suspect. But if she’s still helping him with his… issues, he might just let her keep it up.
“On the bright side, if I do take her down, well… Based on the progress we made in our sessions, she may be the last woman I ever kill.”
If you like psychological thrillers, serial killer thrillers, breakneck action, dark humor, and the most irresistibly charming murderer ever, don’t miss this first installment in the Brian O’Connor trilogy!
Buy Stabitha to enter Brian’s twisted mind today!
Brian O'Connor is a serial killer. Maybe that’s why he's also an excellent NYPD homicide detective.
Since meeting therapist Emily Beatty, he’s been making great progress on his issues. Finally, someone to whom he can reveal the dark secrets and hidden pains that made him into a monster.
“Serial killing is no longer a blue collar job. It takes advanced technical expertise to get away with it these days. See, your parents told you that college would pay off!”
When a string of murders reveal that a serial killer’s on the loose, Emily becomes a prime suspect. But if she’s still helping him with his… issues, he might just let her keep it up.
“On the bright side, if I do take her down, well… Based on the progress we made in our sessions, she may be the last woman I ever kill.”
If you like psychological thrillers, serial killer thrillers, breakneck action, dark humor, and the most irresistibly charming murderer ever, don’t miss this first installment in the Brian O’Connor trilogy!
Buy Stabitha to enter Brian’s twisted mind today!
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 25, 2018
14 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Brad Vance
61 books245 followersBrad Vance is the author of over twenty books. He's hard at work on the sequel to Stabitha. Keep up with Brad at BradVanceAuthor.com, or email him at BradVanceAuthor@gmail.com.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 9, 2018
Mind fuh...er, bender
Most thrillers and suspense I’ve read with serial killers has been black & white; serial killer=bad, cop=good, cop captures/kills killer. In this case the killer is the cop, or vice-versa, so he’s pretty darn good at being a homicide detective. Brad Vance has written a first-person narration that let me sink quite happily into the mind of Brian O’Connor. It’s dark comedy, black humor with Brian a detached observer of the human condition, his analyses conveyed with sharp intelligence and cutting wit. (See what I did there?) I’d love to get a prequel because somehow Brian has the fortune of having the perfect partner, Carrie, who knows he’s a psychopath but at least tells herself that he really only uses it for good. Maybe. They play off each other perfectly;
“Wonder which one of the little tots came after her, secretly sharpening the construction paper scissors, hiding his prints by coating his fingers with that white sticky goop, what was it.” “Paste.” “What kind of paste?” I shrugged. “I don’t know, kiddie paste. Something the stupid ones can eat and not die, like Play-Doh.” Carrie frowned. “He called her at home on his Fisher-Price phone, rode his Big Wheel over to her house…” “… and took his terrible revenge for the time out she gave him after he threw a marble at Billy during recess.”
“We’ll need to take some DNA from the class gerbil.” “You think the gerbil did it?” “It’s always the gerbil.”
Her BF Adam is also on the force, and I think might become a nemesis for Brian in the future. Just my takeaway. Marvelous secondary characters.
The journey through Brian’s mind, his history and motivating factors unroll during this unusual investigation. Descriptions of crimes aren’t particularly graphic or gruesome, although revelations of child sexual abuse might be disturbing to some readers. I’m also left with the impression that the author really knows his stuff, with the psychoanalytic detail that drives much of the plot and explores Brian’s personality. I am very much looking forward to the continuation of Brian’s career and the changes that this case has inspired in him.
Note for those who read or follow my other book reviews: this is not anything else besides excellent mystery/suspense/thriller fiction.
Most thrillers and suspense I’ve read with serial killers has been black & white; serial killer=bad, cop=good, cop captures/kills killer. In this case the killer is the cop, or vice-versa, so he’s pretty darn good at being a homicide detective. Brad Vance has written a first-person narration that let me sink quite happily into the mind of Brian O’Connor. It’s dark comedy, black humor with Brian a detached observer of the human condition, his analyses conveyed with sharp intelligence and cutting wit. (See what I did there?) I’d love to get a prequel because somehow Brian has the fortune of having the perfect partner, Carrie, who knows he’s a psychopath but at least tells herself that he really only uses it for good. Maybe. They play off each other perfectly;
“Wonder which one of the little tots came after her, secretly sharpening the construction paper scissors, hiding his prints by coating his fingers with that white sticky goop, what was it.” “Paste.” “What kind of paste?” I shrugged. “I don’t know, kiddie paste. Something the stupid ones can eat and not die, like Play-Doh.” Carrie frowned. “He called her at home on his Fisher-Price phone, rode his Big Wheel over to her house…” “… and took his terrible revenge for the time out she gave him after he threw a marble at Billy during recess.”
“We’ll need to take some DNA from the class gerbil.” “You think the gerbil did it?” “It’s always the gerbil.”
Her BF Adam is also on the force, and I think might become a nemesis for Brian in the future. Just my takeaway. Marvelous secondary characters.
The journey through Brian’s mind, his history and motivating factors unroll during this unusual investigation. Descriptions of crimes aren’t particularly graphic or gruesome, although revelations of child sexual abuse might be disturbing to some readers. I’m also left with the impression that the author really knows his stuff, with the psychoanalytic detail that drives much of the plot and explores Brian’s personality. I am very much looking forward to the continuation of Brian’s career and the changes that this case has inspired in him.
Note for those who read or follow my other book reviews: this is not anything else besides excellent mystery/suspense/thriller fiction.
June 30, 2018
Powerful, entertaining Detective Noir
We have a new hero to join fictional detective stardom! Brian O’Connor. A man with a painful past that colors every aspect of the world he inhabits now.
The author brings us into his nightmarish world gradually, ensuring by the time we get each dramatic reveal we understand our hero’s motivations and can sympathise if not condone his actions.
Now, he is on the hunt to uncover the mystery surrounding a series of murders where the perpetrators are only too eager to confess their crimes. What links these men together? What diabolical mastermind is pulling their strings?
Along the way, we get the narrator’s idiosyncratic but heartfelt take on the criminal mind, psychology, pop culture, money and fame just for starters.
Given this is a setup book for a whole series, time is taken introducing us to the secondary characters who will form the ensemble cast for future episodes: his partner, her kinky boyfriend and their boss. Each is interesting in their own right. No cardboard cutouts.
The hero solves his case as expected, but doesn’t resolve the issues that haunt him from his past. That is left for future instalments which I look forward to reading.
The writing is pared back and powerful to suit the topic. Your heart aches for the loss of innocence and the lingering effects of abuse. A trigger warning may be needed. But by exploring this theme, the author shows how ownership of the problem provides some relief.
Thoroughly recommended.
We have a new hero to join fictional detective stardom! Brian O’Connor. A man with a painful past that colors every aspect of the world he inhabits now.
The author brings us into his nightmarish world gradually, ensuring by the time we get each dramatic reveal we understand our hero’s motivations and can sympathise if not condone his actions.
Now, he is on the hunt to uncover the mystery surrounding a series of murders where the perpetrators are only too eager to confess their crimes. What links these men together? What diabolical mastermind is pulling their strings?
Along the way, we get the narrator’s idiosyncratic but heartfelt take on the criminal mind, psychology, pop culture, money and fame just for starters.
Given this is a setup book for a whole series, time is taken introducing us to the secondary characters who will form the ensemble cast for future episodes: his partner, her kinky boyfriend and their boss. Each is interesting in their own right. No cardboard cutouts.
The hero solves his case as expected, but doesn’t resolve the issues that haunt him from his past. That is left for future instalments which I look forward to reading.
The writing is pared back and powerful to suit the topic. Your heart aches for the loss of innocence and the lingering effects of abuse. A trigger warning may be needed. But by exploring this theme, the author shows how ownership of the problem provides some relief.
Thoroughly recommended.
February 26, 2019
This is only the second book where I have liked the killer, and the first one was because I felt bad for him. This, this is a whole different level. Smart, clever, and broken in the most charming ways Brian is the most dangerous of killers. He draws you in, and hides all the things that would make you run screaming. It reminds me of the killer in the show The Following. Well educated and good at fooling everyone around him Brian is an excellent detective because of his issues. Then he meets Emily. She may be the first shrink he can really talk to who will get what's really going on, but she's also got plans of her own that include Brian. When the bodies start piling up Brian has to figure out what's really going on. There is violence, death, dark humor, and no adult content. Perfect for those who enjoy witty banter (love the Monty python quote!), imperfect characters, and can handle a little darkness.
July 14, 2018
The thriller of the century.
Wow, just wow, Detective Brian O'Connor takes us on a journey through the dark souls of a serial killer as one psychopath hints down another. Author Brad Vance has crafted not one but to deliciously dark killers, and leaves you wondering how you kept your sense of self as you tag along. I'm looking forward to more of Brian O'Connor.
Wow, just wow, Detective Brian O'Connor takes us on a journey through the dark souls of a serial killer as one psychopath hints down another. Author Brad Vance has crafted not one but to deliciously dark killers, and leaves you wondering how you kept your sense of self as you tag along. I'm looking forward to more of Brian O'Connor.
July 20, 2018
Interesting serial killer
There's some really great writing in here. I loved the characters, particularly Carrie, and hope there might be more books about them.
There's some really great writing in here. I loved the characters, particularly Carrie, and hope there might be more books about them.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews