Mortal Fear

Great novel, kept me "sitting on the edge" throughout the book. Isles' in depth description of the location of his novels makes me feel like I want to be there to "drink in" the southern atmosphere. Great book.

This was my least favorite Greg Iles book. I have been addicted to Iles, reading book after book of his and enjoying every one. This book just was not my style. It was a slow start and when the excitement started to emerge, it came in slow waves. I am still a huge fan of Greg Iles, but recommend any of the Penn Cage novels over this. True Evil was a decent book that didn't involve Penn Cage. Mortal Fear just wasn't my cup of tea.

This is not your usual thriller. Harper Cole, the protagonist, is borderline sleazy. He operates pornographic chat rooms on the internet. He engages in internet sex. He cheated on his wife-to-be, who is an admirable physician and admirable woman. But when Harper detects that someone has murdered a series of women who use his chat rooms, he tells the police. Unfortunately, this makes him a prime suspect. Foolishly, he tries to trap the brilliant, sadistic killer in the chat rooms, but only manages to make himself and his family the killer's targets. Tension rises as the killer stalks them. The story will pull you into it and keep you reading.

The idea is excellent.The execution isn't. The book is over-long, becoming tedious at times. Long repetitive sections apparently were to remind readers of the set-up and motivations. Most readers have decent memories and don't need such frequent and detailed repetitions. Since the target of the police chase covers a long time period and many jurisdictions, we are treated to incompetence and mistakes by numerous law enforcement agencies up and down the scale. The biggest failing was the lack of a single character who captures and holds this reader's interest and sympathies. Drewe comes the closest.