The Bride Collector
written by Ted Dekker
read by John Glover
I'm a big Ted Dekker fan, and I've read nearly everything he's written. Some have been downright amazing books and some have been good...but I've enjoyed every one so far. I would rate this one as "just good". I still think its worth the listen, but for me it was missing that special magic that would elevate it to the status of his great reads.
The overall plot is rather standard fare for the serial killer genre. Someone is killing women and displaying the bodies in unique ways...leaving clues for investigators. In other words, he's making a statement...and waiting for someone who can decode them. FBI special agent Brad Raines and his team are on the case. So far, it could be a rather typical TV drama. However, Dekker throws in some very interesting wrinkles...one of which is a narrative about the nature of beauty and value, and the other has to do with the nature of mental illness. All serial killers, by nature, suffer from some degree of mental illness...but in this case, some of those struggling with mental illness are also engaged in trying to unlock the riddle of the killings as well. Not twisted guys like Hannibal Lecter, but good folks...who happen to be both brilliant and affected.
Fortunately, Hachete Audio was able to get the gifted character actor John Glover to handle the narration. Glover (who often plays brilliantly crazed bad guys and is probably best known as Lionel Luthor in Smallville) deftly handles not only the relatively straight reading but also brings a great deal of life and even humor with his portrayal of some of the characters, keeps the book moving right along. I had never heard any of his audio book work before, but it seems that he has done about a dozen others, including some by Stephen King and James Patterson.
As I said, it's a solid read, and I would still gladly listen again...but I found it a bit overly wordy in some of the sections of musings on the nature of beauty, where it seemed to drag on and lose focus...and the ending came off as a little too light and happy for me (the musical selection at the end didn't help in this regard, either).
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