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The Stranger You Seek (Keye Street #1)

by Amanda Kyle Williams (Goodreads Author)

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 1,043 ratings · 312 reviews

The papers have called me a monster. You’ve either concluded that I am a braggart as well as a sadist or that I have a deep and driving need to be caught and punished.

In the sweltering heat of an Atlanta summer, a killer is pushing the city to its breaking point, preying on the unsuspecting, writing taunting letters to the media, promising more death. Desperate to stop t...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published August 30th 2011 by Bantam (first published January 1st 2011)

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Kirkus Best Books of 2011

64th out of 88 books — 150 voters

2012 Summer Reading List

49th out of 132 books — 74 voters

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Jun 22, 2011 Ethan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Look out Stephanie Plum and Kay Scarpetta! There's a new sheriff in town! In this new novel, the first in a planned series, author Amanda Kyle Williams debuts one of the best female crime fighters in recent memory. Keye Street is funny, charismatic, and serves as a completely engaging narrator. Down on her luck and running a private investigating business in Atlanta, Georgia, Keye is called in by her friend at the APD to help investigate a series of brutal, sadistic murders. When the killer reac...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love discovering new authors. It’s like finding a new best friend that you plan to visit with over and over again. The best ones are both invigorating and frustrating, because no matter how hard you try, you just can’t stay away. Amanda Kyle Williams has quite a bit of potential, and I’m rather curious to see how her next novel turns out. As for her debut, THE STRANGER YOU SEEK was a well-written, intriguing, and quick-paced read. The characters had baggage, were tormented, and ended up being...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: goodreads-giveaways, mystery-crime

I'm a sucker for a good murder mystery and this was one of the best I've read in a long time. Not only was my first guess at the murderer wrong, but so was my second and third guesses. When I found out the truth, I was completely surprised. I actually started flipping back through the book to look for the tell-tale signs and there they were, scattered throughout the text, pointing me in the right direction, but I was fooled into misinterpreting them just the same as the lead detective. Excellent...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Paula Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have to say one of my all-time favourite genres to read will always be Murder Mysteries and I have to say the more exciting the better as when it comes to books like this , I need fast-paced storyline and enchantment. After watching seasons #1 and #2 of Criminal Minds, I knew I would love this book as it is based on a former FBI BAU Profiler named Keye Street. Why I loved it as on Criminal Minds, the cast are part of the FBI BAU aka Behavioural Analyst Unit. Their job is to profile serial kill...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Adam rated it 1 of 5 stars

About 25 pages into this book, I really liked it. The detective, her support network of family, friends and coworkers seemed to have a nice dynamic, the story had a good mix run and gun bounty hunter action and behavioral profiler procedural and a nicely nasty serial killer. It was really promising and I was already writing a 4 star* review in my head where I apologized for saying all the Shamus award nominees always suck.**

By 125 pages in my review of the book had shed a star because nothing wa...more About 25 pages into this book, I really liked it. The detective, her support network of family, friends and coworkers seemed to have a nice dynamic, the story had a good mix run and gun bounty hunter action and behavioral profiler procedural and a nicely nasty serial killer. It was really promising and I was already writing a 4 star* review in my head where I apologized for saying all the Shamus award nominees always suck.**

By 125 pages in my review of the book had shed a star because nothing was happening. By 200 pages I was planning a 2-star review because the plot twist in the middle was stupid and because I had already, basically, figured out the mystery AND because nothing was still happening.

Then with 50 pages to go, right when the narrative tension should have been at it's highest, when the mystery should have been solved and the the climatic confrontation between killer and detective should be beginning, the detecitve goes off on a subplot to look for a missing cow.

A missing cow.

The entire momentum of the serial killer plot (what little of it there was) is stopped so that the detective can go look for A MISSING COW. At that point I was done with the book, but of course, my policy is to only review books that I've finished. So I slogged through.

And you know what? In the last 30 pages (yes, the missing cow subplot took 20 #@$%ing pages), when the detective FINALLY gets around to solving the mystery that I had figured out in the previous 180 (cowless) pages?...still nothing happens.

The detective dithers about with a downright silly interrogation of the killer, and a whole lot of political nonsense.

The climax between the detective and the killer? About a page long. And that pages doesn't even make much damn sense.

* The book loses a star early for having in its opening pages a shootout that, if it had happened in real life would have had the detectives arm splattered all over the pavement when she stupidly reaches inside a house to unlock a door, knowing full well there's a bail jumper with a shotgun on the other side.

** If Clare DeWitt and the City of the Dead doesn't win the Shamus award for best first PI novel, I am done with PWA forwever.

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Jun 21, 2012 Brian Blocker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Amanda Kyle Williams’ first novel, The Stranger You Seek, is a journey into the dark and twisted world of a serial killer and the horrific results of their actions. Both humorous and disturbing, Williams writing pulls you into the lives of those struggling to make sense of the random killings that have gripped their city in fear.
The Stranger You Seek follows Dr. Keye Street, a former criminal profiler for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, as she gets drawn into the hunt for a serial killer sta...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Jessica Toohil rated it 4 of 5 stars

I gotta say - I really liked this book. Almost everything about it - I don't know if these are necessarily "spoilers" or not - but there were basically two things that I didn't like - 1) while the I was kept in suspense throughout the book and did think the ending was good, one thing happens at the end with a friend of the main characters that just didn't make sense to me. I think the friend's actions were WAY out of line and the author didn't really explain them. 2) I think the book would have...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Sariah rated it 3 of 5 stars

I do like a good suspense every now and then. Simply because I like the anticipation and trying to figure it all out... it can be fun. I like being so intrigued that I don't put the book down until it's done (only took me today to read the book). While the writing style (especially in the first several chapters) was eerily similar to my high school boyfriend's writing style (seriously scary! Not a bad thing, though... he's an award winning playwrite now! Very talented...), it was fun to read. I...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Wendy Hines rated it 3 of 5 stars

Keye Street pays her bills by chasing down bail jumpers, spying on cheating spouses, serving subpoenas and working for corporate accounts. She has her own private investigative business, but she misses the adrenaline of her old job, FBI profiler. However, Keye made some mistakes and now she has to live with them. She was addicted to the bottle and there was no room for it in her line of work. She was let go, her marriage crumbled and she valiantly picked up the pieces and carved a new life for h...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Felicia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, physical-owned, signed-copy, audible-purchase-2012

Requested on NetGalley by Me
Overall Rating 4.25
Character Rating 4.25
Story Rating 4.25
Thrilling Rating (OMG End)=AWESOME!

NOTE: I really love Thrillers but they have to be done well in order for me to close the book with "WOW! Did that just happen?"! Since I refuse to give anything away--let me just say that The Stranger You Seek had me saying exactly that! Bravo on the ending Amanda Kyle Williams!

What I Love: Since I can't really talk storyline or twists/turns (which rocked the house), I am going...more

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Jan 02, 2012 William Bentrim rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams

A demented killer is leaving bodies all over Atlanta with no apparent rhyme or reason. An ex-FBI profiler and her unknown main squeeze combine efforts to stop the mayhem.

This is in some ways a tale of redemption, of the ability to hold demon alcohol at arms length start a new life. So there is a good message of perseverance and tenaciousness seen in Keye Street an ethnic oriental with a southern drawl. Keye is a surprising blend of personalities. She...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Well, I have found my new detective obsession. I love good detective fiction and I love my handsome detectives, but I am an equal opportunity fan and Keye Street is my new best girl. The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams is a debut novel with great promise. The characters are terrific and the mystery is compelling — I put the book down half-way through to check Amazon and see if I could pre-order the next book. Sadly, I can’t, but I will be pestering her publisher for a review copy.

Keye...more Well, I have found my new detective obsession. I love good detective fiction and I love my handsome detectives, but I am an equal opportunity fan and Keye Street is my new best girl. The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams is a debut novel with great promise. The characters are terrific and the mystery is compelling — I put the book down half-way through to check Amazon and see if I could pre-order the next book. Sadly, I can’t, but I will be pestering her publisher for a review copy.

Keye Street is a terrific character. She’s a private detective with a sordid past, living in Atlanta, Georgia. She’s Chinese; she was adopted by the Streets when she was just a toddler. She didn’t come from a great background:

“I wasn’t emotionally devastated by the fact that they’d given me up. They did it because they were incapable of caring for a child. I mean, with the prostitution and stripping and drugs and all, they were really busy. I guess I was a little pissed that I’d grown up on cheese grits and gravy…but generally I have been incredibly blessed by their handing over their child.”

She’s also got a lot of baggage. She’s an alcoholic and her drinking destroyed her career at the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. She’ll never officially work in law enforcement again, and with that background she does not make a compelling expert witness. Still, she has carved out a niche for herself in Atlanta, doing background checks, serving subpoenas, and chasing down bail jumpers. She does tend to gravitate to some odd work:

“I’d been a licensed Bail Recover Agent since leaving the Bureau. It bought the groceries while I built my private investigating business, and it still supplemented by income nicely. My shrink, Dr. Shetty, says it’s a power thing, that I have a brutal case of penis envy. What can I say? I like strapping on a big Glock now and then.”

In The Stranger You Seek, Keye gets caught up in the case of a serial killer. The killer is taunting police, writing letters to the media, and perhaps targeting those involved in the investigation. There are some real scares, some interesting twists, and a story you can really get wrapped up in. I was left with a few questions (Amanda, are you out there? I’ve got questions about Charlie!) but all in all this was a great read.(less)

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Nov 26, 2011 Baxter Trautman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Keye Street was an Atlanta cop until the alcoholic wreckage of her life caught up to her. Now, newly sober, Keye takes odd jobs serving subpoenas and chasing down bounty jumpers. When a serial killer surfaces in Atlanta, Lieutenant Rauser, Keye’s old buddy from the force, asks for help profiling him. The killer is clever, manipulative, and very skilled at what he does. Clues are sparse, and it doesn’t help when the killler begins to taunt the APD in letters to Atlanta newspapers. Nor does it hel...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Monica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-and-or-evil

Anyone who likes the Monkeewrench series will be glad to meet Keye Street and her friends. Keye is a former rising star profiler in the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit who drank her way out of her job and her marriage. Now some years sober, she is making a decent living as a PI in Atlanta - doing background checks, catching bail jumpers. Her best friend is an Atlanta PD Lieutenant who has caught a case that looks like it is one of a string of nasty murders. He brings Keye in to help analyse the t...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

What is that old adage - when you hear hoof beats looks for zebras. Well, that is exactly what came to mind when I was reading this wonderfully addicting book by Amanda Kyle Williams. Just when you think you know the who and what, Ms Williams throws in a subtle side comment that has you rethinking your completely misguided beliefs.

Like Hitchcock, Amanda Kyle Williams lets you build upon you own misconceptions and lets you go along your own merry way before bringing you to a precipice that leaves...more What is that old adage - when you hear hoof beats looks for zebras. Well, that is exactly what came to mind when I was reading this wonderfully addicting book by Amanda Kyle Williams. Just when you think you know the who and what, Ms Williams throws in a subtle side comment that has you rethinking your completely misguided beliefs.

Like Hitchcock, Amanda Kyle Williams lets you build upon you own misconceptions and lets you go along your own merry way before bringing you to a precipice that leaves you without a logical foot to stand on. At no time does she lie to you, she only let you believe what you wanted and leaves you wondering how you could be so wrong.

Quote:
The papers have called me a monster. You've either concluded that I am a braggart as well as a sadist or that I have a deep and driving need to be caught and punished. And you must certainly be wondering if I am, in fact, the stranger you seek. Shall I convince you?

How could you not pick up a book and continue reading with that kind of line.

As a killer begins to wreck havoc, Keye Street, an ex FBI profiler, is called in under the radar to help the Atlanta Police Department track down a killer. But there is something very different and taunting about this sociopath. Why are doors opened with no questions asked allowing cautious people to be victimized in such brutal fashion? What makes this killer and profile so different?

As Keye is trying to pay her bills and keep her private investigation enterprise going, she must also track down a calculating killer before it becomes too personal. As each play cat and mouse with the other, Keye battles her own demons, but most importantly, she must find all the pieces without becoming the next victim.

I love flawed characters; there is something much more human about them. Keye does not fit into your typical mold. She is a stronger woman then she will admit, she is more capable and competent then the male hierarchy will acknowledge, but at the crux of it all -- she is just a scared little girl battling the bottle. She is loved and she is needed, she just has to feel it before she can move on. (less)

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Oct 12, 2011 Lakis Fourouklas rated it 5 of 5 stars

A serial killer is on the loose creating chaos and spreading panic over the city of Atlanta; the city where Keye Street, a private detective, lives. Keye used to work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI and could have had a bright future in the Bureau if it wasn’t for her drinking, which first led to her losing her job and then her marriage falling apart.
Now, after being clean for a while, Keye runs her own P.I. firm, and spends her time going after small-time criminals, who somehow did...more A serial killer is on the loose creating chaos and spreading panic over the city of Atlanta; the city where Keye Street, a private detective, lives. Keye used to work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI and could have had a bright future in the Bureau if it wasn’t for her drinking, which first led to her losing her job and then her marriage falling apart.
Now, after being clean for a while, Keye runs her own P.I. firm, and spends her time going after small-time criminals, who somehow didn’t make it to the court for their trials, serving warrants and acting as an investigator for a big law firm. However, no matter how hard she tries to fill her days with work and nothing more than work, so that she’ll have no time to think about the past, she feels that something is really missing from her life. What? Love maybe, but also the chase. She misses chasing the really bad guys; those that provided her with a challenge. Thus, when the murderer called the Wishbone Killer gets to work, Keye is more than happy to help the police as a consultant. What they expect of her, of course, is not to capture the killer, but to create his profile, something that’s not going to prove easy to do. The person behind the murders seems to be highly intelligent and very organized and is not one of those people that leave anything to chance. He does his killings in an almost clinical way, leaving no trace behind, apart of course from his signature, which consists of certain cuts and bruises on the bodies.
Despite everyone’s efforts, the perp remains free, the bodies keep piling up, and so does the pressure on the authorities. Thus those in power have to find a scapegoat to appease the spirits, even for a little while, and surely no one but Keye could be better for the part. The media, with the help of some of her so-called friends, will start digging into her past and dragging her into the mud, while the police after buying its moment of peace, will hire an ex-colleague of hers, an analyst who now makes a living appearing in trials as an expert witness and a name by showing up in one TV show or another, to offer his valuable input. Keye is sure that he’s not the man for the job, since he seems to have lost his work ethics, but that’s none of her business. However, she has no doubt that things are not the way they look and she’d like to do something about it; but what? Her hands are tight. Besides she has a lot of work to do of her own, so the cops, or rather their bosses, well, they can go to hell. Like it or not though, the case will keep following her, haunting her, since for some reason the killer wants her working on it and will do anything to keep her put.
While all that happens we also get a chance to take a look at the personal life of the detective; a life that from the very beginning was set on the road to catastrophe, since death seemed to follow her every step. She spends every waking moment living with her personal phantoms and looks to be heading from one dead end to the next. Keye, simply seems to be one of those desperate souls who, however how hard they try, they can never be happy.
The world that the author creates is bleak, just as bleak as the real world. Some of the subjects that occupy her mind, apart from crime of course are those of homosexuality, of the people that seem unable to fall in love, and of family relations that are kept together by a thin invisible thread, which can at any single moment break and thus break them.
The Stranger You Seek is a finely crafted novel that could be read not only as a thriller but also as a travel story; a story that traverses the places and the souls of its heroes. A job well done.
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Oct 10, 2011 Bookmom rated it 4 of 5 stars

Keye Street’s life was revamped 4 years ago. A profiler for the FBI, alcohol got in the way and she not only lost her job, but after 3 months in rehab her husband divorced her. She’s dry but struggling and has a PI business doing corporate investigative work, is a process server, side jobs as a bounty hunter and helps her friend, Homicide Detective Rauser profile some of his cases.

A serial killer not only gets off on causing pain in others, but feels the need to brag about it and starts sending...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Trish Nelson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book. It's so refreshing to read a good page turner and this one had me going. I finished it in about two days. I think this is the first in the series and I'm looking forward with great anticipation to the next Keye Street novel. Set in Atlanta (I seem to gravitate toward mysteries set in the south) Keye is of Chinese descent and was adopted as a young child by an American couple. As an adult she is a disgraced former FBI profiler who was dismissed from...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Lee Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of serial killer/FBI/"Criminal Minds" type readers

Every once in a while you come across a protagonist that really sticks in your memory. When mother/daughter team created the Monkeewrench gang, I couldn't wait to follow them through more mystery & mayhem; likewise with Cody McFadyen's Smoky Barrett. I've read all those books...now I'll have to wait for the further adventures of Keye Street.

Orphaned at 5 - her parents, both addicts, had given her into the care of her grandparents whom Keye witnessed being gunned down in their own shop - Keye...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Alla rated it 4 of 5 stars

In “The stranger you seek,” Amanda Kyle Williams explores a whodunit serial killer mystery, at the heart of which is PI, ex-FBI profiler Kaye Streets—an Asian woman who grew up with an American family and struggled with alcohol addiction before being forced to quit her job. Kaye is well into her life operating her own small investigation firm, when violent murders start taking place—and Kaye is contacted by the killer.

Kaye soon finds out that none of the victims seem to have anything to do with...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Robert Carraher rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book had all the ingredients to fail, or at most become just another "PI seeks serial killer" thriller. Instead, Amanda Kyle Williams has crafted one of the finest debut detective novels of the year.

The language is as sweet as a Georgia Peach and as dark as the under-belly of a thunderhead. The scenery and the sense of place make you want to add "I declare" to your vocabulary and root for The Braves. The plot is brilliant, twisting, full of red herrings but red herrings that are keepers.

T...more This book had all the ingredients to fail, or at most become just another "PI seeks serial killer" thriller. Instead, Amanda Kyle Williams has crafted one of the finest debut detective novels of the year.

The language is as sweet as a Georgia Peach and as dark as the under-belly of a thunderhead. The scenery and the sense of place make you want to add "I declare" to your vocabulary and root for The Braves. The plot is brilliant, twisting, full of red herrings but red herrings that are keepers.

The characters, both main and secondary are so well drawn you'll want to add them to your Christmas card list. The pacing of the story is perfect and though the details are many they never slow the story. Ms.Williams has taken some of the devices that are cliché to the detective genre and made them read like this is the first time they have ever been used. They are fresh, original and the author has claimed them as her own master pieces. Beautiful in conception, execution and craftsmanship. Amanda Kyle Williams has arrived on the scene with all the subtlety of Sherman's ride through Georgia.

Keye Street is an ex-FBI Agent, ex-rising star psychological profiler, ex wife and ex alcoholic.She is also an extraordinary heroine and one of the most welcome detectives to hit crime fiction in a good long while.

Amanda Kyle Williams gives us a strong female lead who is at once familiar yet original. Smart, sassy, sexy, strong yet scarred and vulnerable. There is something of the hard boiled detective in Keye, she has her own sense of right and wrong, i.e. her employee smokes pot all day long, but she ignores it, yet she comes down hard on a wife beater. She's also not afraid of a fight, although she is not a big women and there is nothing of the "Angelina Jollie super hero type" about her. She's apt to get knocked on her butt, as use a judo throw, yet she sticks with it and uses her experience and brains to best bigger bad guys.

Ms. Williams brings Atlanta to life revealing its beauty, its history and even it's dark side and its familiarity with famous real life serial killers. Atlanta is so fleshed out it becomes a secondary character. She also makes what could have been stock characters live and breathe. You come to know Wishbone as an arrogant, taunting, evil intelligent person, but also charming,thoughtful, and even glimpses of what prompts the urge to kill, without really knowing who Wishbone is. Wishbone is a thoroughly modern "bad guy" using a Blog to document dark fantasy's and taunting the police via email and manipulating the media. Wishbone is a serial killer, but totally original and brought to life in a way you don't find often in fiction.

The sub plots and seemingly dead ends are so important to the story and don't come off as devices as they flesh out Keye, and the rest of the story perfectly and the "reveal" will have the reader slapping foreheads as all the clues were there but are such a surprise you'll find yourself rereading parts of the book trying to figure out just why you didn't see it coming. This book should ride the best sellers lists for a good long while and Keye Street may become the most talked about character in fiction.
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Sep 05, 2011 Allison Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Opening line: "The sun had not even burned dew off the grass under the live oaks, but the air was thick and soupy already, air you could swim around in, and it was dead-summer hot." Welcome to Atlanta, home of disgraced FBI profiler-turned-bail recovery agent/private detective Keye Street, recovering alcoholic, Chinese-born daughter of white Southern parents, and all-around smartass. Longtime friend Lieutenant Rauser, under pressure to apprehend the sadistic, taunting Wishbone Killer, asks for K...more Opening line: "The sun had not even burned dew off the grass under the live oaks, but the air was thick and soupy already, air you could swim around in, and it was dead-summer hot." Welcome to Atlanta, home of disgraced FBI profiler-turned-bail recovery agent/private detective Keye Street, recovering alcoholic, Chinese-born daughter of white Southern parents, and all-around smartass. Longtime friend Lieutenant Rauser, under pressure to apprehend the sadistic, taunting Wishbone Killer, asks for Keye's help as a profiler. Inevitably, she is forced back into contact with a hated former colleague, the "official" profiler on the case. Besides the obvious need to pull Keye into an investigation to provide plot, her foray back into profiling offers psychological insight. When Keye was a profiler, she also became an alcoholic and destroyed her marriage, so her involvement brings up a delicious stew of emotional and psychological reactions.

Atlanta and the South are fully formed and alive in THE STRANGER YOU SEEK. The atmosphere, the people, the contradictions, and the neighborhood descriptions make for a rich setting. I marked several passages (in addition to the opening line) that capture Atlanta perfectly. As is obligatory in serial killer novels, passages from the psychotic killer's point-of-view are included. These are usually my least favorite part of a thriller (yes, yes, your mommy never loved you and you're a total nutjob...we get it already), but Williams chooses a fresh approach that worked well for me. The pacing is excellent -- this is a stay-up-all-night thriller -- and the twists and developments kept me guessing. Williams has surrounded Keye with a group of quirky friends, colleagues, and family members that play off her personality in different ways.

Plot, pacing, and prose are all excellent, but what makes THE STRANGER YOU SEEK stand out from the average thriller is personality, which Keye has in abundance. She's brilliant, funny, and deeply flawed, but she knows those flaws well. An exchange between Keye and Rauser:

"He thinks he's a goddamned analyst now because he's in therapy. And he's so righteous. It's painful."
"And what was Dr. Dan's diagnosis?"
"That I can't be serious. That I have intimacy issues."
Rauser chuckled. "How'd you take it?"
I sighed. "I told him, 'I got your issues right here,' and I grabbed my crotch and walked out."

And, just like that, I have a new favorite series heroine. Lucky for all of us, this is the first novel in a series, with the second and third out in 2012 and 2013.

Source disclosure: I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Random House through Shelf Awareness.(less)

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Sep 04, 2011 Jessica at Book Sake rated it 3 of 5 stars

Keye Street is a former FBI profiler turned private investigator after being fired from her job, due to her struggle with alcoholism. She cracks down on small-time criminals now, but when her friend at the homicide department needs help finding the Wishbone Killer, Streets’ former skills as a profiler are put to the test.

That’s all the background I needed to predict the rest of the novel – extremely typical storyline. I was completely unimpressed with the twist at the end as well. Granted, it wa...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Elizabeth B rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is a creative plot and the author does well at giving only hints at information throughout the novel. This builds the suspense in a methodic way which most readers of this genre will readily appreciate it. While it may not be up to the caliber of most mainstream suspense, it will definetly keep the reader plowing along until the end in hopes of resolution.
I had two big problems with this novel and, unfortunately, they are probably big enough that I won’t read another by this author. The mai...more
This is a creative plot and the author does well at giving only hints at information throughout the novel. This builds the suspense in a methodic way which most readers of this genre will readily appreciate it. While it may not be up to the caliber of most mainstream suspense, it will definetly keep the reader plowing along until the end in hopes of resolution.
I had two big problems with this novel and, unfortunately, they are probably big enough that I won’t read another by this author. The main character was just the most annoying narrator ever. It was as if every problem a person could have was built in by the author. Flawed is one thing but you pretty easily degenerate into Mary Sue-ish and that’s exactly what happened here. Freakish name? Check. Bad family history? Check. Discrimination from childhood? Check. Drugs and/or alcohol abuse? Check. But I’m a survivor and will overcome everything all by my lonesome? Check.
The second is the author’s writing style itself. I read a lot of first novels and most are unpolished – and I adore them that way. I love joining an author as they first get into publishing and see how their writing style progresses with each new work. But this is a stylistic or editing issue (I couldn’t quite decide) that just continued to ramble incessantly and describe pointless things. I’m not sure if this was intentional (if it was I like Keye even less) or if it was merely a “padding” of content. Either way, when I read a suspense/thriller type of novel overly descriptive tends to negate the “edge of your seat” feeling and disengages me from the story which is exactly what happened here.
Again, I liked the creativity of the plot and the supporting characters were well (but not overly) drawn. The setting was well conveyed and there were so unique attributes to the landscape that made the area approachable and more “real” than many authors tend to be able to do. Unfortunately, I think this just needed a bit more tightening of characterization and description to have it be a top read for me.

(ARC Galley Proof)
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Aug 07, 2011 Cassidy Summer rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

DON'T MISS THIS BOOK!

This is a new mainstream edition from Author Amanda Kyle Williams. Truthfully, I had grown weary of the whole serial-killer-suspense-thriller genre of late. Too dark, too depressing, to wearing on the mind for so long after reading. This was a very pleasant and welcome surprise.

Keye Street is a very flawed hero. Chinese-American, adopted into a very-southern family with quite interesting dynamics. Her recounting of her history throughout the book is an interesting look into...more DON'T MISS THIS BOOK!

This is a new mainstream edition from Author Amanda Kyle Williams. Truthfully, I had grown weary of the whole serial-killer-suspense-thriller genre of late. Too dark, too depressing, to wearing on the mind for so long after reading. This was a very pleasant and welcome surprise.

Keye Street is a very flawed hero. Chinese-American, adopted into a very-southern family with quite interesting dynamics. Her recounting of her history throughout the book is an interesting look into her flaws, their causes - and often a bit of comic relief. Keye was determined to work in the FBI Crime Profiling Behavioral Unit, and guided her studies until she entered the FBI right out of college, two years later - she worked for the BAU. 4 years later - she was fired for alcoholism-related issues.

Now - she runs a PI agency, tracking down bail runners, serving court orders, and doing background checks, among other things. Her best friend, a police detective, asks for her help profiling a new serial killer that surfaces during the dead heat of the Atlanta summer.

This is not your ordinary serial killer... and Keye chases him relentlessly, until the serial killer starts making references to Keye in the letters he sends to the Atlanta Newspaper, taunting the police and Keye. Just when you think you have it all figured out - a twist gets thrown in that you really didn't see coming.

William's style is pure Southern novel-meets-gritty-serial-killer-suspense. The language and flow of the novel are a delight, the cultural references, down to the almost sensual enjoyment of Moon pies and RC Cola are a delight. Keye's mother instilled in her a thick southern accent and style that is like the scent of honeysuckle wafting on a warm summer night's breeze.

Think "Harper Lee, Mark Twain and Faulkner meet Karin Slaughter" to describe the style. I read this in one afternoon/evening/early morning - and now have to wait in agony for another whole year, before the next book in the Keye Street sage is released. (less)

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Jun 10, 2011 Valerie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love finding new authors! Fans of Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter, Lisa Jackson, and Catherine Coulter will like this one and be looking for the next!

A little about the book...

Meet Keye Street - recovering alcoholic, former FBI profiler,now professional PI, making a living chasing the bad guys in slightly different ways than before, while trying to stay sober. If that wasn't enough to handle, Keye is Chinese American, adopted by purely white, Southern parents, with an African American gay brothe...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Linda Branham Greenwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mystery-crime, psychological-thriller

I absolutely could not put this book down ! A great mystery. I loved the characters

It starts with:
Keye Street is a dry alcoholic,a passionate believer in Krystal cheeseburgers and Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and a former behavioral analyst for the FBI. Adopted as "a scrawny Chinese American with questionable genes", she grew up in the south where she had "the distinction of looking like what they still call a damn foreigner in most parts of Georgia and sounding like a hick everywhere else in the wor...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Vicki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Amanda Kyle Williams is a name to remember if you are into crime thrillers featuring psycho serial killers and the FBI-type analyst/detectives who stay on the case until it is resolved...maybe on the last page of the book!

Such is this novel featuring Keye Street, a recovering alcoholic who sabotaged her own career as an FBI behavioral analyst as well as a brief and stormy marriage. As this novel begins, she is now back in her "home town" of Atlanta working as a private investigator, having been...more Amanda Kyle Williams is a name to remember if you are into crime thrillers featuring psycho serial killers and the FBI-type analyst/detectives who stay on the case until it is resolved...maybe on the last page of the book!

Such is this novel featuring Keye Street, a recovering alcoholic who sabotaged her own career as an FBI behavioral analyst as well as a brief and stormy marriage. As this novel begins, she is now back in her "home town" of Atlanta working as a private investigator, having been on the wagon for four years. Keye is ethnically Chinese, but in her heart, mind and accent, she is Southern through and through. To earn a living she takes jobs bringing in bail jumpers, serving subpoenas, and looking for dirt on witnesses or opponents in court cases in which her lawyer/employers have a vested interest.

Her skills earn her repeat business, but when police friends call on her FBI training to help get to the bottom of a series of grisly murders, she is challenged by a self confident and brilliant psychopath, clever enough to clean up the crime scene without leaving a shred of incriminating evidence behind. What's more, the victims appear to have nothing in common, so the police have little to go on, that is until the perpetrator starts writing letters with clues, not about passed crimes, but on some that will occur soon. Taunts from the perpetrator become increasingly personal and threatening, as the bodies begin to appear with increasing frequency.

Keye's investigative skills are challenged, not only by the killer, but by political forces in the Atlanta Police Department who want her off the case. As the murders get closer and closer, even involving some of the seemingly unrelated cases she is working on through her investigation business, Keye comes to realize that the stranger she seeks could be someone she knows very well.

Keye Street is a protagonist you will want to see more of, and the good news is that there are a couple of follow up thrillers already in the works. Ms. Williams has definitely written a powerful suspense novel that will have readers looking for more from her, and the sooner the better. (less)

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Sep 17, 2011 CuteBadger rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 21, 2011 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Mystery lovers

Shelves: mystery-horror-thriller

(fiction, mystery, 3.5 out of 5 stars)

Something I read somewhere (how is that for vague?) led me to believe this debut mystery was going to be along the lines of Janet Evanovich's funny and fluffy Stephanie Plum novels. Not even close – this is an entirely different kind of beast, but I liked it even though it isn't what I was expecting.

Keye Street is trying to stay on the straight-and-narrow after self-destructing with alcoholism, destroying her FBI career, and starting over in her own investig...more

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About Amanda Kyle Williams

Amanda Kyle Williams (that's me) wrote some small press novels back in the day, worked as a freelance writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, worked with a PI firm in Atlanta on surveillance operations, became a court appointed process server and owned a dog walking and pet sitting business in Atlanta. This is clearly a portrait of someone incapable of holding a real job.

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Books by Amanda Kyle Williams

Stranger in the Room: A Novel (Keye Street #2)

A Singular Spy: A Madison McGuire Espionage Thriller

The Spy in Question: A Madison McGuire Espionage Thriller

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The Stranger You Seek (Keye Street #1)

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