FAN MAIL

Author: P.D. Martin ISBN: 9780778326137 7/2009 SUSPENSE Publisher: MIRA

Getting into a killer's mind is both a blessing and a curse for FBI profiler Sophie Anderson. The agent suffers through brutal premonitions in order to save lives. Now a resident of Los Angeles, Sophie is working on a case where fiction has become fatal. A popular crime writer is sexually mutilated, strangled and marked with an eerie lipstick kiss... just like the crime scene in the dead authors' last book. As more writers are punished for their dark imaginations, there is a recurring theme—a chilling fan letter that arrives before each murder. In order to stop the slaughter, Sophie must delve into the writings of the dead authors. But the sinister mind behind the crimes is linked to an unsolved case from Sophie's past. And that person is determined to create a killer ending.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

P.D. Martin's FAN MAIL is the third installment in the Sophie Anderson suspense series. I'm so annoyed with myself that I didn't know this series existed! I can promise you that I'm going to dash out and pick up copies of the first two books, BODY COUNT and THE MURDERERS' CLUB. FAN MAIL was so incredible that I definitely want to read more about Sophie!

Sophie is an FBI profiler who supplements her profiling with her own visionary gift, making her an intuitive as well as intellectual dynamo. She moves to Los Angeles so she can work with that office, and is, even before she reports for work on her first day in the new city, pulled into a murder investigation. The victim is a mystery author who recently took a tour with Sophie, and learned about FBI profiling first-hand from Sophie herself. The woman made an awful impression, being rude, demanding and obnoxious, so it only stands to reason that there are a number of suspects in the crime. The fact that she is well-known and wealthy, as well as disagreeable, seem like reasons enough for someone to want to kill the author, but the manner of killing is what is especially creepy. She is killed exactly like one of the victims in one of her books.

When other mystery authors begin turning up dead, killed like they kill their characters, Sophie knows she must race against time to catch the killer. She knows that there is at least one disgruntled "fan" among the mystery-reading populations, and that reader doesn't mind recreating what is on the page.

There are so many twists and turns, red herrings, and intriguing subplots in this novel that I was hooked instantly. I turned the pages almost before I was finished with the page, so great was my desire to see what happened next. P.D. Martin's skill at getting into the mind of the killer and making that thought process seem eerily realistic, brings both awe and admiration from this reader.

FAN MAIL is a top-notch suspense, filled with non-stop action. I loved this book, and cannot wait to read the others in this series. The fourth installment, THE KILLING HANDS, releases later this year, and you can bet I'll be one of the first to buy a copy!

Kay James