Review - The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 2 days

Blurb From Goodreads

Paris is stunning in the summer

NYPD detective Jacob Kanon is on a tour of Europe's most gorgeous cities. But the sights aren't what draw him--he sees each museum, each cathedral, and each cafe through the eyes of his daughter's killer.

The killing is simply marvelous

Kanon's daughter, Kimmy, and her boyfriend were murdered while on vacation in Rome. Since then, young couples in Paris, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Stockholm have been found dead. Little connects the murders, other than a postcard to the local newspaper that precedes each new victim.

Wish you were here

Now Kanon teams up with the Swedish reporter, Dessie Larsson, who has just received a postcard in Stockholm--and they think they know where the next victims will be. With relentless logic and unstoppable action, The Postcard Killers may be James Patterson's most vivid and compelling thriller yet.


My Review

A young couple are targeting married couples in love and brutally murdering them. They announce their intent by sending postcards to reporters in they city they are in at the time. This isn't their first kill and detective Jacob Kanon is on their tail. He has a professional and personal interest in them as one of their victims was one of his family and he can't rest as long as they are free. He teams up with an unlikely partner, Dessie, a reporter who has been contacted by the killers. There is more to the murders than first suspected and both the police and detective have to use their wits to catch and outsmart the killers.

This book has a great fast pace to it,the killers are introduced from the start yet it is written so well you are hooked into how it is going to play out. as always with James Patterson the chapters are short so you can dip in and out, or fool yourself with only going to read a chapter or two and still be reading 100+ pages in.

I didn't like Jacob's character if I am honest. I felt for him and everything he has gone through and the dedication he shows but too often he is rash and impulsive which I found very annoying. there was one of two sexual elements in the book that I felt could easily have been left out as, for me, it didn't really add anything. I don't mind a book having sex scenes but it should fall in naturally with the story, I didn't feel it did this time. Maybe because I am used to Patterson's books being mostly thriller and murder and this is why it didn't flow for me (in regards to the sex). However the killers passion for each other is an important element in the story so others may feel it works well.

The book ended rather abrupt for me too, it had a great pace all along and a huge build up toward the end but it seemed rather rushed and I would have liked more answers. Still a really good read though so 3/5 for me this time.

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