The Hunter In the Dark by Donato Carrisi

Author: Donato Carrisi 

Title: The Hunter of the Dark 

Publisher: Abacus 

Published: 2014

Pages: 448

Genre: Crime / Thriller 

 

     A brutal killer is on the streets of Rome. He leaves no trace. And shows no mercy. A series of gruesome murders leaves the police force in Rome reeling, with no real clues or hard evidence to follow. Assigned to the case is Sandra Vega, a brilliant forensic analyst, struggling to come to terms with the crimes and her own past. Sandra's shared history with Marcus, a member of the ancient Penitenzeri - a unique Italian team, linked to the Vatican, and trained in the detection of true evil, means that the two are brought together again in the pursuit of a malignant killer. Soon Marcus and Sandra notice the emergence of a disturbing pattern running alongside the latest killings - and every time they think they have grasped a fragment of the truth, they are led down yet another terrifying path.

     So two weeks ago I picked up the first in this series and blasted through it. It was such a great experience and it was only when I came to review it that I realized to my shame I had already read it like four years ago. Now I appreciate that kinda sounds really bad, but in my defense, I read a lot of books and sometimes maybe I forget some or a lot. But hey at least I got to enjoy reading it all over again. Anyway to get back on track when I was done I scooped up a copy of the second in this series to read.  In some ways, it was nice for me as I never usually read books in a series one after the other. But I felt a little silly for the whole forgetting thing and thought it best to keep on the path I had started on. Also, I am a sucker for a good serial killer story and this one sounded like a doozy. So as far as I could see it was a win-win. 

     It was great to delve back into the lives of these characters and their world so quickly. And if I'm honest they are such great characters to spend time with that how could you deny them. we have the dark brooding of Marcus, a man who doesn't really know how to fit into our world. But does what he must to protect all of us that move around him. It was also great to dig a bit deeper into his mysterious past. I figure bit by bit we will get to learn just what lead him to becoming a penitenzeri. On the other side, we have Sandra our link to the real world, and more than likely the one you will connect with more. She is after all the one who has a life in the land of the living. That withstanding they both care deeply about the victims in this latest outing. It's just they choose to show it in different ways. It was also good to get yet another solid supporting cast. Carrisi never wastes time or pages on people that don't matter. So each of them feels fully fleshed out. This also means that we are prone to a great deal of distrust as people come and go. And I would say this goes a long way toward showing the author's skill as a writer. 

     When it comes to the plot Carrisi knocks it out of the park again. I love that there is so much going on within the pages of this book. We are treated like adults and expected to keep up with the author. And at no point are we allowed to slow done in this chase. And therein lies the beauty in this book series. Carrisi's work are more like grand operas and the latest HBO blockbuster. We are expected to take our time with them and fully immerse ourselves into their worlds.  But that's the thing this author's world shows us some of the worst elements the human race has to offer. We a thrust headlong into a world of abduction, torture, and murder. And there is always a fine line walked here, his stories feel like they are nightly new adjacent.  Whilst there are obviously heightened elements here you can kinda see this sort of thing happening in the real world. But they are not without heart and through our two heroes we are shown that there is a light in the darkest of night. 

     Having finished the second book in this series along with a couple of others by this author I am simply convinced he is one of my favorite authors. His book are always highly planned and executed. And each story contains so much that you need to be paying attention the whole time. They are a workout for the little grey cells and honestly, I cant get enough of them. And whilst I will be moving on for my next couple o reads Im sure that I will be back a bit quicker than last time for this author.