First things first, my apologies to Heidi Angell and everyone who reads this blog for my long absence. I just moved to a new state, on my own, to start a brand new job, so I've been pretty overwhelmed and busy and haven't had much time to do anything else besides get everything settled. In any case, I am very thankful to everyone for actually reading this blog, and to Ms. Angell for her patience in waiting for a review for her book (I told you it was coming though!) :) On to the book review! A fantastic tale from a wonderful author, Elements of a Broken Mind is a 5 out of 5 star book to me, for keeping me entertained and stumping the forensic psychologist in me.
From the publisher:
Grant Anderson is a small-town detective
whose job was quiet and easy, until three
girls end up dead. A serial killer is stalking the young ladies in his town. Without the high tech equipment of big cities at his fingers, Grant must rely on good old-fashioned police work; but with no discernible pattern
and no clues to follow, the case seems to be grinding to a halt.
Then Grant gets a visit from a mysterious young woman. Who is Clear Angel? What is her connection to the case? If Grant is to believer her, then he must accept that she has “seen” these things. But Grant is a professional. He cannot believe in psychics! Yet when another girl goes missing, and Grant’s search is yielding nothing he is desperate enough to try.
Clear Angel has always been special. Seclusion has kept the nightmares at bay. Then the nightmares begin again. Are they premonitions
of events to come? Are they the sick fantasies of a madman?
Then one evening she runs into a stranger
and finds out that not only are they real, but they are happening here in her home town. After a lifetime of running and hiding from what she can do, she is now forced to reach out to the most unlikely person in an effort to save innocent girls and perhaps the world.
My thoughts:
So, I was sent this book by the author for an honest review. I'm so pleased that she sent it to me, and don't really have anything negative to say about it. Elements of a Broken Mind is a phenomenal, fast paced read and I'm very eagerly anticipating the next book in the series. The writing is spot on, the characters are realistic (which, given the plot, is amazing), and I had so much fun reading this book and figuring out for myself how Grant and Clear were going to find the killer and save the girls.
I have a background in forensic psychology, and have taken classes on profiling crime scenes and offenders. I still didn't know where Angell was going with her novel, and had a great time watching Grant and Clear work on solving the crimes before the killer took yet another young girl's life. Particularly when the killer would 'return' his victims, only to kidnap more to replace them, I couldn't help but begin my own profile of the type of person who would be committing such crimes.
Even better was the fact that the attraction between the two didn't take center stage in Elements, something that appears to be becoming more and more widespread a problem in books today. Yes there is romance, but it is secondary to the thrilling mystery Angell puts in place from page one for her readers. It will be very interesting seeing the chemistry between the two in the next installment in this series :)
- Justin
