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Tom Harper & Denise Levene #1
American Devil
A violent killer is stalking New York's streets, and the trophies he will take from his victims are essential if he is to complete his masterpiece. That he also likes playing games with the police and his pray is a bonus. He can outwit everyone he comes up against. Or can he?
455 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
55 people are currently reading
588 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
June 19, 2012
The Killer has entitled his masterpiece The Progression of Love. All he needs is 7 beautiful women. He is a violent killer who is preying on the young and beautiful women of New York. Detective Tom Harper is currently on suspension after hitting a superior. However, the NYPD feel that he is their best chance of catching the killer. He is taken back on the case on the proviso that he seeks therapy from psychologist Denise Levene. The NYPD have to hope that as unpredictable as he is, that he won't fall apart or ruin their case as they must catch the killer before he completes his mission.
Oliver Stark...where have you been hiding? I am a typical Crime and Thriller fan and read through numerous books a month. Yep I have my favourites and the typical series of characters I typically return to such as Alex Cross and Roy Grace. Mr Stark has just upped the ante.
When I got the book I realised that it was a pretty hefty read at 576 pages, but as usual, didn't allow that to put me off. I started the book and was instantly drawn into the sheer violence of the lunatic killer. Yes there are hundreds of crime writers who churn out books about serial killers but there was something different about this book.
First off the characters were incredibly strong but not contrived. The lead character Tom Harper has a lot of issues which make him a great lead. However, although he has a number of attributes that other famous characters have, such as having an issue with authority, Oliver Stark somehow made him completely unique. Tom Harper has a serious chip on his shoulder but that doesn't stop him from being a great copper. He isn't the typical one man band who solves everything and is God's answer top the best Detective, and the story shows that great team work in involved.
We are also soon introduced to Denise Levene who is the psychologist treating Tom. She is also a very strong character but comes across as a well balanced but intelligent woman. Somehow in many books with a lead female, some of the women are made out to be overly macho or pathetically weak, but here the balance was perfect.
The story itself can seem in the beginning a little slow but as you read on you become more and more hooked with the story developing quickly and the killer becoming more and more brazen as time goes on. I love the fact that many mistakes are made, and that the killer is openly challenging the police.
As the story progresses, the pace increases and I found myself turning pages at the speed of lightning. This debut novel is outstanding and by far the best debut I've had the pleasure of reading all year. There is a lot of detail involving the crime scenes, forensics and police procedure so not for the faint hearted.
Patricia Cornwell used to be one of my favourite authors however I gave up the ghost last year and no longer read her work. This book reminded me of the type of work Cornwell produced in the early years. I cannot recommend this highly enough and would recommend it to people who are a fan of this genre.
All I need to do now is impatiently wait for instalment 2!
Oliver Stark...where have you been hiding? I am a typical Crime and Thriller fan and read through numerous books a month. Yep I have my favourites and the typical series of characters I typically return to such as Alex Cross and Roy Grace. Mr Stark has just upped the ante.
When I got the book I realised that it was a pretty hefty read at 576 pages, but as usual, didn't allow that to put me off. I started the book and was instantly drawn into the sheer violence of the lunatic killer. Yes there are hundreds of crime writers who churn out books about serial killers but there was something different about this book.
First off the characters were incredibly strong but not contrived. The lead character Tom Harper has a lot of issues which make him a great lead. However, although he has a number of attributes that other famous characters have, such as having an issue with authority, Oliver Stark somehow made him completely unique. Tom Harper has a serious chip on his shoulder but that doesn't stop him from being a great copper. He isn't the typical one man band who solves everything and is God's answer top the best Detective, and the story shows that great team work in involved.
We are also soon introduced to Denise Levene who is the psychologist treating Tom. She is also a very strong character but comes across as a well balanced but intelligent woman. Somehow in many books with a lead female, some of the women are made out to be overly macho or pathetically weak, but here the balance was perfect.
The story itself can seem in the beginning a little slow but as you read on you become more and more hooked with the story developing quickly and the killer becoming more and more brazen as time goes on. I love the fact that many mistakes are made, and that the killer is openly challenging the police.
As the story progresses, the pace increases and I found myself turning pages at the speed of lightning. This debut novel is outstanding and by far the best debut I've had the pleasure of reading all year. There is a lot of detail involving the crime scenes, forensics and police procedure so not for the faint hearted.
Patricia Cornwell used to be one of my favourite authors however I gave up the ghost last year and no longer read her work. This book reminded me of the type of work Cornwell produced in the early years. I cannot recommend this highly enough and would recommend it to people who are a fan of this genre.
All I need to do now is impatiently wait for instalment 2!
April 27, 2025
● "My name's Sebastian, and I'm an artist. I'm the American Devil. I'm Abaddon - that's where I am."
● "First, I will tenderize you with pain and guilt, then I will cut you up and serve you on a plate."
Tik ką baigiau skaityti šį nuostabų trilerį ir galiu pasakyti, kad tai buvo vienas geresnių trilerių ir Chris Carter jau turi konkurentą🤭
Šis trileris prasideda tuo, kad Amerikoje ima siautėti serijinis žudikas, siaubingai žudantis įvairias moteris ir paliekantis jų kūnus įvairiose padėtyse su vyšnių žiedų lapeliais. Kodėl? Nusikaltimo tirti imasi Tom Harper, kuris jau yra pagarsėjęs kaip turintis patirties ir puikus detektyvas, tiriantis tokias bylas. Šis detektyvas taip pat turi ir asmeninių bėdų, nėra tobulas, tačiau tai neužgožia pačios bylos ir puikiai papildo jo, personažo, veikėjo charakteritiką.
Taigi, knyga nėra plona - 499 psl, tačiau kiek joje daug visko! Netrūko veiksmo, kraupių žmogžudysčių, intrigos, kuri išliko iki pat pabaigos, ir jau negalėjau padėt į šoną kol nesužinojau, kuo viskas baigsis. Labai patiko autoriaus stilius, pats žudiko personažas ir kaip puikiai "surišo" visus galus ir nepaliko neatsakytų klausimų.☺️
Manau, kad Oliver Stark yra neatrastas perliukas ypač tiems, kurie kaip aš mėgstate žiauresnius trilerius. Tokiu atveju būtinai nepraleiskite progos ir imkite šią knygą - jums tikrai patiks!☺️❤️ O aš neužilgo imsiu ir antrąją serijos dalį😍🔥
● "First, I will tenderize you with pain and guilt, then I will cut you up and serve you on a plate."
Tik ką baigiau skaityti šį nuostabų trilerį ir galiu pasakyti, kad tai buvo vienas geresnių trilerių ir Chris Carter jau turi konkurentą🤭
Šis trileris prasideda tuo, kad Amerikoje ima siautėti serijinis žudikas, siaubingai žudantis įvairias moteris ir paliekantis jų kūnus įvairiose padėtyse su vyšnių žiedų lapeliais. Kodėl? Nusikaltimo tirti imasi Tom Harper, kuris jau yra pagarsėjęs kaip turintis patirties ir puikus detektyvas, tiriantis tokias bylas. Šis detektyvas taip pat turi ir asmeninių bėdų, nėra tobulas, tačiau tai neužgožia pačios bylos ir puikiai papildo jo, personažo, veikėjo charakteritiką.
Taigi, knyga nėra plona - 499 psl, tačiau kiek joje daug visko! Netrūko veiksmo, kraupių žmogžudysčių, intrigos, kuri išliko iki pat pabaigos, ir jau negalėjau padėt į šoną kol nesužinojau, kuo viskas baigsis. Labai patiko autoriaus stilius, pats žudiko personažas ir kaip puikiai "surišo" visus galus ir nepaliko neatsakytų klausimų.☺️
Manau, kad Oliver Stark yra neatrastas perliukas ypač tiems, kurie kaip aš mėgstate žiauresnius trilerius. Tokiu atveju būtinai nepraleiskite progos ir imkite šią knygą - jums tikrai patiks!☺️❤️ O aš neužilgo imsiu ir antrąją serijos dalį😍🔥
January 25, 2018
Page turner
March 28, 2020
Page turner!
New York yet again as the backdrop to a nasty serial killer. Cop with issues, a maverick.... sounds like the basic plot of so many books. But this one paints characters that you can relate to. Care about. Even sympathize with? Definitely worth a read, but don't be surprised if you do it in one sitting.
New York yet again as the backdrop to a nasty serial killer. Cop with issues, a maverick.... sounds like the basic plot of so many books. But this one paints characters that you can relate to. Care about. Even sympathize with? Definitely worth a read, but don't be surprised if you do it in one sitting.
June 26, 2010
This book was / is my favourite book of the year. I loved it it's fast moving full of twists and turns and relentless until the end . I loved it
May 14, 2018
Probably a 3.5 for thrill value, but even here, I find the extreme methods or killing and their depiction as a bit beyond the pale as they seem somewhat pornographic in tone and the author seems to relish the scenes. It's clever and twisted but also formulaic in that they get there just too late, the lead detective gets kicked off but vindicated and put back in charge, the heroine is in peril at the end, etc etc. Sometimes for supposedly being so smart they seem so clueless : with the heroine PROFILER knowing the history of the case, and being just the right physical type for the killer, the killer knowing she is on the case and she knowing often the victim was killed in her home, what does she do when she finds her keys are missing from the bag AND the apartment is unlocked, what does she do? She blames her boyfriend for not locking it and GOES IN! HELLOOO???? Even with me that would ring a massive high decibel alarm. Often plot holes u could drive a tractor thru and unbelievable time frames. Still, it WAS exciting and clever in its own way....so will read the second in the series.
April 8, 2020
Amazing! A new master thriller writer!1
This is a really great thriller! Not for the faint hearted, but a must for hard core (not porn ) thriller fans. A clever killer, who seems unstoppable, an even more clever detective, determined to stop him. And a smart psychologist to help. The story twists and turns with many shocks and surprises. Thank goodness it’s the start of a series, it would be too distressing if it was a stand alone story. This is high praise from someone who doesn’t like series.
This is a really great thriller! Not for the faint hearted, but a must for hard core (not porn ) thriller fans. A clever killer, who seems unstoppable, an even more clever detective, determined to stop him. And a smart psychologist to help. The story twists and turns with many shocks and surprises. Thank goodness it’s the start of a series, it would be too distressing if it was a stand alone story. This is high praise from someone who doesn’t like series.
November 29, 2014
Start of a series. Good first book. Believable characters. Plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning the pages.
March 29, 2012
A gritty first novel and i will certainly pick up on the sequel ..
June 22, 2024
1,5*
I won't give it 1 star cause the book is well written. But that's it.
This was divided into four parts. The first one was the best one. It probably helped that I wasn't feeling so desperate at the book being so long.
This needed to be cut down. There was no point in prolonging the book so many times. I was upset and it all went to hell in the fourth and last part. That one was just terrible.
I think it was a gigantic mistake including the killer's POV. At first, it wasn't bad, I actually liked it, but only cause we had it very few times. But then, a large part of the narration came from his POV and it took the mystery out of it.
I think the book tried to be gory and edgy just for the sake of it. Not a huge fan of seeing death after death after death with no resolution. I get what the author was trying to do, but it missed the mark for me.
I hate the Nick/Sebastian thing. Really? This trope again? Okay... Super boring and, once again, it made it not interesting for me cause the author told me who the killer was and his motivations long before the cops got it and I was just there seeing how he got away with everything. I don't buy the killer. That's the main thing.
The book just refused to end. Honestly, when I was at 28% I thought I had already read at least half of the book. That should say it all. I almost DNF'ed it and I'm sorry I didn't.
This had potential. I liked Ton Harper, I warmed up to Denise and the short chapters made the reading easier. But the editors should have cut this in half.
I'm glad it's finally over.
I won't give it 1 star cause the book is well written. But that's it.
This was divided into four parts. The first one was the best one. It probably helped that I wasn't feeling so desperate at the book being so long.
This needed to be cut down. There was no point in prolonging the book so many times. I was upset and it all went to hell in the fourth and last part. That one was just terrible.
I think it was a gigantic mistake including the killer's POV. At first, it wasn't bad, I actually liked it, but only cause we had it very few times. But then, a large part of the narration came from his POV and it took the mystery out of it.
I think the book tried to be gory and edgy just for the sake of it. Not a huge fan of seeing death after death after death with no resolution. I get what the author was trying to do, but it missed the mark for me.
I hate the Nick/Sebastian thing. Really? This trope again? Okay... Super boring and, once again, it made it not interesting for me cause the author told me who the killer was and his motivations long before the cops got it and I was just there seeing how he got away with everything. I don't buy the killer. That's the main thing.
The book just refused to end. Honestly, when I was at 28% I thought I had already read at least half of the book. That should say it all. I almost DNF'ed it and I'm sorry I didn't.
This had potential. I liked Ton Harper, I warmed up to Denise and the short chapters made the reading easier. But the editors should have cut this in half.
I'm glad it's finally over.
April 18, 2025
I really enjoyed this one, I hadn’t heard of it, but seen it recommended for fans of Chris Carter.
This didn’t disappoint me, especially for a first novel.
We follow the talented Detective Tom Harper in NYPD, he’s on a sabbatical following an altercation at work, his wife has left him and he’s generally miserable.
Then a serial killer called ‘The American Devil’ starts killing young, wealthy women in New York, the police have no leads, so the big bosses call Tom back to help them solve the case. This is on the condition that he seeks Psychological Therapy from the police force’s therapist Denise, she’s recently moved to the force, but her dream is to help hunt criminals and work as a profiler. Denise and Tom soon become a great team, joining both talents together to catch this killer.
The book is split into four chapters, and there was a point for a short period in the middle where it seemed to go off on a random path that I just couldn’t see the point of.. but that was me being too impatient and it does tie into the storyline in a fairly significant sense.
I’m now off to look for the second in the series.
This didn’t disappoint me, especially for a first novel.
We follow the talented Detective Tom Harper in NYPD, he’s on a sabbatical following an altercation at work, his wife has left him and he’s generally miserable.
Then a serial killer called ‘The American Devil’ starts killing young, wealthy women in New York, the police have no leads, so the big bosses call Tom back to help them solve the case. This is on the condition that he seeks Psychological Therapy from the police force’s therapist Denise, she’s recently moved to the force, but her dream is to help hunt criminals and work as a profiler. Denise and Tom soon become a great team, joining both talents together to catch this killer.
The book is split into four chapters, and there was a point for a short period in the middle where it seemed to go off on a random path that I just couldn’t see the point of.. but that was me being too impatient and it does tie into the storyline in a fairly significant sense.
I’m now off to look for the second in the series.
August 26, 2024
This was good but I didn’t like that we have no idea who the killer is. He isn’t hiding in plain sight. We don’t see him during the day. There’s no way to unravel the mystery and figure out who he is.
Also there’s some consistently errors or like weird things like at the end suddenly Harper has a shotgun. Sometimes an hour passes and it’s like weirdly just thrown out there.
Overall I enjoyed it and will be reading the rest of the trilogy.
Also there’s some consistently errors or like weird things like at the end suddenly Harper has a shotgun. Sometimes an hour passes and it’s like weirdly just thrown out there.
Overall I enjoyed it and will be reading the rest of the trilogy.
June 22, 2020
A fast moving thriller
Very good book. Highly enjoyable and well written. Interesting characters and the chemistry between them all made the story that much richer. Will definitely read more of this author's work
Very good book. Highly enjoyable and well written. Interesting characters and the chemistry between them all made the story that much richer. Will definitely read more of this author's work
Read
August 13, 2022Considerei "American Devil" um história intensa, com um grau de malvadez e macabro que tanto me apraz (salvo seja!).
Leitura finda, fiquei muito curiosa para conhecer mais e mais sobre Tom Harper e
Denise Levene e apreciar o seu trabalho em equipa.
Julho 2022
Leitura finda, fiquei muito curiosa para conhecer mais e mais sobre Tom Harper e
Denise Levene e apreciar o seu trabalho em equipa.
Julho 2022
September 1, 2024
5STARS
I loved the story. altho not perfect but I love it all the same. it will make you think about what's the real good and what's the real bad in this world. Gore crime thriller that I find sweet. is that weird?
I loved the story. altho not perfect but I love it all the same. it will make you think about what's the real good and what's the real bad in this world. Gore crime thriller that I find sweet. is that weird?
February 8, 2018
Really enjoyed this book, it was 455 pages long but it kept me reading from start to finish, hopefully the author can keep writing great books like this debut
March 16, 2018
A great book.
A nice read. Some parts were a bit silly and cheesy but towards the end it suddenly became serious and sophisticated.
A nice read. Some parts were a bit silly and cheesy but towards the end it suddenly became serious and sophisticated.
February 16, 2020
Great read
Definitely worth reading, surprised at how much I liked this book, if you like Chris Carter give this a go.
Definitely worth reading, surprised at how much I liked this book, if you like Chris Carter give this a go.
May 4, 2020
Loved it. Page Turner. Kept you wanting more.
January 22, 2021
2.5 Stars
Read
May 2, 2021Definitely a gripping read
June 2, 2022
gripping read
Great storyline, with the characters built up slowly and with real skill.
Couldn’t put this book down - the crescendo builds to an exciting climax
Great storyline, with the characters built up slowly and with real skill.
Couldn’t put this book down - the crescendo builds to an exciting climax
February 26, 2023
Brilliance
I loved the story line and the characters, immense suspense. Would recommend to those who love reading the mind of a serial killer and detective.
I loved the story line and the characters, immense suspense. Would recommend to those who love reading the mind of a serial killer and detective.
April 26, 2023
Excellent book held my interest from beginning to end
May 24, 2023
one of the best books i’ve read, quite frightening though and very tense
September 10, 2023
Good read, not a bad first book by Oliver Stark, a cop thriller with similarities to Chris Carter
November 1, 2023
Brilliant and twisted.
September 15, 2024
This is a good one. I enjoyed the story and the ending is just right. It is expected. 👍
Just be prepared because this one is too long.
Just be prepared because this one is too long.
December 3, 2024
ganda naman. plot twist after plot twist, kaso meh ng ending
December 3, 2024
Enjoyed this book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews