Lovemurder: Thriller storytelling at its finest

A flurry of twists and turns around every corner … but are they all what they seem?

Firstly, a word of warning … this novel frequently contains strong language and disturbingly graphic descriptions of the depravity perpetrated by humanity when conscience has been given no place in a person’s soul.  

Lovemurder by Saul Black is definitely not a pretty book to read nor one for the faint of heart.  It is a story based around murder — several murders in fact — and each one of them brutal and debasing, with six priors having already been perpetrated by a serial killer now sitting in a gaol cell under the jurisdiction of the Californian prison system.  It should have been a death row cell for this callous sludge of humanity, except for an ongoing investigation into the process of administering death by lethal injection … one that is still taking years for the State of California authorities involved to reach a decision.  But unlike most in this predicament, our criminal is female — a cold and calculating woman — although she isn’t a quivering bundle of nerves waiting to learn of her ultimate fate.  Instead, Katherine Glass is a drop-dead gorgeous woman with a keen brain whose accomplice is still out there and who, from the looks of it, has recently decided to take up where the pair of them left off six years ago.  But is he alone this time or has he found another willing and just as fiendish accomplice?

Homicide Detective Valerie Hart recognises the tell-tale signs from the callous pair’s former killing sprees and when the latest body has a note taped to it addressed to her, she realises the nightmare is about to start all over again.  She was the detective cluey enough to solve the mystery and bring to justice one-half of this killing duo the first time.  Now she’s back on the trail of Katherine’s former lover before he can kill again.  Unfortunately, this also means having to face this cold calculating prison inmate all over again to try and learn her former partner-in-crime’s secrets.  As anticipated and also dreaded by this seasoned investigator, from their very first new meeting the game of cat and mouse picks up right where it left off — one that reluctantly includes a long-term promise into hell for the rest of Valerie’s natural life.  And yet, even Katherine has no idea of the true identity of her former lover.  He’s an enigma — albeit a good looking one — but definitely not to be trusted by anyone …  even a new lover.

Boredom is Katherine’s biggest enemy since being sent inside those thick brick walls so she is quick to welcome the distraction of trying to fathom what her former partner in crime is up to and possibly help the police along the way, after all this masked accomplice hadn’t been honest with her in all the time they were together so most certainly he doesn’t deserve her loyalty now, especially when she is the only one paying for their former passion-fuelled crimes.

And then suddenly another body turns up …  and the link between them is something no one could have ever imagined — until number three when this cat and mouse game turns into the devil’s own nightmare…

This tale is loaded with twists and turns …  and the one revealed in the police car before its nail-biting end is a mind-boggling bombshell nestled so innocently within the last few paragraphs of the eighth chapter before the final full-stop.  I can almost guarantee readers are sure to have their jaws drop down around their ankles as a simmering secret is revealed.  In fact, it has to be the best twist to a storyline I have ever read.  But PLEASE don’t check that portion out before reading the rest — it’s worth the wait, I can promise you, as the novel then rushes headlong into a cliff-hanger containing a truckload of brilliant suspenseful sequences that last for a considerable number of pages compared to most other novels in this genre … this truly is thriller storytelling in its finest form.

Right from the start, the two main characters have a way of dragging readers into their worlds — one filled with determination to catch this masked pariah once and for all, the other an unrepentant sadist who needs some form of outlet for her boredom and depraved mind — and the ride is definitely worth it for the fabulously intriguing storybook Saul Black weaves.

I actually went back and read Lovemurder again straight away, something I can’t remember having done in recent years, purely to pick up on all the hidden fascinating morsels peppering so many seemingly innocent paragraphs.  Despite the use of very strong language — one of my pet hates — and the horrendous depravity written in intricate detail (something, as a former court reporter, this reviewer is quite used to seeing and hearing in graphic detail) there are also a few captivating word pictures to be found, like this one: ‘The sky was clear and black around the swarming stars.’  And a little further on, ‘The night was soft and silent, the stars brilliant as if with a collective delight.’  So much beauty and innocence portrayed while chilling happenings are afoot…

This is one thriller I will most definitely be reading again…

Lovemurder by Saul Black (published by Hachette Australia) is available from Dymocks. Click here to learn more.