Killer Blonde by Allan Evans
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Stars

Killer Blonde by Allan Evans is a fast paced thriller- a tense game of cat and mouse between a season cop and a psychopathic serial killer. There is quite a lot going on here- with murder, mystery, hidden agendas, plots, politics, rivalry, a lot at stake, dramatic developments, danger, tension, and even a little romance.
Ok, so I am not going to lie- this book had me thinking about it long after I finished, debating how I should rate and review it. There was quite a lot of promise held in the title, premise, and intriguing cover. While the overall story was quite enjoyable and did ‘deliver’ on some of the potential of the story- other elements and issues detracted from what would otherwise have been a 5+ Star rating.
Cade Dawkins is at the top of his game. A seasoned detective with a string of high profile case closures under his belt. When a couple of unusual road accidents raise some concerning questions, Cade’s investigation opens up a can of worms. A serial killer is operating in the area, disguising his murder spree as car accidents. His victim(s) of choice- beautiful, tall, blondes. But we soon discover that there is far more to the story than first meets the eye. With a hidden agenda that makes the stakes even higher, Cade will need to outwit and outplay his cunning opponent, before it’s too late.
The story is told from a duel POV- giving us both Cade’s and the killer’s point of view- which gives the reader a well-rounded perspective of all the developments. But, we did discover the identity of the killer only half way through the book, which I felt took away from the tightly woven tension that the author was building quite effectively up to that point. And while the rest of the story was intriguing, I felt that knowing the identity of the killer made the last half of the book less intense and suspenseful than it could have otherwise been.
Overall, the story was tightly woven- with obvious research and attention to detail. But then there are some really cliché elements, attempt at adding humour using tired ‘jokes’ we’ve all heard a hundred times before, things that have done the rounds for years as memes and social media posts. As well as there being obvious police procedural errors- and I am no expert by any means, but I doubt a top cop and his detective partner would be discussing highly sensitive case details in the presence of a civilian, let alone the 17 year old relative of one of the murder victims- no matter how much she wanted to help (just as an example). At times the author used some odd word phrasing, which pulled me out of the story as my mind rearranged the word to make more sense. There are also a LOT of characters to keep track of- 65+ named characters either playing a direct role or who were referred to in the story – not to mention a slew of unnamed characters, too. There were a few other minor issues, which in the end I had to acknowledge in my final rating of this book.
Don’t get me wrong, this is an enjoyable story- but I felt the author missed the opportunity to take this story to the next level as this story really does have the potential to be quite an exciting and stellar read.
Looking forward to seeing what Mr. Evans does next.

Thank you, Allan Evans!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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