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Esme Stuart #2
Before Cain Strikes
When the student is ready, the teacher appears. The only problem is, in this online classroom the students are would-be serial killers eager to learn the tricks of the trade from a master, the enigmatic Cain42.
FBI consultant Esme Stuart is struggling to stanch the doubt and fear eating away at her marriage. Now a seedy true-crime writer is dredging up the deadly confrontation that nearly destroyed her. But the link between Esme's old enemy and this new predator is the key to the Bureau's manhunt.
Esme knows her involvement in the case could cost her everything. Her marriage. Her daughter. Her life. But when Cain openly challenges his "students" to embark on a killing spree, she has no choice but to act—before Cain strikes another victim down…
FBI consultant Esme Stuart is struggling to stanch the doubt and fear eating away at her marriage. Now a seedy true-crime writer is dredging up the deadly confrontation that nearly destroyed her. But the link between Esme's old enemy and this new predator is the key to the Bureau's manhunt.
Esme knows her involvement in the case could cost her everything. Her marriage. Her daughter. Her life. But when Cain openly challenges his "students" to embark on a killing spree, she has no choice but to act—before Cain strikes another victim down…
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 15, 2012
A graphic, gripping, top-of-the-line novel focusing on the impact a serial killer holds on his victims, their loved ones, and the law enforcement individuals who target him. Crime has an unending consequence; trial and imprisonment, or alternatively the death of the criminal, do not mean “it’s over.” There is no happy ending. Esme Stuart and her daughter and nearly estranged husband live this truth every minute of every day. A former FBI agent, Esme “retired” when she married tenured sociology professor Rafe Stuart, and with the advent of her daughter Sophie, tried to live a normal life in the upper-middle-class strata to which she had not been accustomed. Always despised by her father-in-law, she still managed to find happiness in her family; until her former mentor, Tom Piper, summoned her back to law enforcement as an FBI consultant. The results were drastic and nearly fatal to Rafe and Sophie. Now Esme’s marriage has almost collapsed, and yet the killers never retire. A new case, which seems to begin with the brutal and inexplicable murder of a woman whom Rafe knew in high school, a woman of whom no one ever says a bad word, propels Esme back into the thick of the hunt. This time, things are going to get worse by several orders of magnitude, for it is not just one solitary serial killer Esme and Tom must hunt.
What an utterly absorbing novel! I was compelled to race through, reading at top speed, alert for the next event, the next wrong turn, the next victim. Multilayered puzzles abound, and not one stitch is dropped, not one thread left dangling without resolution. This is a must-read book for readers who love thrillers, suspense, mysteries, and serial killer tales. Caution: 18+ for graphic violence and disturbing situations.
What an utterly absorbing novel! I was compelled to race through, reading at top speed, alert for the next event, the next wrong turn, the next victim. Multilayered puzzles abound, and not one stitch is dropped, not one thread left dangling without resolution. This is a must-read book for readers who love thrillers, suspense, mysteries, and serial killer tales. Caution: 18+ for graphic violence and disturbing situations.
July 7, 2011
Joshua Corin's new thriller, Before Cain Strikes (Mira Books 2011) at first blush seems like yet another female FBI agent struggling to balance work and family, caught in the middle of a psychopath's murderous spree, but as with all great reads, the author's voice saves the day. Sure, her failing marriage suffers and her young daughter is caught in the middle, and I worry until the end that she will come out divorced and alienated from her family, but Corin peoples her world with such edgy, quirky characters that you quickly forget the story has the ring of familiarity. Soon, it feels like coming home to your favorite sort of story--a brilliant criminal (Cain42) that requires an outside-the-box thinker to capture, told by a fresh voice with mounds of creativity.
Corin sets up a fascinating premise for his protagonist, Esme Stuart (love that name)--an online training school for wanna-be serial killers hidden behind impenetrable firewalls. Supported by a caste of characters that seem to be average people leading average lives who rise to the challenge of stopping this horrid creature, Esme keeps finding clues, moving forward one step at a time with alacrity and intelligence. For the sake of her personal life, she wants to stop--not run down that next clue--but her mind won't stop working, coming up with solutions and inching toward a successful end. There are a few plot twists that strain credibility, one almost made me put the book aside, but the strength of the characters and Corin's solid writing skills overcame my doubts.
Corin does one thing that annoyed me, though. He does what writers call 'head hopping'. He jumps inside people's heads to share with the reader what they are feeling. It's OK to do this at a scene break--between paragraphs if you're desperate, but Corin does it within paragraphs. I had to stop occasionally to figure out who I was at the moment so I could attach the right emotions.
That, though, didn't stop me reading this book to its frightening end. Overall, it's fresh, creative, intelligent and Esme is a great addition to literature's quirky collection of FBI agents. I look forward to Corin's next book.
Corin sets up a fascinating premise for his protagonist, Esme Stuart (love that name)--an online training school for wanna-be serial killers hidden behind impenetrable firewalls. Supported by a caste of characters that seem to be average people leading average lives who rise to the challenge of stopping this horrid creature, Esme keeps finding clues, moving forward one step at a time with alacrity and intelligence. For the sake of her personal life, she wants to stop--not run down that next clue--but her mind won't stop working, coming up with solutions and inching toward a successful end. There are a few plot twists that strain credibility, one almost made me put the book aside, but the strength of the characters and Corin's solid writing skills overcame my doubts.
Corin does one thing that annoyed me, though. He does what writers call 'head hopping'. He jumps inside people's heads to share with the reader what they are feeling. It's OK to do this at a scene break--between paragraphs if you're desperate, but Corin does it within paragraphs. I had to stop occasionally to figure out who I was at the moment so I could attach the right emotions.
That, though, didn't stop me reading this book to its frightening end. Overall, it's fresh, creative, intelligent and Esme is a great addition to literature's quirky collection of FBI agents. I look forward to Corin's next book.
May 19, 2011
I've now read 2-3 reviews that state this book was too gory for them. I'm one of the people that went into this book looking for the gore - to enjoy it. I heard it was great and gory so of course as a horror movie/book fan I wanted to see for myself. I guess if you have a very weak stomach you might not enjoy the 3 scenes I can think of off the top of my head (one including animal murder). Otherwise its really not that bad, in fact because those reviews gave me a heads up to the gore I had expectations about the book (which I normally don't have much for books only movies) so I was a little disappointed in the end that it wasn't MORE gory.
I supposed I'm just surprised that people who don't like gore bothered to read it when the description stats something about a killing spree. Of course its going to be gory.
Anyhow, I did not read the first book - didn't know there was one until 50 or so pages in. But it doesn't seem like it was really that big of a deal. Before Cain Strikes sorta rehashes whats happened from the first book to cause the issues between Esme and her husband.
I was very interested in the Internet crime aspect of the book as well. I think anyone with interest in that and the FBI or horror movies and novels will probably get a kick out of this book.
For a more in-depth review visit my horror movie/book review blog: www.shiversofhorror.com/blog
I supposed I'm just surprised that people who don't like gore bothered to read it when the description stats something about a killing spree. Of course its going to be gory.
Anyhow, I did not read the first book - didn't know there was one until 50 or so pages in. But it doesn't seem like it was really that big of a deal. Before Cain Strikes sorta rehashes whats happened from the first book to cause the issues between Esme and her husband.
I was very interested in the Internet crime aspect of the book as well. I think anyone with interest in that and the FBI or horror movies and novels will probably get a kick out of this book.
For a more in-depth review visit my horror movie/book review blog: www.shiversofhorror.com/blog
April 4, 2011
I got this book from NetGalley. This is my first crime/cop book to read, and right from the beginning, I didn't like it. I don't know what it was, I couldn't pin-point it, but I just didn't like it.
The story itself, the premise and the setting was good. Very much like the weekly CSI/Cold Case/Mentalist type of cop serials. But the things the characters say and do just put me off. All the coincidences ticked me off as well. How the husband Rafe thought of his relationship with Esme his with was totally surreal, and Penelope Sue died in a most undignified, unelaborated way.
And then there are too much details when there need not be. Going off tangent, branching off into long internal monologues, inconsistent characterization... Rafe sounded so convincing when he asked Esme to help his friend Lynette, but soon after that he reverted back to being his stupid self, so it was just plain dumb.
And the psycopaths. No idea how real psycopaths think, but I doubt it's as flimsy as the ones in here.
I really tried to like the book, but sorry. If it is any consolation, the setup of the story was good. Just... everything else... no.
The story itself, the premise and the setting was good. Very much like the weekly CSI/Cold Case/Mentalist type of cop serials. But the things the characters say and do just put me off. All the coincidences ticked me off as well. How the husband Rafe thought of his relationship with Esme his with was totally surreal, and Penelope Sue died in a most undignified, unelaborated way.
And then there are too much details when there need not be. Going off tangent, branching off into long internal monologues, inconsistent characterization... Rafe sounded so convincing when he asked Esme to help his friend Lynette, but soon after that he reverted back to being his stupid self, so it was just plain dumb.
And the psycopaths. No idea how real psycopaths think, but I doubt it's as flimsy as the ones in here.
I really tried to like the book, but sorry. If it is any consolation, the setup of the story was good. Just... everything else... no.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2014
Before Cain Strikes by Joshua Corin will be published in March 2011. It is about FBI agent Esme Stuart, and her pursuit of a serial killer teacher who is encouraging his "class" to go killing sprees.
I found this book very graphic and gory. Too much so. There were too many killing scenes that were overly detailed. Toning back the detail would have made a much nicer read.
The actual plot was interesting. But I found it overshadowed by the gore.
I had a hard time believing the character for Esme. Yes, her workaholic nature seemed real, but she dismissed the rest of her life too easily. The rest of the characters were cookie cutter cardboard.
I wanted to like this book. But I couldn't. There just wasn't enough there to grab my attention and hold it.
I found this book very graphic and gory. Too much so. There were too many killing scenes that were overly detailed. Toning back the detail would have made a much nicer read.
The actual plot was interesting. But I found it overshadowed by the gore.
I had a hard time believing the character for Esme. Yes, her workaholic nature seemed real, but she dismissed the rest of her life too easily. The rest of the characters were cookie cutter cardboard.
I wanted to like this book. But I couldn't. There just wasn't enough there to grab my attention and hold it.
January 2, 2012
The first in this series was better.
This one had the same quick thriller pace, but had gaping holes in the premise (the FBI sent in only one person as back-up for a major sting operation, and they were unaware of construction that could interfere?), a HUGE coincidence that allowed Esme's family to be put in danger AGAIN, and a villain that was a genius only in comparison to some really dumb FBI agents and his own extremely good luck.
So, meh.
Love the quick pacing and the unique premise - but want those ugly logic gaps filled.
I'll probably read the next one though . . . Esme and Rafe and their relationship have drawn me in. However, if the third assumes the FBI is stupid and careless again, I'll be done with this series.
This one had the same quick thriller pace, but had gaping holes in the premise (the FBI sent in only one person as back-up for a major sting operation, and they were unaware of construction that could interfere?), a HUGE coincidence that allowed Esme's family to be put in danger AGAIN, and a villain that was a genius only in comparison to some really dumb FBI agents and his own extremely good luck.
So, meh.
Love the quick pacing and the unique premise - but want those ugly logic gaps filled.
I'll probably read the next one though . . . Esme and Rafe and their relationship have drawn me in. However, if the third assumes the FBI is stupid and careless again, I'll be done with this series.
May 7, 2011
The plot of this book was fast-paced and original. I do agree that the book was gory, however. I really enjoyed reading this book and read it much faster than what it takes me to get through a typical novel.
The opening chapter was especially disturbing, but it set the tone of this book wonderfully. The characters were definitely more and more twisted as the story developed, but to a point where they were almost caricatures of serial killers. I think that, with the exception of the opening scene, I would have scaled back the gore in order to avoid this.
The opening chapter was especially disturbing, but it set the tone of this book wonderfully. The characters were definitely more and more twisted as the story developed, but to a point where they were almost caricatures of serial killers. I think that, with the exception of the opening scene, I would have scaled back the gore in order to avoid this.
September 15, 2011
This is aboutn a teacher on the internet who has a class of around
2,000 and he is teaching them to be serial killers. His name is
Cain42. FBI consultant Esme Stuart is struggling to save her marriage
and a seedy true crime writer is digging up her past.Esme knows that
her involvement can cost her everythig, her marriage, her job, her
daughter and her life but when Cain42 openly challanges his students
to go on a killing spree for a prize she has no choice but to act.
This is a very graphic book.
2,000 and he is teaching them to be serial killers. His name is
Cain42. FBI consultant Esme Stuart is struggling to save her marriage
and a seedy true crime writer is digging up her past.Esme knows that
her involvement can cost her everythig, her marriage, her job, her
daughter and her life but when Cain42 openly challanges his students
to go on a killing spree for a prize she has no choice but to act.
This is a very graphic book.
October 22, 2015
Before Cain Strikes was a fun ride. A gruesome and oftentimes disturbing ride, but I liked it. The plotline was tight, the characters competent, and unlike a lot of crime fiction I've read, there were strangely less obvious sexist overtones, which I appreciated. Of course the ending was a sad cliché, which I've grown to expect from such genres. The villain of the piece (to steal a line from Moss) was definitely as intelligent as he was portrayed, while still making human mistakes, which made the book more interesting. I would probably read the next sequel.
July 29, 2016
It was an interesting read, you end up sympathizing for Esme and her marriage problems, but yarrr, I recommend reading this if you like the concept of a serial killer teaching people how to be homocidal maniacs online.
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December 24, 2014Miniseries: An Esme Stuart Novel
Category: Thriller
Category: Thriller
February 10, 2013
Pretty gruesome already and I'm only on Chapter 3/4
Continued to be gruesome but a strong plot.
Continued to be gruesome but a strong plot.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews