The Night Spider

Rating:
Summary: John Lutz--The Night Spider (2003)
Review: As the tag-line suggests--"All wrapped up and ready to die"--this thriller from suspense novelist John Lutz is about a killer who actually "wraps" up helpless women in their beds, violates them, and then kills them as they try to squirm out of their web of death.

Retired cop Thomas Horn is teamed with detectives Paula Ramboquette and Roy Bickerstaff to solve the case, but everywhere they turn they are befuddled by the clues. As the Night Spider kills more victims, Horn realizes that he is not dealing with a normal killing machine--but a military-trained expert who has the tools to claim any woman as his next victim--perhaps even Horn's wife.

The story is very fast-paced and enjoyable; however, the overall payoff is a little to be desired. Lutz is certainly coming into his own as an author, but what he needs to improve upon is his climax and resolution. Horn is a very believable character, but the novel really succeeds because of the strong, bold Ramboquette (excellent choice for the last name) and the chubby, sarcastic Bickerstaff. It is characters such as these that will allow Lutz to create even better novels in the future and perhaps become one of the better suspense writers over the next decade or so.

Rating:
Summary: A good book, but I'm a little confused
Review: I thought this was a really good book, however there were a few things that kept it from being a great book. I thought the detectives were very believable, especially Thomas Horn. I'm confused (and I don't know if this is the fault of the author or his editor) because in a flashback on page 100 it is 1982 and the killer is seven yrs. old. Then in another on page 198 it is 1978 and the killer is 12 yrs. old. I couldn't figure out if we were dealing with two different people, maybe brothers, or what was going on. This kept me very confused and I kept waiting for more to be revealed to let me know if there were indeed two killers. There were two or three other points in the book where things just didn't make sense. It's a shame because otherwise this could have been a five star book in a league with (not to beat a dead horse) Silence of the Lambs. Hey Pinnacle Books, do you need a proofreader??

Rating:
Summary: A Read That Will Keep You Up Until You Finish It!!!
Review: This is the first time that I have read anything by Mr. Lutz and I was not let down in the least. This is really a page turning story that will keep you glued to the spot you park yourself until you read the very last sentence.

Mr. Lutz has managed to create very vivid and "stay with you" characters that are as unique and dynamic as the case that they are working. This is a multi-layered story but done in such a way that you will be drawn into it and find yourself wondering just how things will turn out for the various characters involved. Again if you're a fan of the suspense murder genre then add this author to your list of must read authors.