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Highwayman #2
Four
"The highwayman brought his hand up and ran his fingers through the beard. 'Where do we go from here?' he asked the Bundy-ish reflection. Sooner or later, the monster would have to be fed."
Having abstained from killing for almost a year, the Highwayman is coming unglued.
Unsure if the FBI is watching, Lance Belanger spends his days and nights in a paranoid malaise, longing to kill again. Meanwhile, in Bucharest, Romania, an Interpol raid leads to clues and a witness who can identify the Highwayman. Armed with new evidence, newly promoted SAC FBI Agent, Dave Maxwell heads for Bucharest, as his team of investigators redeploys their investigation on their original suspect, Lance Belanger. It would appear, the net is closing.
But the Highwayman has other ideas.
Just after dusk, outside of Pittsburgh, four strangers exit a service van and perpetrate the mass murder of four families in their suburban homes. It doesn’t take long for the FBI to connect the killings to Highwayman, and when they raid Belanger’s properties, they are left a parting gift.
Another murder and a message for Maxwell from the Highwayman himself.
Come and find me!
The killing ramps up, Maxwell leads a posse of investigators across two states, north to Canada to try and thwart the Highwayman in his endgame, that involves kidnapping, mass murder, and betrayal.
The predator is now the prey.
But can they stop him before he disappears for good?
Having abstained from killing for almost a year, the Highwayman is coming unglued.
Unsure if the FBI is watching, Lance Belanger spends his days and nights in a paranoid malaise, longing to kill again. Meanwhile, in Bucharest, Romania, an Interpol raid leads to clues and a witness who can identify the Highwayman. Armed with new evidence, newly promoted SAC FBI Agent, Dave Maxwell heads for Bucharest, as his team of investigators redeploys their investigation on their original suspect, Lance Belanger. It would appear, the net is closing.
But the Highwayman has other ideas.
Just after dusk, outside of Pittsburgh, four strangers exit a service van and perpetrate the mass murder of four families in their suburban homes. It doesn’t take long for the FBI to connect the killings to Highwayman, and when they raid Belanger’s properties, they are left a parting gift.
Another murder and a message for Maxwell from the Highwayman himself.
Come and find me!
The killing ramps up, Maxwell leads a posse of investigators across two states, north to Canada to try and thwart the Highwayman in his endgame, that involves kidnapping, mass murder, and betrayal.
The predator is now the prey.
But can they stop him before he disappears for good?
416 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 25, 2020
3 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
M.J. Preston
14 books33 followersAUTHOR AND ARTIST AT LARGE
MJ Preston is a horror author who lives in Canada. His debut novel: THE EQUINOX was a semi final contender in the Amazon Breakthrough Awards and was called: A solid Horror Novel, by a reviewer from Publishers Weekly. It also captured the attention of horror enthusiasts in the Podcast world where it was met with high praise. Dark Discussions founder and co-host called: THE EQUINOX arguably one of the best straight horror novels to be published in the last 10 years.
His latest novel: ACADIA EVENT was inspired from his time spent running the world longest ice road in 2012 and 2013. This new novel is a much anticipated and early reviews are coming back with praise for his story telling ability and imagination.
He has also had published a number of short stories and most recently can be found in the pages of Great Old Ones two Epic anthologies. Canopic Jars: Tales of Mummies and Mummification and Bugs: Tales that Slither, Creep, and Crawl.
Along with writing MJ Preston is also an artist using both is camera and computer to render all sorts of imagery. He does all of his own cover art and has produced covers for the aforementioned Anthologies.
He is now at work on a new novel.
MJ Preston is a horror author who lives in Canada. His debut novel: THE EQUINOX was a semi final contender in the Amazon Breakthrough Awards and was called: A solid Horror Novel, by a reviewer from Publishers Weekly. It also captured the attention of horror enthusiasts in the Podcast world where it was met with high praise. Dark Discussions founder and co-host called: THE EQUINOX arguably one of the best straight horror novels to be published in the last 10 years.
His latest novel: ACADIA EVENT was inspired from his time spent running the world longest ice road in 2012 and 2013. This new novel is a much anticipated and early reviews are coming back with praise for his story telling ability and imagination.
He has also had published a number of short stories and most recently can be found in the pages of Great Old Ones two Epic anthologies. Canopic Jars: Tales of Mummies and Mummification and Bugs: Tales that Slither, Creep, and Crawl.
Along with writing MJ Preston is also an artist using both is camera and computer to render all sorts of imagery. He does all of his own cover art and has produced covers for the aforementioned Anthologies.
He is now at work on a new novel.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 4, 2020
Omg!!! Terrific-terrifying-tense-5 stars plus. Read the first series book and then book 4. U will not put this down. I came across the first book - Highwayman on Netgalley, and I was floored. Preston's follow up FOUR, is just as good if not better. I had to put this book down so many times - first because i just didn't want to finish it - what can i read next that can compare - but also because this book is so scary real. All I can say to readers is - read the first book, and then move on to the next. Be prepared to be SCARED. This is an excellent series, and I highly recommend for those who love thrillers, mysteries, or just a great book.
5 stars - HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
5 stars - HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
February 26, 2020
‘Nowhere is completely safe’
Canadian author M.J. Preston is rapidly becoming recognized as one the more impressive writers of horror fiction. His novels to date: THE EQUINOX, ACADIA EVENT, and The Highwayman Series – Book 1 HIGHWAYMAN, and now Book 2, FOUR. In addition to his novels, Preston has been a contributor to short story anthologies, collections that focus on dark themes.
Taking up where HIGHWAYMAN left off in 2007, Preston informs us in the Prologue that the crimes within this volume occur between 19 September and 17 November. As this is a continuation of the series, some readers would ask if reading Book 1 is necessary for reading Book 2: the answer being No, as Preston fills the reader in on the earlier atrocities of serial killer Lance Belanger – or YES, in that the impact of Book 1 is so profound that knowing the details heightens the experience of FOUR!
A taste of the fine writing skills that make this intriguing novel/series ring is in a Quantico, VA 9 September 2007 note, sharing the depth of characterization and reflection of the series –‘September would end with SAC Hugh Bailey taking leave of his duties, and Maxwell being promoted to Special Agent in Charge, making him the overseer of the Highwayman case. For Maxwell, the promotion was bittersweet. While he’d known that this day would come, he’d done everything he could to sabotage it. Deputy Julian Carswell had been both his savior and saboteur. No longer would he be in the field chasing the bad guys but sequestered to an office, Carswell’s spin on it was that he was moving off the battlefield and into the war room. It didn’t feel like a war room, it felt like a cage.’
Condensing this hefty book is a challenge Preston meets well: ’Having abstained from killing for almost a year, the Highwayman is coming unglued. Unsure if the FBI is watching, Lance Belanger spends his days and nights in a paranoid malaise, longing to kill again. Meanwhile, in Bucharest, Romania, an Interpol raid leads to clues and a witness who can identify the Highwayman. Armed with new evidence, newly promoted SAC FBI Agent, Dave Maxwell heads for Bucharest, as his team of investigators redeploys their investigation on their original suspect, Lance Belanger. It would appear, the net is closing. But the Highwayman has other ideas. Just after dusk, outside of Pittsburgh, four strangers exit a service van and perpetrate the mass murder of four families in their suburban homes. It doesn’t take long for the FBI to connect the killings to Highwayman, and when they raid Belanger’s properties, they are left a parting gift. Another murder and a message for Maxwell from the Highwayman himself. Come and find me! The killing ramps up, Maxwell leads a posse of investigators across two states, north to Canada to try and thwart the Highwayman in his endgame, that involves kidnapping, mass murder, and betrayal. The predator is now the prey. But can they stop him before he disappears for good?’
The horrors persist and the level of reader involvement is assured. This is another exceptionally fine novel by a master story weaver. Few other authors can compete with his skill set! Highly recommended (and yes, do read Book 1 first…)
Canadian author M.J. Preston is rapidly becoming recognized as one the more impressive writers of horror fiction. His novels to date: THE EQUINOX, ACADIA EVENT, and The Highwayman Series – Book 1 HIGHWAYMAN, and now Book 2, FOUR. In addition to his novels, Preston has been a contributor to short story anthologies, collections that focus on dark themes.
Taking up where HIGHWAYMAN left off in 2007, Preston informs us in the Prologue that the crimes within this volume occur between 19 September and 17 November. As this is a continuation of the series, some readers would ask if reading Book 1 is necessary for reading Book 2: the answer being No, as Preston fills the reader in on the earlier atrocities of serial killer Lance Belanger – or YES, in that the impact of Book 1 is so profound that knowing the details heightens the experience of FOUR!
A taste of the fine writing skills that make this intriguing novel/series ring is in a Quantico, VA 9 September 2007 note, sharing the depth of characterization and reflection of the series –‘September would end with SAC Hugh Bailey taking leave of his duties, and Maxwell being promoted to Special Agent in Charge, making him the overseer of the Highwayman case. For Maxwell, the promotion was bittersweet. While he’d known that this day would come, he’d done everything he could to sabotage it. Deputy Julian Carswell had been both his savior and saboteur. No longer would he be in the field chasing the bad guys but sequestered to an office, Carswell’s spin on it was that he was moving off the battlefield and into the war room. It didn’t feel like a war room, it felt like a cage.’
Condensing this hefty book is a challenge Preston meets well: ’Having abstained from killing for almost a year, the Highwayman is coming unglued. Unsure if the FBI is watching, Lance Belanger spends his days and nights in a paranoid malaise, longing to kill again. Meanwhile, in Bucharest, Romania, an Interpol raid leads to clues and a witness who can identify the Highwayman. Armed with new evidence, newly promoted SAC FBI Agent, Dave Maxwell heads for Bucharest, as his team of investigators redeploys their investigation on their original suspect, Lance Belanger. It would appear, the net is closing. But the Highwayman has other ideas. Just after dusk, outside of Pittsburgh, four strangers exit a service van and perpetrate the mass murder of four families in their suburban homes. It doesn’t take long for the FBI to connect the killings to Highwayman, and when they raid Belanger’s properties, they are left a parting gift. Another murder and a message for Maxwell from the Highwayman himself. Come and find me! The killing ramps up, Maxwell leads a posse of investigators across two states, north to Canada to try and thwart the Highwayman in his endgame, that involves kidnapping, mass murder, and betrayal. The predator is now the prey. But can they stop him before he disappears for good?’
The horrors persist and the level of reader involvement is assured. This is another exceptionally fine novel by a master story weaver. Few other authors can compete with his skill set! Highly recommended (and yes, do read Book 1 first…)
January 25, 2021
FOUR (The Highwayman Series Book 2)
by M.J. Preston
The conclusion you did not know you needed, M.J. Preston draws the reader through the chase and capture of an astoundingly competent serial killer. Lance Belanger introduced in the Highway man, has expanded his "business". What he finds out is that his success is not something he could expand on. He was successful on keeping ahead of the law, they did not know who he was. When he expands using the internet to find like minded individuals, (a warning to the rest of us, everything is on the internet), he finds four others. At the end of The Highway man, his first choice was wrong. Norris caused more problems then he solved. Norris' death starts the ball rolling in Four, as Lance moves forward from his beginning miss step. To avalanche into more and more problems, everything comes out in the light, and he is on the run. He is caught because of his own choices, and he finds that asking others to work with him was the biggest mistake. The book looks into the darkness of the serial killer mind, and the idea that they are more abundant then the public knows. Lance Belanger is not the anti-hero he is a serial killer. He was formed through the triad links cruelty to animals, obsession with fire-setting, to violent behaviors, particularly homicidal behavior and sexually predatory behavior. M.J. Preston, really brings the story to life.
by M.J. Preston
The conclusion you did not know you needed, M.J. Preston draws the reader through the chase and capture of an astoundingly competent serial killer. Lance Belanger introduced in the Highway man, has expanded his "business". What he finds out is that his success is not something he could expand on. He was successful on keeping ahead of the law, they did not know who he was. When he expands using the internet to find like minded individuals, (a warning to the rest of us, everything is on the internet), he finds four others. At the end of The Highway man, his first choice was wrong. Norris caused more problems then he solved. Norris' death starts the ball rolling in Four, as Lance moves forward from his beginning miss step. To avalanche into more and more problems, everything comes out in the light, and he is on the run. He is caught because of his own choices, and he finds that asking others to work with him was the biggest mistake. The book looks into the darkness of the serial killer mind, and the idea that they are more abundant then the public knows. Lance Belanger is not the anti-hero he is a serial killer. He was formed through the triad links cruelty to animals, obsession with fire-setting, to violent behaviors, particularly homicidal behavior and sexually predatory behavior. M.J. Preston, really brings the story to life.
March 29, 2020
The Review
A chilling, heart-pounding and thrilling conclusion to the story of the Highwayman killer, author M.J. Preston has brought a fantastic story to life in the second Highwayman novel. Not only does the killer up the stakes and unleash chaos and fear on a much grander scale in the novel, but the criminal investigation is ramped up to the tenth power as the hunt flips the script, making the Highwayman the prey and the investigators the predators.
The author does a great job of showcasing a notorious killer’s mind as the walls begin closing in around him. From his need to kill to the trickle effect that comes when one domino falls, unleashing enough clues to make Lance a prime suspect in the crimes he took so much time perfecting. The psychological and physical horror is ever-present in this tense thriller, making the author’s unique voice shine through brightly.
The Verdict
A one of a kind thriller with a truly scary serial killer and an action-fueled conclusion, Four by M.J. Preston is a must-read book. The novel does an excellent job of highlighting the author’s creative tone and expert handle on the genre and makes for one of the top horror reads of 2020 thus far. Be sure to grab your copy today!
A chilling, heart-pounding and thrilling conclusion to the story of the Highwayman killer, author M.J. Preston has brought a fantastic story to life in the second Highwayman novel. Not only does the killer up the stakes and unleash chaos and fear on a much grander scale in the novel, but the criminal investigation is ramped up to the tenth power as the hunt flips the script, making the Highwayman the prey and the investigators the predators.
The author does a great job of showcasing a notorious killer’s mind as the walls begin closing in around him. From his need to kill to the trickle effect that comes when one domino falls, unleashing enough clues to make Lance a prime suspect in the crimes he took so much time perfecting. The psychological and physical horror is ever-present in this tense thriller, making the author’s unique voice shine through brightly.
The Verdict
A one of a kind thriller with a truly scary serial killer and an action-fueled conclusion, Four by M.J. Preston is a must-read book. The novel does an excellent job of highlighting the author’s creative tone and expert handle on the genre and makes for one of the top horror reads of 2020 thus far. Be sure to grab your copy today!
September 22, 2020
What is the priority here, do I put down the book & do "adulting" stuff - or do I keep reading..... I keep reading. It's getting late, I need to go to bed....but do I? Uh....no! These are the choices you will be facing if you pick up this next book "Four" in The Highwayman Series.
MJ Preston keeps you so deeply riveted, that you don't want to put the book down. He takes you right into the steady de-evolution of serial killer's mind (or so I'd think, since I'm not one!). The serial killer steadily devolves from keeping his faculties about him, to slowly being steadily consumed by a madness that he can't control.....and he knows it. But, it isn't just 1 serial killer - no, he brings in an entourage of people whom he grooms and use to his advantage to thwart the task force and the FBI that are trying to find him.
Does he make it to Canada to escape the task force & the FBI? Do his counterparts? You'll have to read the book to find out - because I'm not going to tell you..... What I will tell you, is I've already pestered MJ Preston for the 3rd book in this series!!!!! How could I do that? Because I was given a copy of this book, by the author, for an honest review.
MJ Preston keeps you so deeply riveted, that you don't want to put the book down. He takes you right into the steady de-evolution of serial killer's mind (or so I'd think, since I'm not one!). The serial killer steadily devolves from keeping his faculties about him, to slowly being steadily consumed by a madness that he can't control.....and he knows it. But, it isn't just 1 serial killer - no, he brings in an entourage of people whom he grooms and use to his advantage to thwart the task force and the FBI that are trying to find him.
Does he make it to Canada to escape the task force & the FBI? Do his counterparts? You'll have to read the book to find out - because I'm not going to tell you..... What I will tell you, is I've already pestered MJ Preston for the 3rd book in this series!!!!! How could I do that? Because I was given a copy of this book, by the author, for an honest review.
June 16, 2020
I could not get enough of this two part series of The Highwayman!
Lance Belanger is no longer killing SOLO. He has his new crew of serial killers to help him please the monster inside of him. They are all enjoying their time as serial killers until Lance begins to feel the control slipping from his fingers. Meanwhile law enforcement is aggressively looking to stop this madness as they continue to find bodies throughout the East Coast. They then begin to find the bodies of Lance's killing buddies and realize that Lance is becoming undone - couldn't handle anyone stealing his shine or control. It's only a matter of time before they catch him, but how many more brutal murders will they have to come across? They have to beat him to the border of Canada to accomplish his capture, but the blizzard outside makes it almost impossible. It's safe to say the law enforcement agents and officers will forever be bonded by Lance Belanger.
I loved the characters in this book and hope for a spin off! MUST READ!
Lance Belanger is no longer killing SOLO. He has his new crew of serial killers to help him please the monster inside of him. They are all enjoying their time as serial killers until Lance begins to feel the control slipping from his fingers. Meanwhile law enforcement is aggressively looking to stop this madness as they continue to find bodies throughout the East Coast. They then begin to find the bodies of Lance's killing buddies and realize that Lance is becoming undone - couldn't handle anyone stealing his shine or control. It's only a matter of time before they catch him, but how many more brutal murders will they have to come across? They have to beat him to the border of Canada to accomplish his capture, but the blizzard outside makes it almost impossible. It's safe to say the law enforcement agents and officers will forever be bonded by Lance Belanger.
I loved the characters in this book and hope for a spin off! MUST READ!
March 1, 2020
If you're a fan of Stephen King, you'll love M.J. Preston's books. I quit buying Stephen King's books back in 2009. I have since read all of M.J. Preston's book.
When Preston writes about a killer and makes you feel bad for the killer, (Norris, Highwayman One) that's saying something.
This is book two in the Highwayman Series. I'm sure everyone who read Highwayman One has been anxiously awaiting the conclusion.
If you haven't read Highwayman One, go get it! Or any book by M.J. Preston for that matter. You won't be disappointed.
When Preston writes about a killer and makes you feel bad for the killer, (Norris, Highwayman One) that's saying something.
This is book two in the Highwayman Series. I'm sure everyone who read Highwayman One has been anxiously awaiting the conclusion.
If you haven't read Highwayman One, go get it! Or any book by M.J. Preston for that matter. You won't be disappointed.
April 17, 2021
Great conclusion to the Highwayman.
April 18, 2024
WOW! I could not put the book down. I wanted to but didn't. Chilling. I found this book "Four" faster paced than the first book "The Highwayman". As others have said if you're squeamish at all it may not be for you. 5 stars plus.
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December 30, 2023I'm the author.
October 17, 2023
wow
One of the best written serial killer books. So real. The timeline and psychological creepiness in this book is off the charts amazing!!! Preston is up there with the greats.
One of the best written serial killer books. So real. The timeline and psychological creepiness in this book is off the charts amazing!!! Preston is up there with the greats.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews