Book Review
Title: Pisces (Murders of the Zodiac #2)
Author: A. P. Morgan
Genre: Crime
Rating: *****
Review: The opening to Pisces introduces us to a new killer and the person responsible for everything although it is kept purposely vague. Pisces doesn’t open with Leslie or Ryan’s perspective but that of Jesse; a fellow police detective and a friend of Ryan’s. He is the one who learns about supposed suicides turning up, although we know this is the work of the birthday killer. These victims are men who work in finance and live alone made to look like they very convincing committed suicide. As the divorced Jesse picks up his kids Patti and Charlie I had a very bad feeling. We then jump back to the killer’s perspective who seems to be watching Jesse but we don’t know why yet. We get our first clues about the killer’s identity very early on so we know the killer is female and she is using blackmail to make these men kill themselves rather than killing them herself.
As Monday morning rolls around Jesse is once again very busy with the bodies the killer had left behind. With 6 suicides and more piling up Jesse is sure that there is something more going on and begins looking into different local cults that might be responsible. He also calls Ryan to let him know that he has an unusual case he wants his help with but overall Jesse’s life is looking good as he is fighting less with his ex and seeing his kids more than he has in the past. We then get to switch back to Ryan’s perspective and he is worried about his friend’s message but dismissed the warning bells going off in his mind. We also get Leslie’s perspective who is feeling rather restless after the closure of their big case and is back in Dallas working on her relationship with Jerome. However, Leslie and Ryan share Jesse’s feelings, which Jesse believes there is something more to his case, Leslie and Ryan feel that their case might not be over yet.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Jesse is finally targeted by the mysterious female killer. Even though I have read this book before I did see Jesse’s attack coming as we only get perspectives from people who are vital to the plot and the fact he mentioned his birthday several times and the killer was watching him, it was inevitable. However, when Ryan learns of his friend’s “accident” it was absolutely heartbreaking but he heads straight up there to investigate since his friend is still alive and he now fully believes that Leslie was right in saying the birthday killer wasn’t dead. As Ryan informs Lucy and Jesse’s mother and looks into his apartment he is sure this is the work of the birthday killer but Leslie hasn’t yet joined him as this seems to be something very personal to Ryan but it does further their relationship and seriously hints at something more between the pair.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Leslie is making her way through her feelings for Ryan with Flora’s help but I do want these two to end together in the end especially since I have a feeling that Ryan might be targeted in Capricorn and Leslie in Virgo only drawing them closer together. While Leslie is still in Dallas both are looking into the case details to confirm whether or not this is the zodiac killer and to stop them before it is too late. Things don’t go too well for Leslie when she uncovers Jerome has a jealous streak and she is beginning to develop a bad feeling but she shrugs it off. Compared to the tense action of the first book, Pisces seems more sundae and emotional and this may reflect the change in killer from male to female but it really is focusing a lot more on the characters and their relationships rather than the murders at this point.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Leslie flies out to meet Ryan to help him investigate the cult known as Simon’s Followers which he believes are one of the most probable sources of the suicides and this is only strengthened when one of the members Mark warns Leslie not to lie to Simon as they will suffer the consequences. It has been a while since I read this series so I can’t remember exactly who the killer is but I believe it might be someone within Simon’s community as they all seem shifty as hell.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, we know that all the men are linked to Urban Energy further solidifying Leslie’s theory that Noah Prescott is involved in some way but there is no concrete evidence to prove that. When Matt from Simon’s community ends up dead, Leslie and Ryan are more determined to find the killer but there isn’t really anything for them to go on. However, between Ryan’s skill and Leslie’s intuition, I am sure they will find something significant very soon. Things get even more serious when Simon; their only suspect turns up dead with a note from the killer taunting them but Leslie has to return to Dallas. Upon returning to Texas, Leslie finds a card from a bunch of flowers that is taunting her from the killer, threatening her not to leave the state as more bodies will be coming. While another officer took the flowers to give to his girlfriend and she shrugs it off but she knows that the flowers that Jerome sent her were purple hyacinths but the other officer took yellow buttercups; the flower that is linked to her own zodiac sign meaning that the killer might be targeting her personally but there isn’t much she can do at the moment.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, the slow build and tension explodes in a dynamic and unique way where everything comes together but Leslie and Ryan were too late yet again but they have been warned that it is going to repeat the next month. We also get to see all the major characters meet for the first time in what seems to feel like a happy ending but you know it isn’t. We also get a clue as to how the so-called Zodiac Master is finding all these killers and the next killer describes himself as having flair so we know his style of killing isn’t going to be as subtle as the previous two. The motivation for the killer was really interesting but the unique twists was instead of being caught before she achieved the ultimate goal she actually achieves it without any consequence. I really love this series so far and I can’t wait to get into the next book.
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Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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