The Informant by James Grippando is a very exciting book about one very ruthless serial killer.

The victims are stacking up, all over the country. They don't appear to have anything in common, except for the gruesome manner in which they are killed. FBI profiler Victoria Santos is chasing the leads as best she can, but mostly she's clueless. Then Miami reporter Mike Posten gets a chilling phone call. From a man who says he's not the killer, but he, and he alone, can accurately predict who the next victims will be. When his predictions turn out to be true, Mike and Victoria team up. They need to figure out if Mike's really talking to the killer, or is there someone else out there who understands the killer's thought process well enough to predict his every move?

The book is extremely exciting. It is one of those books that's hard to put down. I was definitely interested to find out what would happen next. Along the way there are several subplots. Most tie in to the main story, even if it's not immediately obvious exactly how.

There's Mike's wife, from whom he's currently separated. We watch them both feel frustration with each other, even as they try to work things out. Furthermore, we know the wife is hiding something from her past.

There's Victoria's constant struggle to prove herself to the "boys". As one of only a few females in her line of work, she's constantly taking flack at her job. I couldn't help but be impressed by her. She manages to rise above the obstacles and get her job done, with much competence.

The book is written from several points of view, including that of the killer. We learn about his past, and come to understand why he's doing these deeds. Not that understanding him excuses him, but I really like when books take the time to develop a killer and give him enough of a background so we can, at least a little bit, understand him.

As exciting as the book was, it isn't perfect, and it's not for everyone. It contains some very intense, very graphic violence. I'm an avid reader who can take almost anything. But even for me, there are quite a few cringe-worthy scenes, and one definite nightmare-inducing scene.

I also found the reliance upon coincidence to be annoying. There were two times when things just happened to fall into place, in ways that would not be likely to happen in real life. When an author uses coincidence to further a plot, I feel cheated. It's like he took an easy, lazy way out.

Still, all in all, this is a very gripping story. Readers who enjoy the serial killer genre will definitely like this one. Just remember what I said: the level of graphic violence in this one should be taken as a warning for the squeamish.


Recommended: Yes