Messiah

Rating:
Summary: A holy horror
Review: London is in the grip of a heat wave: airless days, strange steamy nights and a killer stalking the streets. It starts with wealthy men being murdered to some mysterious pattern, with no clues left behind, only corpses with silver spoons in place of their tongues.

Set against the merciless butcher is Detective Superintendent Red Metcalfe, an investigator with a celebrated ability to get under the skin and into the minds of the deranged killers he hunts. But as the city of London swelters the body count rises, Red's own tortured past begins to turn against him - and the city is safe for no one. Sometimes it is said, it takes a killer to catch a killer . . .

This is a superb book for any horror fan. This isn't the standard serial killer but one that has the pathology to do what he does.

There are a few minor criticisms for this novel. The first is the amount of profanities in the novel. I know modern day life is like this but I do think it was a little bit too much. Then through the first part of the novel it focuses on Red and keeps slipping back to his past. Whereas the next part has the killer and other characters more than Red alone.

The twist is very original but is becoming much more common. First there is the killer himself that is a twist and then the better of the two, what happens to him.

The novel is extensively graphic and very psychologically thrilling. Unlike the book promises it isn't a dream haunter, well I wasn't as terrified as I have been but this is the best thriller I have ever read and that's because Starling is a fellow Brit.

Charlie

Rating:
Summary: Well-constructed thriller.
Review: Messiah is one among a very few books that deserves inclusion in the same category as the Silence of the Lambs. While a story in which all the different strands come together at the end, almost precludes the possibility of a surprising conclusion, Messiah was a true Helter Skelter. Clearly versed in classics like Goethe's Faust, Starling provides new and inventive twists in well known territory. The story unfolds at a perfect pace and should satisfy all readers in need of a prime example of the baroque mystery repertoire.

Keep those front doors locked, no matter who rings the bell!

Rating:
Summary: It Wil Take Your Breath Away
Review: There's no doubt Messiah is the best psychological thriller I've ever read. The plot was engrossing whereas the suspense was overwhelming. There were times when I just had to pause for a moment and take a few deep breath before I could continue reading. Thought I was going to have a heart attack really. Regarding the ending, it couldn't have gotten better. It was extraordinary in the extreme. Anyone out there who's looking for a real scare should grab it. In fact, it's too good to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Crime doesn't get better than this
Review: Well in my time I have read over seventy serial killer horrors and I must say this is the best. It is graphic without viewings. What an amazing debute for Boris Starling, a fellow Brit. I myself dabble in story writing but it is of horror. But this is better than my psychopath creature novels any day. Unlike Red Dragon by Thomas Harris I slep quite easy after the day in which I read it, though I must say it can't be called less than a masterpeice. Staling hasn't the tallent of Harris but he is only young and with a few more years experence he will be with Harris and Sandford. A well wrote novel with plots as thick as blood and a superb twist endding which I think happens too much these days. It is a secret whodunnit

What a story!

Rating:
Summary: Half and half
Review: The first half of this book takes off like an entry in the Indianapolis 500, with a great premise, intriguing characters and a fascinating back story. The second half falls as flat as a souffle when the oven door is opened too soon--which is a pity, given what author Starling sets up at the outset. Suddenly, halfway through, instead of the focus being exclusively on Red Metcalfe, the lead detective (and possessor of dark secrets and a well of personal pain), we're given multiple viewpoints that shift from one character to the next, to the villain, back to Red, to here, to there, and back again, until the narrative drive has shifted down to first gear and putters along to a finish line that is visible from a long way off. The second half also suffers under the weight of more biblical research than the book warrants; so much so, in fact, that it pretty well gives the game away. A lot of foreshadowing and improbable incidents contribute to bringing the book down from its terrific start to a sadly unsatisfying conclusion. With some judicious editing, this would have been a far better book.

Rating:
Summary: excellent!!!!
Review: This was the first book that i had ever read. It inspired me to read more because it was so interesting. Messiah had a great story to it!! I am new at writing review so I am not sure what else to say about it except that this was a great book.

Rating:
Summary: Review of Messiah
Review: Overall the story is very tight, thrilling and engaging read.
The setting is in present day London. The main character, Red Metcalfe, is explained by an interwoven prose from the present into his past. Each episode into his past, discloses a little more depth and conflict to this flawed but sympathetic character. Red's conflicts are revealed sufficiently to allow the reader to understand his fate in the end. The story unfolds gratifyingly with the search for the killer shedding light on how the victim's murders, though gruesome but creative, "make sense" and tie into a bigger picture. Even though the killer's identity may have been revealed too early by obvious foreshadowing, the conclusion is still very satisfying and the story comes full circle allowing Red a chance to reconcile with his demons.
Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a speeding train!...
Review: It takes off and never lets you go. I devoured it in 8 hours. And what a rush. You know you have to get up in a few hours to go to work, but you just can't put the book down b/c the story has you gripped. And, even though you see the end coming, you are trapped in the headlights of the speeding train and then it bears down on you, rips past you, raising your hair straight off your head and knocking your breath away. Absolutely incredible. Now, how I am ever supposed to go to sleep after a ride like that? For a first book, this really blew me away. Characters that grab you, action that carries you along and a mindblowing ending that you never guess even though you saw it coming. Wow. Wow. A must read.

Rating:
Summary: A Huge Disapointment!
Review: OK,I was really looking forward to reading this after all the great reviews it got but after the first chapter I knew it was not for me!!The big reason I love murder thrillers is the author putting you in the demented killers shoes and the hunt the police go through to find him... This book was entirely one sided- you only got the inspectors viewpoint so that ended any sort of suspense for me. Obviously many people loved this book but it certainly wasn't me!!Sorry.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific story-telling
Review: "Messiah" is an absolutely terrific thriller, made all the more interesting by its flawed protagonist. If detective stories are your bag, definitely give this a shot. (Although it is at times gruesome, none of the violence is gratuitous or unnecessary.)

My only complaint, and it's a very slight one: I saw the ending coming long before I wanted to, which was a minor disappointment since everything leading up to that point was so beautifully crafted. (Not that the conclusion itself is flawed; I just wish it could have been hidden more.)

Nonetheless, a terrific thriller.