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Blood Music
"Chilling...A riveting thriller."
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
New York City is caught in the cold grip of a brutal serial killer who savagely rapes and murders his young, blonde victims. While ravaging them, his mind whirls with symphonic images and raging desires--rarely giving thought to his loving wife and child.
Young, blonde Zelly Wyche has a new baby and a happy life with her dependable electrician husband. She, too, is petrified by the madness and the unthinkable tragedy of the murders. While the serial killers' sole survivor and a victim's brother mount a desperate vigilante hunt for the "Symphony Slasher," a chill runs up Zelly's spine. She is beginning to wonder if the killer could be closer than she thinks. But no. Impossible. She has to be dead wrong....
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
New York City is caught in the cold grip of a brutal serial killer who savagely rapes and murders his young, blonde victims. While ravaging them, his mind whirls with symphonic images and raging desires--rarely giving thought to his loving wife and child.
Young, blonde Zelly Wyche has a new baby and a happy life with her dependable electrician husband. She, too, is petrified by the madness and the unthinkable tragedy of the murders. While the serial killers' sole survivor and a victim's brother mount a desperate vigilante hunt for the "Symphony Slasher," a chill runs up Zelly's spine. She is beginning to wonder if the killer could be closer than she thinks. But no. Impossible. She has to be dead wrong....
326 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
15 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
Jessie Prichard Hunter
6 books3 followersJessie Prichard Hunter is an American novelist. She is the author of three psychological thrillers. She currently resides in New York's Hudson Valley with her husband and two children.
See also Jessie Hunter
See also Jessie Hunter
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 2, 2020
I thought this bok was vey good. I got caught up in it right away! Excellent for a first novel. I want to see more. I've read One Two Buckle my Shoe but I need to find more of her work!
June 26, 2009
WARNING: May contain triggers for violence/assault.
People hurt one another, says this mournful and tentative thriller by first-time novelist Jessie Prichard Hunter, people hurt one another and then they hurt one another and then they hurt one another. A little boy grows up to be a murderer from the delicate bruises around his saintly mother's eyes and the crystalline classical music that she plays for him. He learns no way to love but through the garish precision of knife wounds. People hurt one another and then they hurt one another and then they hurt one another. A young woman is brutally killed and her fragile elder brother swears revenge. Another young woman is raped by the murderer, and her hands join with her fellow victim's brother's over an antique dagger. People hurt one another. A 'modern', 'healthy' young mother begins to fear her husband after his hands close over her neck during sex. People hurt one another.
Yes, I want to say back to the author, yes, we hurt one another. We do terrible, unimaginable things, us human beings. And then we are left with calluses, scars, ravines and canyons gaping within our minds. Sometimes, then, we hurt one another more. But sometimes we don't. Sometimes we work to close up the ravines with whatever materials are at our disposal. We are kind to our lovers when they flinch or fear or flare out in anger. We hurt one another another and we hurt one another but we love one another too.
I do not want to encourage the ultimately damaging myth that, by loving damaged and dangerous people we may cure them. That leads to men and women staying in emotionally and physically abusive relationships to the point that they themselves are hurt rather than being able to heal others. But I do believe in the human ability to live through the terrible and turn it into something beautiful, worthwhile, life-giving. I believe that the human mind and capacity for empathy is deeper than Hunter's simplistic criminal psychology would have us believe. I believe that individuals may harbor sadistic or masochistic desires, either orientationally or as a way of dealing with an event in their lives, and may express those desires in a way that does not cause further harm to those around us. I believe that we can heal.
I understand the mindset from which Hunter is coming in writing this book, and I can sympathize with it. But, for myself, I think there is more to be said.
People hurt one another, says this mournful and tentative thriller by first-time novelist Jessie Prichard Hunter, people hurt one another and then they hurt one another and then they hurt one another. A little boy grows up to be a murderer from the delicate bruises around his saintly mother's eyes and the crystalline classical music that she plays for him. He learns no way to love but through the garish precision of knife wounds. People hurt one another and then they hurt one another and then they hurt one another. A young woman is brutally killed and her fragile elder brother swears revenge. Another young woman is raped by the murderer, and her hands join with her fellow victim's brother's over an antique dagger. People hurt one another. A 'modern', 'healthy' young mother begins to fear her husband after his hands close over her neck during sex. People hurt one another.
Yes, I want to say back to the author, yes, we hurt one another. We do terrible, unimaginable things, us human beings. And then we are left with calluses, scars, ravines and canyons gaping within our minds. Sometimes, then, we hurt one another more. But sometimes we don't. Sometimes we work to close up the ravines with whatever materials are at our disposal. We are kind to our lovers when they flinch or fear or flare out in anger. We hurt one another another and we hurt one another but we love one another too.
I do not want to encourage the ultimately damaging myth that, by loving damaged and dangerous people we may cure them. That leads to men and women staying in emotionally and physically abusive relationships to the point that they themselves are hurt rather than being able to heal others. But I do believe in the human ability to live through the terrible and turn it into something beautiful, worthwhile, life-giving. I believe that the human mind and capacity for empathy is deeper than Hunter's simplistic criminal psychology would have us believe. I believe that individuals may harbor sadistic or masochistic desires, either orientationally or as a way of dealing with an event in their lives, and may express those desires in a way that does not cause further harm to those around us. I believe that we can heal.
I understand the mindset from which Hunter is coming in writing this book, and I can sympathize with it. But, for myself, I think there is more to be said.
June 25, 2020
I hate writing reviews when I didn’t like the book, but I’ll give it my best shot! Blood Music was the last book in my stack of “books I have access to during quarantine that I haven’t read”, so I was pretty psyched about that, but it really wasn’t good! I hate to say it, but it revealed the murderer like two chapters in and didn’t even have an adequate ending. Really fell short for me, has all of the characteristics of a not well written murder novel!
Read
September 25, 2021Very Intense. The ending wasn't what I thought it would be, but overall a very good read.
dnf-pile
July 7, 2025I got bored and stopped
April 18, 2009
This book is a first attempt at writing a mystery novel and yet it moves along quickly enough to keep you interested.
Our main character, Zellie Wyche, narrates most of the book, setting up the scene and doing a great job of descriptive imagery. The first murder is depicted from an onlooker’s point of view, even though Zellie only reads about it in the paper later during the book. Zellie is a small-time fan of serial murders and often speaks to her family and friends about her theories that surround each set of murders about which she reads.
Set in New York venues, the murderer sets about stalking victims and using a company logoed vehicle to do his dirty body disposal work. It doesn’t matter what the victim did for a living or even how rich they were, because neither of those factored into the killer’s motive. While Zellie lives in New Jersey, she still finds it interesting to read about the New York murders while caring for her six month old daughter, Mary.
One of the many victims’ relatives, accountant John Nassent, sets about trying to solve the murderer’s identity with the help of another victim that lives through one of these vicious attacks, Madeline Levy. His adventures take him on a wild journey of close scrapes and introduce him to some pretty shady characters.
The killer begins leaving poems cut from newspaper scraps, referring to classical music, the plot thickens and Zellie begins to put the pieces together…and draws some startling conclusions! During an evening at a concert in the park, another murder occurs right under her nose. She deduces that the killer is someone she knows very well and begins closely observing their behavior.
At one point, our mild-mannered housewife goes to stay with her mother to discuss family problems, and while she is there, her mother slowly begins to understand Zellie’s reasoning about the gruesome crimes. Although the reader can deduce the identity of the killer fairly early in the book, it is interesting to watch Zellie match clues and figure out how the crimes are being committed.
Filled with suspense, detailed imagery, and strong characters, Blood Music is a very good first attempt for Jessie Hunter and hopefully, will not be the last. To find out who the killer is you’ll have to read the book.
Our main character, Zellie Wyche, narrates most of the book, setting up the scene and doing a great job of descriptive imagery. The first murder is depicted from an onlooker’s point of view, even though Zellie only reads about it in the paper later during the book. Zellie is a small-time fan of serial murders and often speaks to her family and friends about her theories that surround each set of murders about which she reads.
Set in New York venues, the murderer sets about stalking victims and using a company logoed vehicle to do his dirty body disposal work. It doesn’t matter what the victim did for a living or even how rich they were, because neither of those factored into the killer’s motive. While Zellie lives in New Jersey, she still finds it interesting to read about the New York murders while caring for her six month old daughter, Mary.
One of the many victims’ relatives, accountant John Nassent, sets about trying to solve the murderer’s identity with the help of another victim that lives through one of these vicious attacks, Madeline Levy. His adventures take him on a wild journey of close scrapes and introduce him to some pretty shady characters.
The killer begins leaving poems cut from newspaper scraps, referring to classical music, the plot thickens and Zellie begins to put the pieces together…and draws some startling conclusions! During an evening at a concert in the park, another murder occurs right under her nose. She deduces that the killer is someone she knows very well and begins closely observing their behavior.
At one point, our mild-mannered housewife goes to stay with her mother to discuss family problems, and while she is there, her mother slowly begins to understand Zellie’s reasoning about the gruesome crimes. Although the reader can deduce the identity of the killer fairly early in the book, it is interesting to watch Zellie match clues and figure out how the crimes are being committed.
Filled with suspense, detailed imagery, and strong characters, Blood Music is a very good first attempt for Jessie Hunter and hopefully, will not be the last. To find out who the killer is you’ll have to read the book.
February 27, 2015
This isn't a bad book but you could basically tell from the beginning who the killer was. I'd rather read a book where it keeps me guessing till the end.Zelly has a facination with serial killers, with a 6 month old baby, she's a stay at home mom and is married to Patrick. Patrick is an electrician and runs his own buisness. Zelly figures out Patrick is the rapist/killer pretty quick because who needs their house wired in the middle of the night. Plus the way he answers when she starts to talk about the killer. When he almost rapes her all she can think about is how he made the baby cry, what the heck, she should be thinking about more than that. I read this but it didn't keep me glued to the book, it was sort of wordy and repetitive. Independent reviewer for PR&ATR
December 14, 2008
What can be worse than thinking your husband may just fit the profile of the latest serial murderer rampaging through town?
It's knowing for sure that he is and examining how he became the brutal man that he is to other women. Hunter scores points not so much for suspense, because we know pretty quickly that Pat Wyche is guilty, but for the examination of what caused him to become the killer that he is.
It's knowing for sure that he is and examining how he became the brutal man that he is to other women. Hunter scores points not so much for suspense, because we know pretty quickly that Pat Wyche is guilty, but for the examination of what caused him to become the killer that he is.
July 28, 2008
This book was a compelling thriller that kept my attention throughout. I liked getting different character's voices such as the killer, the police and one of the victims.
April 9, 2015
Good, but a lot of blood. Have a cold so I just read all day.
Read
February 27, 2016The book was slow to get into. Ended on a very crappy note and you knew who the killer was way too early in the book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews