Nasaw, Jonathan

Shadows

After saving his father from a deadly illness, blood addict James Whistler, from The World On Blood, has become the victim of a deadly plot of revenge! A Romanian arsonist/vampire hit-man has been hired to destroy Whistler and everyone connected to him, including his former lover Selene, a Wiccan High Priestess. As the reunited couple seek to uncover the truth behind the hit-man's employer, Selene's goddaughter is kidnapped, and only by confronting the abductor in an act of deadly seduction will Selene be able to save her.

The Girls He Adored

Of all the rules a serial killer might choose to ignore, the costliest may be rolling through a red light within sight of a vigilant sheriff's deputy. But in Jonathan Nasaw's latest thriller, The Girls He Adored, that's exactly what he does. As the deputy tells it: "But when I look in, I see this blond girl, couldn't have been more than eighteen, she's sitting straight up holding her stomach with both hands. She's wearing a white sweater that looks like it's dyed in overlapping bands of red at the bottom, and she has the strangest expression on her face. Just, you know, puzzled--I'll never forget that expression. I ask her if she's okay, she lifts up her sweater with both hands, and her guts spill out on her lap."

A number of strawberry blondes have disappeared over the past 11 years. If rumpled FBI Special Agent E.L. Pender's correct, the unfortunate woman above is number 13. The good news is that "Casey" (after the gent with a passion for strawberry blondes from the song "And the Band Played On") is in custody, undergoing evaluation by court-appointed psychologist Irene Cogan.

The bad news is that before Pender can prove that Casey--or, given his dissociative identity disorder, Max, Christopher, Kinch, Lyssy, Alicia, et al-- is his man, the suspect breaks jail, gives Pender the slip, and takes Dr. Cogan on a hellish ride of psychosexual perversion. It ends on a nightmarish farm that could scare the pants off Dante.

How much Nasaw owes to Thomas Harris and his friend Hannibal Lecter is beside the point. In Casey/Max, Nasaw's crafted a true monstrosity; in Irene, a masterful adversary; in E.L. Pender, a cop as fine and likable as any you've met in some time. And he's wrapped them in a story like none you've lately read. --Michael Hudson

For ten years, the charmingly disheveled veteran FBI Special Agent E.L. Pender has been investigating the apparently random disappearances of a dozen women across the country. The only detail the cases have in common is the strawberry blond color of the victims' hair, and the presence of a mystery man with whom they were last seen.

Then, in Monterey, California, a routine traffic stop erupts into a scene of horrific violence. The local police are stunned by a disemboweled strawberry blond victim and an ingenious killer with multiple alternating personalities. Pender is convinced he has found his man, but before he can prove it, the suspect stages a cunning jailbreak and abducts his court-appointed psychiatrist, Irene Cogan.

In a house on a secluded ridge in Oregon, Irene must navigate through the minefield of her captor's various egos -- male and female, brilliant and nave, murderous and passive -- all of whom are dominated by Max, a seductive killer who views her as both his prisoner and his salvation. Irene knows that to survive she must play along with Max's game of sexual perversion. Only then will she be able to strip back the layers to discover a chilling story of a shattered young boy -- and all the girls he adored.

A sexually charged thriller of extraordinary originality and page-turning suspense, The Girls He Adored moves furiously from the inner recesses of the psyche to its final, startling climax. Jonathan Nasaw brilliantly portrays two equally intense characters -- a deviant killer and the expert who can unlock his darkest secrets -- and introduces one of the most likable sleuths in recent fiction.

A twisted and sexually charged thriller of extraordinary originality and page-turning suspense, THE GIRLS HE ADORED moves furiously from the inner recesses of the psyche to its startling climax. Jonathan Nasaw brilliantly portrays two equally intense characters -- a deviant killer and the expert who can unlock his darkest secrets -- and introduces one of the most likable sleuths in recent fiction. For ten years, the charmingly disheveled veteran FBI Special Agent E.L. Pender has been investigating the apparently random disappearances of a dozen women across the country. The only detail the cases have in common is the strawberry blonde color of the victims' hair, and the presence of a mystery man with whom they were last seen. Then, in Monterey, California, a routine traffic stop erupts into a scene of horrific violence. The local police are stunned by a disemboweled strawberry blonde victim and an ingenious killer with multiple alternating personalities. Pender is convinced he has found his man, but before he can prove it, the suspect stages a cunning jailbreak and abducts his court-appointed psychiatrist, Irene Cogan. In a house of horrors on a secluded ridge in Oregon, Irene must navigate through the minefield of her captor's various egos -- male and female, brilliant and naive, murderous and passive -- all of whom are dominated by Max, a seductive killer who views her as both his prisoner and his salvation. Irene knows that to survive she must play along with Max's game of sexual perversion. Only then will she be able to strip back the layers to discover a chilling story of a shattered young boy -- and all the girls he adored.

The World on Blood: 8

The World on Blood