The I-94 Murders

by Frank F. Weber

A tryst of bondage. A lover's murder.
Investigator Jon Frederick returns in a search to uncover the identity of a killer creeping through communities along I-94 in Minnesota, targeting couples who store their fetish photos online. Jon is given the task of protecting Ava, who behaves as if she is invincible. The killer taunts Jon with hidden messages embedded in local media that lead him to Sonia, a caring young woman with a terrible secret. A fast-paced thriller based on the profile of a true-life serial murderer. The I-94 Murders guides the reader with an insider's light along the dark road of the killer. A story of intimacy, revenge, passion and trust. This is the second book in the Jon Frederick series.

The I-94 Murders is a 2019 MIPA Book Award winner for Best Romance.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Suspense

352 pages, Paperback

Published January 14, 2021

About the author

Frank Weber is a forensic psychologist who has completed assessments for homicide, sexual assault, and domestic abuse cases. His work has ranged from assessing murderers chained to the cement floor in the basement of a prison and assessing psychopaths to providing therapy for wealthy professionals who’ve engaged in multiple affairs. He has testified as an expert witness in numerous sexual assault and homicide cases, written seven different treatment workbooks, and in 2015 published a training series for psychologists which has been accredited by the MN Board of Psychology. He has received the President’s Award from the Minnesota Correctional Association for his forensic work, and recently received an award for excellence in his clinical work. Frank Weber has used his unique understanding of how predator’s think, victim trauma, and actual court cases to create a thrilling mystery.

Raised in Pierz, Minnesota, Frank is one of ten children. Frank has been blessed to share his life with his wife, Brenda. His debut novel, Murder Book (North Star Press), will be available in May, 2017.

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never finished a book I didn't like as much as this one. It was hard to follow and the characters not well delineated. The editing was lacking. Some examples...
Page 48, Heard of swine
Page 283, black t-shit
Many more but those really made me cringe and laugh at the same time.
It was a random book club pick.

[Zoe Jeske · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was interesting… but the writing was choppy and the characters were flat and quite annoying. I liked that the story was written from multiple points of view but every character had the same voice so that kind of defeated the purpose imo. I also found many parts cringy. The physical descriptions of the characters (especially female) were quite shallow and the attempts at including diversity fell short for me (tho I appreciate the effort). Overall not great… felt incomplete and almost juvenile but had an entertaining premise.

[Amanda Engelking · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s fun to read books by Minnesota authors with familiar cities and landmarks. The story was solid and the characters were quirky but it took me a while to finish the book and I never felt super connected to the events and characters.

[Mommysmoose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as good as the first and hopefully not the last. Frank Weber is amazing. His books are fast paced quick reads that will keep you guessing until the end. Jon Frederick is a great investigator who loves his family but, will his job keep him from what he really wants. Another great mystery set in the towns of Minnesota. Twists and turns with a touch of reality to add to the fiction. You need to start reading these books if you haven't already.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The clues were there but unlike Jon Frederick I could not solve the case. I had two suspects in mind through most of the book and then finally picked one out of the two. Unfortunately I was wrong.
Very good book. Easy reading. Kept me reading to find out the answer.
I read Frank Weber's first book and loved them both.

[Mary Aalgaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank Weber, who in real life is a forensic psychologist, knows is stuff. He gives the main character/narrator Jon Fredrick a strong voice that we trust. His pacing and revealing of characters, motive, and plot are well done. I don't particularly like that he uses first person when he switches between characters' POV. I think the whole thing could be told from Jon's POV and the killer's, and the rest in 3rd person. I get a good sense of time and place while reading this novel. It helps that I'm from Minnesota, and live near Jon's home town of Pierz. I've also driven I-94 numerous times! It's frightening to think about killers lurking out in the dark, or "listening in" to your private conversations on the internet. Be careful out there, folks! He makes it seem like it's easy to hack into people's private lives online, and well, not so private lives, as well.

This is Weber's second novel. His third book, Last Call, came out in 2019, and his fourth book will be released in September 2020. His writing style is like reading a combination of a police report and personal diary. His strength is in building suspense and getting into the mind and motive of a killer. His main character Jon is sufficiently flawed and constantly working on his own relationships. Some of those descriptions are a little eye rolling for me, but I'm not really into romance. Although, I appreciate the contrast in this novel between the harsh attacks of the victims compared to the respectful and caring interactions between Jon and the women he dates.

That said, this is NOT a romance novel. It's a crime novel with lots of gory details, including sexual violence and assault, and grim murders. Not for the feint of heart.

[Kelly B · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get into it, there was buildup every so often, but it fell flat. Being from Pierz I like to give credit to a local author (I couldn't write a book) but there were things that were far fetched. Like it takes longer than 20 mins to get from Minneapolis to Pierz. A lot of eye rolling from me. I struggled to finish. I liked his other book Murder Book, but I just couldn't hop on the bandwagon with this one. Sorry Frank.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good story line, fast easy reading. Love all of the real Minnesota references (places, businesses, last names commonly found in the towns he writes about). However, I’m not sure if it was the ebook I was reading, but there were many many misspelled or missing words. But I can get past that when the story is good. Maybe the person (or persons) transcribing was in a hurry. Nonetheless if you like a good murder mystery, I highly recommend this one.

[Joy Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like this one as much as his first book in the series. Part of it is because there were so many grammatical errors and editing mistakes throughout that were very annoying. Maybe it’s just the digital copy I had. Then the storyline seemed to flit about at times, and I wondered where that had come from. Maybe my digital copy left some parts out? I’ll check out his next book in the series and see if it is a better read.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Weber is a local writer, I decided to try out this book and see if my book club would like it. The plot was different--man punishing women by killing their abusive lovers and raping them. The man character had a lot of baggage when it came to his relationship with the mother of his daughter.
I found the book kept me interested, but I also decided it would be "too much" for the elderly ladies in my book club.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a few grammatical/ spelling/ and editing errors in my copy, but it did not detract from the story. I appreciate that he is a Minnesota author. I did feel the time it took the characters to travel from one place to another was not realistic. Other than that, I feel the book was believable.

[BookSalad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love discovering and supporting local authors from my great state of Minnesota. It's always fun to read about places in which I've lived or visited. Author Frank Weber's blog is pretty cool too, as he's a forensic psychologist who specializes in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. www.frankweberauthor.com.

[Christina Spriggle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another interesting tale of a real life crime in Minnesota. The storytstarted out a little bizarre but quickly engaged me as Jon worked to find the I-94 killer. This story sidetracked a bit toward the end as the focus shifted toward Jon and Serena's relationship split and reunion and less about finding the killer.

[Lisa Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. It was fun to read about different cities and landmarks in Minnesota and be able to picture it in my mind, since I live in the area. The ending took me by surprise, in a good way. I did not like the Jon and Serena love story. It felt like filler that did not add to the story. Maybe it made Jon seem more human like, but I could have done without that.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

I could have done without the Serena & Jon drama. Loved the who-dun-it, definitely not who I thought it was. Victor, Thanksgiving. Ha! I very rarely find a good mystery and this was enjoyably fast-paced, good twists and plenty of guessing.

[Wendi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read mention of places I’ve been and and areas of the state (MN) with which I am familiar. The story kept my interest in spite of the numerous errors in the text. The publisher would do well to hire a proofreader.

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was hard to put down. I am surprised that he shared so much about the cases with reporters etc. It was scary for all the people involved.
It was fun reading about our state & so many places we’ve been to. Jada & Maddy sure took liberties with his keys, mail & tracking him.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t wait to read the next one...

[Sally Critchley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeps you guessing! Many interesting characters that all interact and have important parts to this story.

[Dawn Panther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved all the references to towns I've been to!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author really knows how to keep you guessing and investigating along with his main character. He does a wonderful job getting you emotionally and intellectually invested in his story!

[Stephenie Och · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Frank's books. I appreciate his witty sense of humor at times.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will be a series I finish. The author does a nice job building characters. I do enjoy the storyline.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Good mix of romance, action and mystery. Sometimes the topic was a little gruesome but not overpoweringly so. Great book. I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Vicki Pfeffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent mystery.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read. Felt like it jumped all over the place, with info that wasn't relative to the story. Found a handful of grammatical errors

[Pete Rolfzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable, a must read, Franks expertise makes this so so real. A great book

[Mackenzie Lucas-Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book in months I couldn’t put down! Page turner right up to the end.

[Debikay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story line, but the typos drove me nuts!

[Carol Maciej-Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the primary characters of the story but didn’t feel the story was “gripping”. The killer was not who I thought it would be so it was surprising in that way.