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MY REVIEW

I jumped between a three and a four rating for Killer Dead Victim Alive by Michael Geczi. I love serial killers…I mean reading about serial killers. But, that’s not all that drew me to the novel. A good title and the tropical content of the cover spoke to me.

We are on the beach near Santa Monica Pier and what do I spy? Why it’s Keith John Victor, serial killer. What??????

Mollie Granger and Greg Nichols, detectives in the Criminal Investigations Unit of the Santa Monica Police Department are on the case. Keith Victor had killed six people and a missing person, Chrissy Weeks, is attributed to him. Is she deal or alive? We shall see. And we do. She walks into the police department with a story that won’t hold water.

Mollie is hard working, has sharp instincts and is always asking questions. I loved this description from a colleague:

….her pupils were shaped like question marks because her eyes always “”looked like they wanted to now more.”

Her significant other, Gwen Seward, is an African America lawyer specializing in civil rights, while Mollie is a white police officer. Not only are they gay, but they will have to deal with racial differences and how they look at life. Many of Gwen’s clients have been profiled by police and the question remains…are the guilty or innocent?

The biggest question…who killed the serial killer? I quickly discovered who, but the motive remained hidden and I loved how Michael Geczi led me to the answer, step by step.

K J…hmmm. I wonder what part she plays in the abduction of the women and Chrissy. Her super power is being invisible, blending into the scenery, living in the shadows. How sad. Life has not been kind to K J and neither is Michael Geczi.

I love how some criminals think they are smarter than those out to catch them and I’m not sure what narcissistic game Chrissy is playing.

Funny what a small world we live in, with lines crisscrossing our lives, woven into a pattern not easily seen. Was it fate or Karma that brought Keith and Chrissy together?

Killer Dead Victim Alive by Michael Geczi was a wild ride. We got, not just one dysfunctional, dangerous villain, but two. Even when I think I know what’s going on Michael manages to pull a surprise out of his hat.

I didn’t get my hand on the first book in this series of books about serial killers, The Deadly Samaritan, but I hope to be there for the next one. Michael Geczi left the surprise ending open and I love it, so maybe….things are not always as they seem and our time in Santa Monica is not over.

GOODREADS BLURB

“Killer Dead, Victim Alive””If you’re a fan of Freida McFadden, David Baldacci, or Harlan Coben, you’ll find this book captivating and imaginative.”

The serial killer is dead; the expected seventh victim is alive, and the Santa Monica detectives and the FBI agents are shaking their heads.“Who-done-it” meets “why-done-it.” The A twisty mystery, spiked with psychological and cultural implications, all playing out in sun-drenched Santa Monica.Police Detectives Mollie Granger and Greg Nichols respond to a call near the world-famous pier. A dead male, shot in the forehead at close range, is posed in the sand. He’s Keith Victor, a serial killer who’s murdered six persons and kidnapped a possible seventh, Chrissy Weeks.Meanwhile, six miles away, Weeks walks into a police station, says, “I think you’ve been looking for me,” and claims Victor dropped her off outside an hour earlier. Quite the trick, given the coroner says Victor’s been dead for thirty-six hours. Weeks, a narcissist with a complex backstory, views most people as chess pieces to be played. And she’s playing at mega speed, even though her never-ending lies and moves – some of which backfire – quickly turn her into a suspect from a victim.The case comes at a difficult time for Granger, a middle-class white cop having relationship problems with Gwen Seward, a wealthy African-American civil rights attorney. They’ve drifted apart since the George Floyd murder shined a bright light on their differences and challenges. They’ve even tabled plans for marriage and kids.Granger focuses on Weeks even as she and Seward attempt to repair their relationship. In the process, the detective learns that families, love, truth, and understanding overcome personal and professional challenges and bring unexpected second chances.

• Genre: Fiction, Serial Killer, Suspense, Thriller
• 281 pages, Kindle Edition
• Published November 17, 2023 by Tierra Buena Publishing

ABOUT MICHAEL GECZI (from Amazon)

Former Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Associated Press and Dallas Morning News writer and editor; Wall Street executive; best-selling author; communications/crisis consultant and university instructor (University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism). Also author of Futures: The Anti-Inflation Investment. Lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife, Lisa.

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