The Skull Keeper by Mariëtte Whitcomb
Best friends on social media, Allysa and Morgan share a love of three things: thriller novels, true crime, and keeping secrets from each other.
As soon as Allysa asks Morgan to be her plus one at a funeral, Morgan jumps on the first available flight. Burying the dead might unearth the truth about what happened to Allysa’s brother twenty years earlier. She’s never believed he simply left town without saying goodbye.
Once they learn he’s the last known victim of a serial killer, Allysa and Morgan decide to do what the police couldn’t – bring him to justice.
When the hunters become the hunted, only one question remains – do you know your friend well enough to save her life?
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My Review
Concentrate! You’ll need to when you read The Skull Keeper, as it’s quite involved and intricately woven. The characters of Morgan (my favourite) and Allysa are well drawn and easy to love and respect. Especially if you have a morbid fascination with violent death and serial killers. They met on #bookstagram – Morgan is a crime writer – and are now best friends without having met in person. Until now, when Allysa asks Morgan to be her ‘plus one’ at a funeral.
The serial killer nicknamed The Skull Keeper, or TSK for short, is about as twisted and gruesome as they get. Not only do they kidnap young women, but they torture them in unimaginably grisly ways. I won’t go into details in case you are easily shocked. In which case I probably wouldn’t recommend reading the book.
It is written alternatively from the point of view of Morgan and Allysa, but also from that of The Skull Keeper, describing the torture in all its perverted glory. I said you need to concentrate. Occasionally I didn’t and had to go back to see who was narrating. Morgan is sassy and smart-mouthed. She doesn’t pull any punches. The way she talks to detective Will Boyle is crazy. Why does he tolerate it? He has his reasons but you’ll have to find out for yourself. She knows a lot more about Allysa than Allysa knows about her. She’s done her research.
Allysa is slightly less aggressive in her manner. She respects Morgan but is sometimes horrified at Morgan’s outbursts, especially when it puts them in danger. One of the reasons she is attending the funeral is to try and find out who killed her brother Sebastian twenty years ago. Not to mention all the others.
But all is not as it seems and both of them are lying. And then that ending. So clever and unexpected.
This is by far my favourite of all Mariette’s books. It’s brilliant. But excuse me for now, it’s time to check out my #bookstagram in case anyone is stalking me…other than the daily, ex-military, I love God, Trump, and my mom, in that order.
About the Author
Mariëtte Whitcomb studied Criminology and Psychology at the University of Pretoria. An avid reader of psychological thrillers and true crime books, writing allows her to pursue her childhood dream to hunt criminals, albeit fictional and born in the darkest corners of her imagination. When Mariëtte isn’t writing, she reads or spends time with her family, friends, and her two miniature schnauzers.
Social Media Links
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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mariette-whitcomb
