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Detective John Stallings #3
The Perfect Death
Art
Through him, they’ll live forever. His creation will be a testament to their perfection—and to his skill. Each victim has a rare innocence, worthy of being immortalized in his macabre work of art. A beauty worth killing for…
Imitates
Detective John Stallings can’t avoid getting drawn into his latest investigation. The parallels between the Jacksonville girl who just disappeared and his long-vanished daughter make every discovery a potential clue in his own painful mystery. Then one by one, bodies are discovered—all young women, strangled to fulfill a madman’s obsession…
Death
What began as a missing persons case has become a desperate race to find and stop Stallings’ most ruthless adversary yet. And the closer he gets to the answers, the more there is to fear—from a killer whose bloodlust is growing by the day, and a truth too terrifying to face…
Original.
Through him, they’ll live forever. His creation will be a testament to their perfection—and to his skill. Each victim has a rare innocence, worthy of being immortalized in his macabre work of art. A beauty worth killing for…
Imitates
Detective John Stallings can’t avoid getting drawn into his latest investigation. The parallels between the Jacksonville girl who just disappeared and his long-vanished daughter make every discovery a potential clue in his own painful mystery. Then one by one, bodies are discovered—all young women, strangled to fulfill a madman’s obsession…
Death
What began as a missing persons case has become a desperate race to find and stop Stallings’ most ruthless adversary yet. And the closer he gets to the answers, the more there is to fear—from a killer whose bloodlust is growing by the day, and a truth too terrifying to face…
Original.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
James Andrus
5 books28 followersJames Andrus is a career law enforcement officer who still works major investigations. He has been involved in real serial crime cases, which formed the basis for some of this novel. He has been featured on network news shows and been recognized for his law enforcement achievements. Andrus lives in the Southeast United States with his family, dividing his time between police work and writing.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 12, 2022
I liked the characters I just couldn’t get into the book
October 24, 2025
An unusual serial killer is loose creating havoc with runaways. John is determined to track the killer down and find more clues about his missing daughter. Patty & Tony are having problems in their relationship and her addiction is getting out of hand. Personal problems in John's life are thwarting his concentration on the investigation and the creepy killer is piling up bodies. I like this book the best so far out of the four. Great writing and the intricacies of the investigation and the detectives lives and interactions are top notch
March 7, 2012
WOW! I had high expectations for this book, and I was NOT let down! This was a fast paced story, set in FL, which went between 3/4 members of the police force & 1 serial killer.
I loved the way the story flowed. You got sucked in, and just HAD to turn the page to find out what was going to happen next! I'd find myself saying I'd put the book down at the end of THIS CHAPTER....to go on for 3 more. It was just that good.
I liked the characters, each one, I felt, was well developed and you had a good sense of who they were, a part of their background, and who they were developing in to. The story line was great, in that you didn't know the details about things until you needed to. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone else, so I'll just end this by saying if you like John Grisham, or James Patterson, James Andrus is an author you will NOT WANT TO MISS!
I loved the way the story flowed. You got sucked in, and just HAD to turn the page to find out what was going to happen next! I'd find myself saying I'd put the book down at the end of THIS CHAPTER....to go on for 3 more. It was just that good.
I liked the characters, each one, I felt, was well developed and you had a good sense of who they were, a part of their background, and who they were developing in to. The story line was great, in that you didn't know the details about things until you needed to. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone else, so I'll just end this by saying if you like John Grisham, or James Patterson, James Andrus is an author you will NOT WANT TO MISS!
April 23, 2012
I won this book as a part of the Good Reads First Reads program.
I enjoyed this book. The writing was definitely well done. The plot was very interesting, if not entirely engrossing. I liked the characters.
If anything, I would have liked it to have been a little shorter, with maybe just a little bit less detail of the character's home lives (there seemed to be A LOT of detail). Also, the ending wasn't as quite as enthralling as I expected. I was looking more for a "thriller" type feel and this fell a little short of that mark.
I am glad I read it and would recommend this for readers who enjoy mysteries from a man's perspective, and without any romance at all.
I look forward to seeing more from this author.
I enjoyed this book. The writing was definitely well done. The plot was very interesting, if not entirely engrossing. I liked the characters.
If anything, I would have liked it to have been a little shorter, with maybe just a little bit less detail of the character's home lives (there seemed to be A LOT of detail). Also, the ending wasn't as quite as enthralling as I expected. I was looking more for a "thriller" type feel and this fell a little short of that mark.
I am glad I read it and would recommend this for readers who enjoy mysteries from a man's perspective, and without any romance at all.
I look forward to seeing more from this author.
August 3, 2020
Set in Jacksonville
March 7, 2012
Let me begin by saying that this book introduced me to a wonderful author who I can not wait to read more of!! I love when I can say that about any book, especially a book that I won from First Reads!
The Perfect Death was non-stop action & suspense from page one. It truly started off to hook the reader & it worked for me! The plot felt incredibly real particularly the parts dealing with the Jacksonville Sheriffs & how police handle investigations. The fascinating part was not how the characters handled the police work, but how they interacted with each other. It seemed like a real life workplace with honest to God co-workers.
The plot itself deals with a serial killer who has been on the hunt in North Florida. He finds young, naive victims & strangles them with a cord. As the story continues you find out that he is using them to complete his "work of art." He is a glass blower & blows jars in which he traps his victims' last breaths before he proceeds to strangle them to death.
This book is a fascinating look into real police work & the mind of a serial killer. A person no one thought to take a second glance at until it was too late. I really do look forward to reading more from this author in the future!!!
The Perfect Death was non-stop action & suspense from page one. It truly started off to hook the reader & it worked for me! The plot felt incredibly real particularly the parts dealing with the Jacksonville Sheriffs & how police handle investigations. The fascinating part was not how the characters handled the police work, but how they interacted with each other. It seemed like a real life workplace with honest to God co-workers.
The plot itself deals with a serial killer who has been on the hunt in North Florida. He finds young, naive victims & strangles them with a cord. As the story continues you find out that he is using them to complete his "work of art." He is a glass blower & blows jars in which he traps his victims' last breaths before he proceeds to strangle them to death.
This book is a fascinating look into real police work & the mind of a serial killer. A person no one thought to take a second glance at until it was too late. I really do look forward to reading more from this author in the future!!!
January 28, 2012
Missing Persons Det. John Stallings and his partner, Patty Levine, are trying to a missing teenage girl. Homicide Det. Tony Mazzetti and his partner, Sparky Taylor, are trying to find who strangled a woman and dropped her body in a dumpster. When their cases collide, all they can do is hope their missing girl isn’t another victim of the murderer.
The killer is working hard to finish his art project, confident that the police won’t stop him until he has completed his masterpiece.
Can the police put together the pieces of the puzzle, none of which seem to fit together, before the killer completes his work?
This is a compelling mystery and as we watch the killer select random victims, with no set pattern, we can only hold our breath and hope that the police can find the key to catch the killer as the bodies pile up.
See more at http://ebookobsessed.com
The killer is working hard to finish his art project, confident that the police won’t stop him until he has completed his masterpiece.
Can the police put together the pieces of the puzzle, none of which seem to fit together, before the killer completes his work?
This is a compelling mystery and as we watch the killer select random victims, with no set pattern, we can only hold our breath and hope that the police can find the key to catch the killer as the bodies pile up.
See more at http://ebookobsessed.com
March 29, 2012
What type of psychotic serial killer searches for the perfect woman, one who is truly special. She cannot be an alcoholic, a drug user, have a bad temperament, etc. She must be innocent. In this case, that killer is Buddy.
Buddy is a glass blower and is searching for the perfect woman to show for eternity. He strangles them and takes their last breath, placing it in one of his specially made glass jars.
Detective John Stallings has a missing daughter of his own, and cannot put that out of his mind while trying to solve these murders of woman. Luckily detective Stallings has a group of various people trying to help capture the killer. Unfortunately, Stallings personal life has gone downhill with the absence of his daughter, his remaining family still needs him.
Keep reading to see if Buddy can complete his goal to fill all his jars, or if the police can stop him in time. Definitely one of a great series to follow.
Buddy is a glass blower and is searching for the perfect woman to show for eternity. He strangles them and takes their last breath, placing it in one of his specially made glass jars.
Detective John Stallings has a missing daughter of his own, and cannot put that out of his mind while trying to solve these murders of woman. Luckily detective Stallings has a group of various people trying to help capture the killer. Unfortunately, Stallings personal life has gone downhill with the absence of his daughter, his remaining family still needs him.
Keep reading to see if Buddy can complete his goal to fill all his jars, or if the police can stop him in time. Definitely one of a great series to follow.
February 17, 2013
Andrus delivers all the things I love about a thriller: interesting and well fleshed-out characters, a psychotic serial killer, and a fast paced plot.
I really liked that Buddy, the killer in this novel, kills women, but is not interested in them sexually. In fact, he is repulsed when he encounters female sexuality. There are just too many serial killer/rapist plots out there and this take is a refreshing breather from that tired trope.
I really liked that Buddy, the killer in this novel, kills women, but is not interested in them sexually. In fact, he is repulsed when he encounters female sexuality. There are just too many serial killer/rapist plots out there and this take is a refreshing breather from that tired trope.
July 29, 2016
Good book. Very engaging. Should've been 5 stars, but I have to dock a few points for some glaring errors that were missed when character's names changed a few times. Other than that, a good book that I would recommend to people to read as the story is interesting and keeps you pins and needles the whole time as to what is going to happen to everyone involved as it sets up multiple situations of dangerous situations or comprising situations for the characters involved.
December 9, 2011
Lucky to get an ARC of this book, I continue to be in love with the author and the fast paced police procedural that he writes, this is the third in the series and it keeps probing deeper into the lives of the detectives and keeps you wanting more. I will be looking forward to the fourth book. This one showcases another serial killer with an odd fetish, a quick moving and interesting storyline.
February 27, 2012
This is the 3rd in a series about Detective John Stallings. I read the first as a freebie from Amazon and have enjoyed all 3. If you like murder mystery/police procedural/serial killer genre you will probably enjoy these. There are a few inconsistencies and the storyline is not particularly complex, but a good quick read.
March 7, 2012
Loved this book. Definitely going to read the other books in this series.
March 5, 2015
Great book. Read it all in one sitting.
Read
June 25, 2015not the usual genre for me to read, was a suspense story
August 9, 2015
Definitely a page-turner. The ending was not what I expected at all.
Read
March 25, 2017And the beat goes on!
Read
May 17, 2018Very good thriller until the end of the book. All characters are lively and exhibit different characterization.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews