Rating: 
Summary: The Girls He Adored
Review: "The Girls He Adored" was the first Jonathan Nasaw novel I had read. This is one of the finest serial killer novels I've ever read. FBI agent E.L. Pender has been investigating a serial killer he calls "Casey" whose victims are all strawberry blondes. When "Casey" kidnaps his court-appointed psychiatrist, Irene Cogan, Pender tracks them to a remote part of southern Oregon. "Casey" has DID, or multiple personalities. Some of "Casey"'s personalities are endearing, and one is am evil killer. The characters are well-drawn and the plot moves along nicely. Jonathan Nasaw has written a first-rate thriller.
Rating:
Summary: The Killer With Multiple Personalities
Review: 12/22/01
THE GIRLS HE ADORED By Jonathan Nasaw
This book is not just different, it is better than most of the books that are available on serial killers. This killer is really a diverse individual, because he is many individuals wrapped in one package. He can change in seconds to the particular person needed for the job at hand. This is a killer with multiple personalities and an IQ off the scale. Max is especial attractive to the other sex, and he has what may be called a special case of DID or what is called multiple alternating personalities. The psychiatrist, Irene Cogan who was called in to evaluate the killer, finds the subject interesting beyond anything she has ever seen before. The killer was picked up after a routine stop led to a disemboweled strawberry blond who was in the car with him and a stabbed and nearly killed police officer. A very out of the ordinary FBI agent, W. L. Pender who stood out for being worst dressed in the bureau, has for 10 years been investing serial murders of strawberry blonds and finds the subject interesting for a different a reason. How would you like to have on tap an encyclopedia that can answer a question on anything to which he has been exposed? That just one of the personalities the serial killer has on call in the package.
Rating:
Summary: OH MY!!!!!!!
Review: A sensational book about a man with multiple personalities and his court appointed psychiatrist who, unfortunitely for her, is a natural strawberry blond. This story keeps the reader's interest thorough out the book right up to the last page! This book really makes you think a lot and most definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. There are soooo many twists and turns to see what happens next. You'll hate "Max" but you'll love him too//or at least like him. It's almost understandable why "Max" is the mean cold-hearted person that he has matured to be when the story describes his sexual and mental abuse by his own parents,,,,oh, but he's saved and taken in by a caring person just to be used and adused again. What a magnificent book!!! Do yourself a favor and read this, you will NOT be disappointed....horrified and a bit taken by surprise by some of the goings-on,,,,but definitely NOT disappointed.....It'll keep you turning the pages for sure.
This story is eerie,creepy, and chilling to say the least.
I am most assuredly going to read more of this author's work. Pick this novel up if you're looking for something to read that is gripping and down right spooky.
Rating:
Summary: MASTERPIECE THRILLER
Review: A serial physic appears to be targeting strawberry blond woman to fulfill an fantasy in his mind. FBI Agent E L Pender is convinced one man is on a killing spree across America. After he is placed in a holding cell with the suspect, chaos breaks out and he escapes. Pender is ordered off the case and he goes off vigilante
style to find this madman. In the meantime Dr. Cogan has been brought in to interview this man to determine if he is competent to stand trail. After the suspect escapes jail, he stalks and kidnaps the doctor. Not to kill her, but to have her cure him of his multiple personalities. This is where Nasaw takes off as a
gifted writer. He brings this complex person to life with many different voices and never once falters. His writing flows from personality to personality without any chopping interludes to set up the next conversation. Max is the dominant with Christopher, Kinch, Lyssy, Alicia, and others residing in the same body. As it is in most cases abuse occurred in the child's life at an early age and they fantasized about being someone else to escape the tortures afflicted on their young body. Others came to be over the years, depending on events in Max's life that affected
him, other personalities emerge in varying degrees of dominance. Max hopes Dr. Cogan will be able to give him the tools to become a whole being again. The evil Kinch is determined to keep seeking out woman to fill a void in his life. Nasaw writes a tight story
and after pulling the reader in, he shows us the real evil that brought Max to his current obsession
Rating:
Summary: Wicked and Frightening!!
Review: A truly scary tale. Hannibal Lecter is a sissy compared to the crazed killer in "The Girls He Adored". Nasaw has created a murderer who is very realistic and very cunning. The book is intelligently written, with well developed characters-a combination to keep the reader engaged from start to finish. By the way, I do not recommend reading this book after dark-it's that spooky.
Rating: 
Summary: 4 1/2 stars
Review: A very well written thriller in the tradition of 'Silence of the lambs'. I truly enjoyed this novel because it kept me on the edge. Yes, it's graphic. Yes, it's violent. You also become well acquainted with the characters, thus making it emotionally charging. Jonathan Nasaw's evil protaganist, who is diagnosed with DID, drove the story to new heights with his unique set of personalities. A very scary and engrosssing read. As good as Thomas Harris and his Hannibal series. Highly recommended
Rating:
Summary: Australian reader
Review: Absolutely brilliant! Gripping from the word go. Hope it gets made into a movie. Can't wait for Jonathon's next book - he is the new Thomas Harris!
Rating:
Summary: A new slant on evil
Review: As this dark and deeply disturbing tale begins, FBI agent Pender has been investigating the disappearances of a number of women from across the country over the past 10 years. The disappearances appear to be random, with victims of a variety of ages and lifestyles. The only thing they have in common is that they're all strawberry blondes. A suspect is finally apprehended in California after a routine traffic stop but before Pender can interrogate the man who calls himself Max, Max escapes from jail. Once free, Max abducts Irene Cogan, his court-appointed psychiatrist, and flees to his secluded house of horrors on a ridge in Oregon. Max is a multiple personality who views the strawberry blonde Irene as not only his prisoner but as the only person who can help him integrate his personalities and allow him to function as one entity. Max's Oregon compound is shared by an eerie, disfigured woman and the place is overshadowed by ghosts, literally and figuratively. The author evinces a certain sympathy for Max, who was the victim of horrific abuse as a child. Still, the wanton barbarity of his crimes would seem to abrogate any hope of redemption. As Irene Cogan tries to survive both by counseling Max and searching desperately for some means of escape, Pender makes his way to Oregon following one obscure clue after another. This book will keep you up all night with the lights on and the door locked as the suspense builds to a shattering conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: CREEPY AND SUSPENSEFUL
Review: FBI Agent E.L. Pender has spent 10 years investigating the disappearances of young women, all with something in common...their strawberry blonde hair. A routine traffic stop ends with the gruesome discovery of a disemboweled woman...she too had strawberry blonde hair. Court appointed psychiatrist, Irene Cogan, has the task of interviewing the suspect, a man with multiple personalities. After a staged prison break, Irene is taken hostage in a secluded cabin, there she will have to unravel the twisted past of this young man, and play his sick game...if she wants to come out of this alive. "The Girls He Adored" is a suspenseful thriller, with enough twists and turns to have readers finish it in one sitting. Jonathan Nasaw has crafted a superb novel, he handles the multiple personalities carefully, as to not confuse the reader, and his main character (Irene) is one we look forward to seeing in up-coming novels. Thriller fans should do themselves a favor and READ this book, it is fast-paced, exciting, and thoroughly enjoyable. A MUST read! Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: Possibly best serial killer book since "Silence OTL"
Review: FBI Agent Ed Pender is convinced there's a serial killer on the loose with a penchant for women with strawberry-blond hair. Over the past ten years there have been several similar disappearances, yet no bodies are ever found, and no suspicions are raised. When Officer Terry Jervis pulls over a car for running a red light, she is horrified to witness the strawberry-blond passenger's bowels spill out into her own lap. The driver makes a desperate bid to escape, leaving terry with terrible injuries, but is eventually captured. Ed Pender hears of what has happened, and the more he learns the more he is convinced that this man, who calls himself Max, is the deadly serial killer he has been searching for. "Max" claims to have DID (disassociative identity disorder), and the court appoints Dr Irene Cogan to do a psychological evaluation of him. But, this is a job which will end up nearly costing her life, for Irene Cogan has strawberry-blond hair... Jonathan Nasaw's first foray into the world of the serial killer is a complete success, on every single level. THE GIRLS HE ADORED is a terrific novel; at times frightening, and at times very moving, when the horrifying abuse that created this killer is described. The many personalities within Max are all as developed as individual characters, and as they are so varied we are presented with a killer who can at times be incredibly chilling, and other very charming, even vulnerable. And Ed Pender and Irene Cogan are two of the most likeable and realistic protagonists you are likely to find. The writing itself is of a high standard, and serves the pace and plot well, right up to the exciting conclusion. This is probably the best serial killer novel I've read recently, the characters, psychology and pace make it horrifyingly compelling. Aspects of the plot are completely original, with some great twists to the accepted formula, although it is clear sometimes that the book does owe a large debt to The Silence of the Lambs. Indeed, many serial killers are compared to the yardstick of that Harris book, but very few deserve the comparison. This is one of those that does. I would recommend it to anyone who likes serial killer novels, especially if they can get over the initial fact that it bears one or two similarities to TSOTL. Brilliant stuff.
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