Black Bird

Rating:
Summary: A Real Page-turner!!
Review: I highly recommend this book. This suspense thriller takes place in a fictitious town of Liberty, Virginia (near the I-95 about 15 miles north of Fredricksburg, VA). Black Bird (Greg Enslen's first novel) earned the editor's choice award from the publisher, iUniverse.
The book has extremely well developed plot lines, is very well written, and culminates in classic battle between good and evil. The villain is a really bad guy and the people that are trying to find him each have their own reasons for wanting him captured. Ironically, Black Bird, which was published in December 2003, has a critical, climatic "scene" near the end of the book (page 501) which parallels one of the final scenes in the movie "The Passion of the Christ."
This book belongs on everybody's "must read" list and is sure to be a national best seller once it is picked up by a conventional publisher. The plot would also make a very gripping movie.

Rating:
Summary: Evil lurks...
Review: Jack Terrington enjoys his occupation - he gets to travel, meet new people, and indulge in his appetite for... killing - with no consequences. He's smart and knows it. But not smarter than one sheriff in one small town long ago... where he *almost* got caught. A fact that drives him crazy the rest of his 'career'. Finally, near 'retirement', he revisits the town of his biggest failure and plans his worst deeds yet...

You will be shocked to peek into the mind of an evil killer and catch a glimpse of his version of reality.

Along the way, you will enjoy the story of a young man , David, with no purpose in life except to escape his hometown as soon as possible - even if it means breaking it off with the only girl who ever understood him. But something else is pulling him back... evil has returned to settle the score. Will he rise to the challenge?

There are so many layers to this novel, so many levels of interest - the storytelling abilities of this author are amazing. It will invite you in, then take you on a ride so unbelievable that you will have to race through the book before returning to normal life again.

The ending is surprising and clever. What an incredible movie this would make!

Watch this author... this is the beginning of a bright career.

Rating:
Summary: Evil lurks...
Review: Jack Terrington enjoys his occupation - he gets to travel, meet new people, and indulge in his appetite for... killing - with no consequences. He's smart and knows it. But not smarter than one sheriff in one small town long ago... where he *almost* got caught. A fact that drives him crazy the rest of his 'career'. Finally, near 'retirement', he revisits the town of his biggest failure and plans his worst deeds yet...

You will be shocked to peek into the mind of an evil killer and catch a glimpse of his version of reality.

Along the way, you will enjoy the story of a young man , David, with no purpose in life except to escape his hometown as soon as possible - even if it means breaking it off with the only girl who ever understood him. But something else is pulling him back... evil has returned to settle the score. Will he rise to the challenge?

There are so many layers to this novel, so many levels of interest - the storytelling abilities of this author are amazing. It will invite you in, then take you on a ride so unbelievable that you will have to race through the book before returning to normal life again.

The ending is surprising and clever. What an incredible movie this would make!

Watch this author... this is the beginning of a bright career.

Rating:
Summary: Intricate thriller
Review: Seldom have I read a book with such intricately developed characters, each contributing to the plot with an intensity that made Black Bird a great thriller. A disturbing thriller, yes, but not to the gorey extent to which other popular authors resort. This would make a good movie and it's fun to imagine casting the players.

I am looking forward to more from this young promising author.

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing! Intense!
Review: This was the most disturbing book I have ever read. If you enjoy reading about serial killers this is the book for you. "Black Bird" is not just a thriller, but more like a manifesto of an intense character. It is an unforgettable read.

Jack Terrington gets away with murder for a very long time. Murder after murder after murder has gone unsolved as Jack continues to feed his Urge. He is a murderer, a "collector", and one sick twisted individual. One close call with law enforcement in a small town in Virginia has haunted him for years. He wants revenge on the sheriff that came close to beating him. However, the sheriff is long dead, having been killed by Jack himself, his star a trophy piece in Jack's collection.

Supporting characters in the book and subsequent plots, involve a promising FBI rookie and a mastermind FBI computer, the son of the sheriff and his supporting girlfriend, his drunkard aunt and just-cracked-open trust fund, a huge Hurricane named Mandy, and a whole cast of victims who fall prey to the murderous man in a white van.

The plot is intense and captivating though the head hopping can be distracting. I cannot see how it could have been done any other way. The author has a tendency to repeat important facts, perhaps thinking the reader may miss something if he doesn't. It is a bit of overkill but not the worst thing that could happen in a book. Numerous typos were more distracting to me.

There is an interesting bit of the mystical throughout the story, involving a blackbird and later a whole flock of various bird species. This added a nice touch to the otherwise dark and troubling plot.

Greg Enslen seems to be a mastermind at characterization. You will not soon forget this book.

Review by Heather Froeschl of www.BookReview.com

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing! Intense!
Review: This was the most disturbing book I have ever read. If you enjoy reading about serial killers this is the book for you. "Black Bird" is not just a thriller, but more like a manifesto of an intense character. It is an unforgettable read.

Jack Terrington gets away with murder for a very long time. Murder after murder after murder has gone unsolved as Jack continues to feed his Urge. He is a murderer, a "collector", and one sick twisted individual. One close call with law enforcement in a small town in Virginia has haunted him for years. He wants revenge on the sheriff that came close to beating him. However, the sheriff is long dead, having been killed by Jack himself, his star a trophy piece in Jack's collection.

Supporting characters in the book and subsequent plots, involve a promising FBI rookie and a mastermind FBI computer, the son of the sheriff and his supporting girlfriend, his drunkard aunt and just-cracked-open trust fund, a huge Hurricane named Mandy, and a whole cast of victims who fall prey to the murderous man in a white van.

The plot is intense and captivating though the head hopping can be distracting. I cannot see how it could have been done any other way. The author has a tendency to repeat important facts, perhaps thinking the reader may miss something if he doesn't. It is a bit of overkill but not the worst thing that could happen in a book. Numerous typos were more distracting to me.

There is an interesting bit of the mystical throughout the story, involving a blackbird and later a whole flock of various bird species. This added a nice touch to the otherwise dark and troubling plot.

Greg Enslen seems to be a mastermind at characterization. You will not soon forget this book.

Review by Heather Froeschl of www.BookReview.com