The Beholder (A Maddie Richards Mystery Book 1)

I downloaded The Beholder because I took a free peek on the store.com, and then couldn't put it down. Apparently, the book is the first of what will be a series starring Maddie Richards - a smart, tough, tenacious female police detective in Phoenix, Arizona. Maddie is a good cop, and her competence is confirmed by the fact that she has one of the highest solve rates in the US. The Beholder chronicles Maddie's pursuit, and unmasking, of a serial killer of women. I should make it clear here that this is not chick lit, and Maddie is not your typical "lady detective". This is a straightforward police procedural with a fully fleshed protagonist. It's a bit gruesome in spots, but not gratuitously so. In a way, Maddie reminds me a bit of Brenda in the television drama The Closer. I look forward to following her career.

This has a very well planned and executed plot. Lacks a passion. More like making a grocery list. Nothing missing but just the bare bones. And I do not mean sex. You don't need that for a good story. Still I will read more his books.

Serial killers bring out the best and the worst in those enforcing the law. There's no question but that the police are desperate to find the perpetrator, even more so in order to prevent further murders. Sergeant Maddie Richards, as the lead officer, has gotten the brunt of this case including the worst of it--the pressure from her superiors, the clamors of the media, the frightened phone calls from women who are sure they will be the next female victim of the madman. The story of the hunt is spell binding, and Maddie has her own personal demons to contend with--an ex-husband trying to get custody of their son, her own yearning for the comfort of a mate, and her growing concern about her own personal safety. THE BEHOLDER is, by far, the best police procedural I have ever read.

A Five Star MUST Read Masterpiece. No doubt about!!! An incredible suspense novel written by a rising star, David Bishop.

When a Psychopathic Serial Killer holds a city hostage with a string of gruesome murders of female victims, Maddie Richards is assigned as the leading investigator, and must prove herself capable of handling such high profile case in a traditional male profession. Her job: find and stop the killer and prevent any further blood shed. But as the killings continue and the perpetrator profiled, the case intensifies, when Maddie realizes that the murderer is somehow connected or may be a member of her own Police Department. As the odds and suspects increase, Maddie also comes to the conclusion that she fits the profile of the murdered women, and may be the killer's next target. With the City Mayor and Police Chief breathing down her neck to bring the killings to a halt, Maddie must rely solely on her instincts and experience as a cop to restore the city's peace and bring the killer to justice.

This is a collar crabbing suspense novel that demands and sustains the attention of the reader from beginning to end. As the story progresses, it creates an avalanche of suspects, which include pimps, boyfriends, husbands, lovers, and finally members of the City's Police Force. The author, David Bishop, is a master on leading the reader through its twists and turns, but without dead ends. This is a book that follows every lead and leaves every stone unturned, however the list of suspects continues to grow, and the killings seem to be unstoppable. And when everyone is a possible suspect, no one can be trusted.

I read The Blackmail Club and then went searching thru the store for more books by David Bishop for my Kindle. I found The Beholder and enjoyed it as much as The Blackmail Club. Mr. Bishop developed the Mattie Richards character into a "believable" cop, loving mother, and a real woman. In her role as a lead detective in the race to find The Beholder she makes mistakes but she owns up to them and doesn't pass the buck. The supporting characters in the book are very realistic and credible. The story line in the "Beholder" is outstanding and the villian is not revealed until the very end, making this book a real page-turner. I would love to see the Mattie Richards Mystery turned into a series.

Police corruption, a grusome seriel killer at large, a hard boiled female police detective, this one has it all. Who's killing beautiful women and is police detective Maddie Richards next on his list?

I really enjoyed the author's writing and the plot of The Beholder. The letdown that I experienced was due to the number of unresolved questions. I would have appreciated a little wrap up on the killer's back story. Also, I was disappointed that Maddy didn't actually solve the case. There was a great deal praise for Maddy's police work throughout the story but she never really showed it.

All that being said, I did enjoy the story and would not hesitate to read other offerings by this author.

I was impressed, hooked from the beginning, and scared stupid very early on. The best kind of scary is the very real ugliness that exists in our sometimes gruesome world. This read was terrifying. But, I was enthralled to say the least. Mr. Bishop is an extremely talented author. From the characters to the plot..everything was perfect. It made me want to be Maddie and also to lock every door twice. What else could you want from a thriller ? And the tease at the end of her next escapade? Totally worth the disappointment when you remember it's only the first couple of chapters!

Maddie Richards is a no nonsense detective. I was surprised when her partner betrayed her with the media darling. There is a heart warming relationship with her young son and I like her mom. I would read another of her stories because she can continue to grow as a detective.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The story and p,ot is good. There are however unexplained red herrings. If an author is going to have a red herring, it's only fair if he explains it by the end. For me though the biggest issue was the sex scenes. The author is a man writing about a woman detective describing the sex from a mans perspective. So that part doesn't work fir a woman reader.

David Bishop, who has written a number of mysteries and thrillers with male protagonists, tries his luck with a mystery centered around tough Phoenix detective Maddie Richards. Unfortunately, despite what should be a foolproof premise, "The Beholder," Bishop's first Richards novel, fails to create a convincing character or a credible police investigation.

Richards is a 40ish, attractive female detective having poor luck with men but catching a big career break when she's put in charge of the investigation of a serial killer dubbed "The Beholder" by reporters. The killer butchers women and scrawls a message in their blood on the walls. Naturally, the city is soon in a panic and Richards needs to find the killer quickly.

Unfortunately, Maddie Richards completely failed to impress me, either as an interesting character or a good detective. She spends all of her time obsessing about three things: the case (understandable), her ongoing custody battle with her ex-husband (also somewhat understandable), and her sex life, or, more precisely, her lack thereof. Perhaps Bishop meant to suggest that women cops can be just as sex obsessed as men, but having Richards spend most of her time engaging in wishful thinking about the various men she encounters trivializes the character and makes her quite uninteresting. More than that, having a supposedly sympathetic heroine obsess about her sex life when other women are being brutally mutilated and murdered struck me as extremely callous.

In scene after scene in this book, I kept coming away with the impression that few women would actually think the way Bishop portrays Richards as thinking, but that a lot of male writers might imagine women having those thoughts. One example is an early scene when Richards first starts forming a profile of the killer and makes the observation "a girl had to start somewhere." I highly doubt many female detectives would be look at the case in quite those terms when they started out.

I could tolerate Bishop's clueless portrayal of the female mind a bit better if the investigation were handled more professionally. We are meant to see Maddie Richards as a competent investigator, but, for some reason, when women from all walks of life start being brutally murdered in Phoenix, a metropolitan area of over 4 million people, she focuses her investigation almost exclusively on men with whom she personally has a connection. At one point, she actually meets with an FBI profiler who gives her some good insight into the type man the killer must be, but instead of looking for this type of man, she focuses exclusively on a couple of suspects whom she personally knows. It would seem that a serial killer in Phoenix could completely avoid detection forever if he doesn't know the cop investigating the case. As for the FBI profiler, it soon becomes apparent she only invented an excuse to have him come into town so she could go to bed with him.

When the killer is finally revealed, Bishop leaves far too many questions unanswered, especially the reasons for the various rituals the killer performs, such as the writing on the wall. I don't expect every loose end to be tied up, but the wrapup is quite sloppy here.

David Bishop is able to describe scenes and actions fairly well, so the book is easy to follow and what police work that actually does occur is interesting. Also, the "Beholder" is an intriguing killer who holds the audience's interest until the end of the book. However, Bishop hits far too many false, unbelievable notes in his descriptions of Maddie Richards and some of the other characters in the book (who do some things that completely defy credibility). As a result, "The Beholder" fails to satisfy even as a basic police procedural, let alone as an introduction to a supposedly strong, sympathetic female detective.

Very slow and very boring book. The story dragged on for what seemed like forever and then it was like the author got bored and sick of writing and abruptly ended the entire thing in less than 10 pages. I will definitely not be wasting any more time on this author or his books.

I rarely give 5-star reviews, probably less than 10% of what I read and this is one of them.

Very well crafted, tightly plotted mystery with good potential for a series, which I hope it becomes. Good pacing and a very good touch for police department investigation and politics.

The author manages to bypass several possible personal issues for me, which I was originally concerned with. First, seems as if nearly all of the female protagonists now have children with problems and/or some kind of intrusive family issues that take over the detective story. It's there but it isn't intrusive. The relationship interest was there, but also not intrusive and never impinged on the actual plot.

The author also avoided the all-too-common 'female detective is a target, gets captured, gets tortured and will spend the next two books trying to recover from the emotional damage' ... this is a tough, experienced police officer that copes ... and doesn't do anything stupid!

Those two things ... both strictly personal issues for me ... immediately bumped this to a 5-star for me.

The only criticisms I can offer at all, the first strictly personal, would be less graphic description of the actual torture of the victims. The other was a feeling that the transitions to some of the thoughts/ backflashes of the killer were not as seamless as they might have been.

David Bishop's heroine Maddie Richards is a police sargent assigned to a serial killer. I loved the way David Bishop got Maddie's role perfectly. I had enjoyed reading Who Murdered Garson Talmadge and the sequel The Original Alibi, but I think I like Maddie's story line better! I hope the next book Mr Bishop writes is another Maddie Richards book. There were story lines left hanging in this first book. Well written, it had me guessing right up til the end.

I really love reading this book. Maddie is a strong woman, but yet loves her family and is needy of certain things all women are needing in their lives. The Beholder was a page turner and with that, it really had you capativated with each page. I hated to put it down to go to sleep each night. I will be certain to add David Bishop to my favorite authors listing and continue to read the books he has written and follow this series.

Another interest-holding drama/who-done-it book by David Bishop. Although not for the weak at heart throughout, it was spell-binding in true Stuart Woods tradition, a mixture of artful police work interspersed with Mr. Bishop's special brand of humor. A bit too many cliches for me but nevertheless a great read. Hopefully, the ending will lead to a sequel as there were knots left untied.

David Bishop hits another home run with this thriller! Maddie is not the stereotypical female cop one normally expects when portrayed by a male writer. Bishops flair for characterization has allowed him to nail it once more. Although the murderer was on my own "suspect" list, Bishop kept me guessing until the very end as to whom he would reveal as the murderer. Good Job!

A another great session with Mattie Richards, super cop. It was a story that tugged and frightened and made sense. This was my second Mattie book and even better. A single mom who works hard as a sergeant in homicide. The ability to look at so many sides of a killing shows how hard it is to pin down the perp. Thanks again to David.