Split

Makedde Vanderwall #2

by Tara Moss

Makedde Vanderwall is a woman with a past. She is beautiful, street-smart and single, a model paying her way through a degree in forensic psychology. But behind the wit and winning smile is a woman haunted by violent nightmares and plagued by thoughts of Detective Andy Flynn, the ex-lover who saved her from a serial killer in Sydney. Mak has returned to Vancouver, her hometown in Canada, eager to finish her studies, move on from the ordeal, and find some peace of mind. But instead she walks straight into a city gripped by fear, and a campus where the students are fair game. As winter closes in and the days grow shorter, Mak is drawn into a shifting world of unstable minds and untrustworthy men, where motives are unclear and desires are unchecked. Her past cannot be so easily forgotten, and she must face her greatest challenge yet.

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook, Adult, Contemporary

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Tara Moss is an internationally bestselling author, documentary host and human rights advocate. She is the author of 15 books, published in 19 countries and 13 languages. Her latest, The Italian Secret, follows on from the internationally bestselling historical thrillers The War Widow, and The Ghosts of Paris, both set in the postwar 1940s and featuring '‘staunchly feminist, champagne-swilling, fast-driving Nazi hunter’ investigator' PI Billie Walker.

Moss is an outspoken advocate for the rights of women and children, and people with disabilities, and has also published two best-selling non-fiction books, The Fictional Woman and Speaking Out - A 21st Century Guide for Women and Girls.

She has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2007 and as of 2013 is UNICEF Australia’s National Ambassador for Child Survival, and has visited Australian hospitals, maternity wards and schools as well as Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon in her UNICEF role. In 2015 she received an Edna Ryan Award for her significant contribution to feminist debate, speaking out for women and children and inspiring others to challenge the status quo.

Her in-depth novel research has seen her tour the FBI Academy at Quantico, spend time in squad cars, morgues, prisons, the Hare Psychopathy Lab, the Supreme Court and criminology conferences, take polygraph tests, shoot weapons, conduct surveillance, pass the Firearms Training Simulator (FATSII) with the LAPD, pull 4.2 G’s doing loops over the Sydney Opera House flying with the RAAF, and acquire her CAMS race driver licence. She has hosted the true crime documentary series Tough Nuts – Australia’s Hardest Criminals on the Crime & Investigation Network, ‘Tara Moss Investigates’ on the National Geographic Channel and the author interview show Tara in Conversation on 13th Street Universal. In 2014 she was recognised for Outstanding Advocacy for her blog Manus Island: An insider’s report, which helped to break information to the public about the events surrounding the alleged murder of Reza Barati inside the Australian-run Manus Island Immigration Detention Centre.

She has earned her private investigator credentials (Cert III) from the Australian Security Academy.

Moss is a dual Australian/Canadian citizen. Visit her at TaraRaeMoss.com

Recent Awards and Accolades:

2012 Australia’s 20 Most Influential Female Voices

2013 Australia’s Most inspiring Women ‘who push boundaries, create change and motivate’

2014 Outstanding Advocacy Award for Manus Island: An insider’s report

2014 Cosmo’s The Women Who Made 2014 Better for The Fictional Woman

2014 Influential Women of 2014, alongside Malala, Laura Bates, Angelina Jolie and more

2014 The Hoopla‘s The Female Eunuch Award for The Fictional Woman

2015 Best Designed Non-Fiction Book Award, for The Fictional Woman designed by Tara Moss and Matt Stanton

2015 Part of the University of Sydney’s Leadership for Good

2015 Edna Ryan Award - ‘Grand Stirrer Award’ for making a feminist difference by speaking out for women and children, for a significant contribution to feminist debate and inciting others to challenge the status quo

2016 Champion of the West award for community service

2017 The Order of Lambrick Park

2018 International Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life ‘recognises the achievements of individuals who have used their position in public life, for example as a campaigner, politician or journalist to make an impact in diversity.’ Listed alongside Malala Yousufzai, Angelina Jolie, Bernie Sanders, Emma Watson, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet and more.

Reviews

[Phrynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still trying to decide whether I really like this author's style. She tends to explain a bit too much which rather slows down the pace. Nevertheless when the action starts happening she keeps the pages turning and there is plenty of suspense. I don't really get the Makedde / Andy issue even though I did read the previous book where all the problems started. Someone as strong as Mak is supposed to be surely could make her mind up over a mere man. Still a good book and I will read the next one.

[TheMadHatter · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I was given book 4 of this series by a neighbor who was raving about how good this series is. Like any OC reader, I held off on book 4 and went to read the series from the beginning.

Let us start with what was good about it. It was an easy, quick read. Um....yep. That is all.

How was this book painful? Let me count the ways:

1) Makedde is the most 2D, annoying, pretentious prat of a character I have ever read. She is a model. She is studying her PhD. She is so intelligent that mere mortals can not be in her presence. I get wanting to write a lead character who is brilliant and beautiful - but it has to be written carefully so as not to turn the readers off. This was a massive fail in Moss's attempt to convince readers that Models can be smart and beautiful (something I though was true BEFORE reading this book....not so sure about after though). My friend is actually writing a book with a lead character who is a psychologist and I recommended this book to her as an example of what not to do when writing a psychologist.

2) So in book 1 Makedde flew to Australia. Within 24 hours her "best" friend had been killed by a serial killer and then before you know it the serial killer has become fixated on Mak and hunts her down. Ok. Book 2 Makedde has returned to her native Canada and guess what - there is another serial killer and he is now after Mak. Now I love Patricia Cornwell books, but Scarpetta is a forensic pathologist so it makes sense she gets involved with serial killers. Makedde is just a student who seems to attract serial killers no matter where she is. She does make a joke in the book that she is a "psycho-magnet". Ah. Well that explains this unbelievable plot line and explains why serial killers are now prolific and always near Mak.

3) Moss seems to think everyone is stupid as the first half of the book reads like a psych manual. Mak carries her DSM manual with her. Mak is reading this journal article (cause she is so smart) and inserts the reference into the book (I kid you not). Mak is talking to her Dad while reading a book - here is an except of her book (see how smart she is). Very 2D cardboard writing. When someone tries to protest their intelligence too much....well...yeah we all know how that ends.

3) Makedde does the most stupid things. Her ex wants to talk to her but she doesn't want to give him the wrong idea so she refuses to meet him (good). But then at 11pm at night she changes her mind, drives across town to contact him in his hotel room (just to talk). Ok then. He is not there, but she finds out he is at the bar. So he goes to the bar and gets roaring drunk. WTF?

This book is just silly. Makedde is hideous. As for the crime? The whole multiple personality "hunter" thing has been done to death. Why am I trying to get to book 4? I have heard her paranormal series is better. I would hope so.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was going to give this two stars for its flat, stereotypical characters, long drawn-out descriptions that had me skipping whole paragraphs at a time, and the fact that the plot would have been 99% unchanged without the main character (a passive woman who makes no decisions and doesn't even know there's a serial killer for most of the book), but then I got to the "revelation."

I literally threw down the book when it turned out the title meant exactly what I'd feared: another stereotypical representation of mental illness (with bonus childhood trauma).

[Meags · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

This was another fairly enjoyable and easy-to-read addition to the Makedde Vanderwall crime series, but it didn't grab me in quite the same way as its predecessor (Fetish).

The crime component wasn't as engaging, or rather, aspects of this particular crime story frustrated me, which wasn't the case during the first book. I felt a lot of the reactions of seemingly intelligent characters didn't ring true. At the end of the story, when "the hunter's" identity had been revealed to the reader, I felt like Makedde also had most of this information by the point of her abduction and therefore shouldn't have been so confused by the whole twin thing..

Many of the reasons I liked Makedde so much in the first story were absent here, too, which was an absolute shame. I'm not sure what changed, but I found a lot of her behaviour, here, to be annoyingly obtuse. This time around, many of her interactions with other characters showed an air of superiority, which made her once fierce and bright character come across as a condescending know-it-all. I was also left completely baffled by her feelings towards Andy - a character I like a great deal - and her "reasons" for not wanting to see and/or talk to him. I feel like the route taken by Moss, in order to throw a spanner in the works of Andy and Mak's possible romance, was completely forced and didn't ring true to the dynamics initially forged between these characters in Fetish.

Regardless of my issues, it was still an easy crime read and I'm sure I'll consider continuing on with Andy and Mak in the future.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it, a real page turner.

[Cathleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oooh, this one left a bad taste in my mouth. Lazily plotted, poorly written, and flatly narrated (by the author). Even apart from the offensive not only woman-as-victim, but woman-as-REPEAT-victim fiasco, developments are telegraphed, silly details are emphasized (and worse, sometimes repeated), and the characters are cardboard pawns.

audiobook note: I wasn't a fan of the almost bored-sounding narration from early on, and some key mispronunciations (mischievous!) only underscored my low opinion.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series. Mak didn’t annoy me as much in this book as the first book. 3.5 for me.

In this book someone is hunting young women linked to the local university. It happened to be the university Mak is attending.

And then Aussie detective Andy, Mak’s old flame, turns up.

[Sophia Beevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like the first Makedde Vanderwall book Fetish, I couldn't put it down!

[Bryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a nice light read. Good for reading on the holidays. Nice little bits of tension.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

[yas · Rating 2 out of 5]

not writing a long one for this one.

this one was slowwwww. what really took out any enjoyment for me was the constant lectures? so much of this is written in an info dumpy way (not even just lore, i’m talking actual psychology information), and while it can be interesting, when most chapters consist of the characters or the lecturer explaining psychological concepts to me, i am not going to be entertained. if i wanted to know and understand these concepts in great detail, i would have picked up a psychology textbook.

it pushed the actual mystery to the side almost and i wasn’t invested nearly as much. i didn’t really care what happened to the characters or what they were trying to solve.

still continuing on though, it helps that im listening to majority of these books rather than reading it with my eyeballs - i don’t know if i would continue reading it if i was.

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mak, a 25-years-old-past-her-heyday smart model with expected psychological hangups goes to Australia, only to find her best friend (really? A 19 year old best friend?) and fellow model dead, conveniently at the exact location as her latest photo shoot. She is the daughter of a Detective Inspector, and fledgling psychology student, so rather than leaving it to the local detectives, she goes off to investigate the case of the serial killer killing tall, beautiful model-like women wearing stilettoes. Nope, not terribly intelligent.

The premise is good enough, but the book just didn't draw me in. Mak tries too hard, and the author seems like she's throwing a psychology textbook at us in characterizing both the main character and the killer. It wasn't terrible, but I've no desire to continue the series.

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makedde Vanderwall seems to get herself in the line of fire from serial killers, first she became a victim a Stiletto Murderer while visiting Australia and in this book too she becomes the target for another serial killer – could that really happen in someone’s life?

I don’t understand her feelings for Andy, she is attracted to him but keeps fighting it because he helped her from being killed while she was in Australia and she has a hang up over that.

For me there was too much in depth discription of Foresenic Science and Psycology - I don't think the story needed all that was said, for me it would have been better without it.

Though the story itself was not bad.

[Tamara Witika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to audiobook version. As much as I like Tara Moss and her Canadian accent with Aussie edge, she doesnt do different sounding voices for different characters or the narration (unlike the excellent Stephanie Daniel who reads the Phryne Fisher books) and so I would be driving along listening and trying to figure out who was speaking. Distracting af. Moss also overexplains a bit, which feels like a dumbing down. Also we get it that Makedde is beautiful and smart and has a funny name, you dont have keep reminding us all the way through the book.

[Lisa Cross · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book at bookfest because the back read "A SPINE CHILLING NEW NOVEL FROM THE MOST GLAMOROUS6 WOMAN IN CRIME WRITING"

I realise that this is one of Tara Moss early novels but it was well below the standard I expect from a book so highly praised.

I rarely complain about any book but I found this actually worse than a bad romance novel...it was rather predictable and boring.

While I was wrong in guessing the actual murderer, that it was his twin brother seemed trite.

Unfortunately this book deters me from reading later novels by Miss Moss

[Up All Night Book Addict · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am slowly making my way through this series. It's a long (and expensive) one. I am trying to read one a month. Hopefully, I will have the entire series read by the end of 2019. 

Picking up book two, I wasn't sure what to expect. In the first book, we got to know Makedde, the model. In this one, we get to know Mekedde, the forensic psychology student. They definitely are one person with two very different sides to them. I think I enjoyed the student side much more as far as the character goes.

After reading this suspenseful mystery, I went and read some of the past reviews. Can I just say that I don't understand people. This book was criticized for character development, basically. To all those naysayers that didn't want to know this side of Mekedde, here is a big eyeroll aimed at you. Was some of the technical stuff a little boring? Probably if you aren't into the subject, but it still shows a side of the main character we haven't seen. It shows her smart side, and I really like this side.

I will say, the crime part of this book was more lacking. This book was more of a get to know the main character a little better and how she fit into another psychopath's path, but yet not really. I would have loved to see more of the crime side in this story. I think I would have enjoyed it more.

We get some more angst with Andy in the picture in this book. I liked the push and pull and the definite side possible love story slowly (painstakingly slow) building. I am hoping in one of the future books these two can finally get it together correctly.

Overall, this was a pretty good book. I am looking forward to reading the next book sometime soon. I will admit, the ending didn't exactly shock me. I picked up on some clues that told me how it would more than likely end. But that was okay. I still enjoyed getting to that point in the book.

[Mathew Walls · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is just the first book again but worse. I picked them both up at the same time from an op shop, and already having it with me is the only reason I bothered with this one. Turns out I shouldn't have. Rather than being an improvement over the first, this one is just the same again but more so. But it's also way too long, with a whole lot of stuff that could be cut without making any difference to anything - like the chapter where we get the perspective of a guy deciding to go visit his mother (who we know has been shot and tried to get to the phone to call an ambulance) and getting there just in time to find out that the ambulance is already on its way and his timely arrival is completely irrelevant.

The most annoying thing, though, was how much of the story relies on complete coincidences. I knew this was going to be an issue when the first book had Makedde describe herself as a "psycho magnet", letting you know in advance that she's just going to keep stumbling into the path of serial killers for no reason, but that's just the start.

Oh, and Andy, the terrible love interest from book one and whom I hoped we'd seen the last of, is apparently a fixture.

[Rhondda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story in 'Split' picks up a year after the events of the first novel with Makedde, now in back home in Canada, studying her PHD in forensic psychology. Her specific interest is in sociopaths and serial killers. After her traumatic experiences in Sydney, she is trying very hard to live a normal life and ignoring the signs of PTSD from her inability to sleep and her obsession with serial killers.
For whatever reason, Makedde seems to attract psychopaths. In this she once again finds herself in the clutches of another psychopath. In the first part of the story moved at a slower pace. This may have been due to the many explanations about psychological terms that crop up for Makeede the student but the second half picked up the pace, with the stakes becoming higher and the pieces falling together by the end.
Overall, this was reasonably enjoyable and easy-to-read addition to this crime series.

[Heather Browning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a much better book than the last one. I wasn't particularly interested in the serial-killer plot (which, as predicted, the title contained a spoiler for, though not exactly in the way I expected so I guess that's something). What was really strong here was the exploration of Makedde's PTSD after the events of the last book. I'd felt a bit like she'd been quite quick and flippant with her grief last time, but here we see the lasting impacts of what she's gone through, which made her a much more interesting and relatable character. Still can't stand Andy Flynn though, and I'm keeping up hope he ends up being a bad guy - would be much more interesting than slightly douchey love interest.

[Emmylou · Rating 1 out of 5]

Things I learned from this book:
1) being tall is a virtue
2) the ratio of men to women in Canada is about 30:1
3) women exist in order to be brutally murdered (which may go someway to explaining point 2)
It's like the plot existed solely in order to showcase clunky and technical descriptions of police/psychologist procedures. And also, honestly, no one abbreviates terms in parentheses when they're thinking (ffs)! The main character was autobiographical (of the author) at best, and poorly realised at worst.
The best thing about this book was that it counts towards my reading challenge tally...

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makedde is a part time model to pay the bills while she studies psychology and psychopathy at university in Vancouver. She has a personal interest in this topic as the victim of a violent crime, which is still causing her insomnia and anxiety. Trouble of that nature continues to follow her into this book, although she is a little more prepared this time and has friends from the first book to help out. The story is well written and moves along at a good speed, without feeling too cliched. It does give away most of the twists ahead of time though and doesn't do anything especially new with the genre. Still a quick and entertaining read.

[Sharryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Split
By Tara Moss
Genre: Thriller
My first read of 2025 did not disappoint.
Written by top model and speaker/presenter Tara Moss who toured the FBI academy, the LAPD and attended numerous psychopathy and criminology conferences to research her crime writing for her bestselling books.
Split is Tara’s second novel.
The story is based in Vancouver, Canada the hometown of Makedde Vanderwall.
Mak has returned to Vancouver eager to finish her studies and earn her degree in forensic psychology.
If only her nightmares would stop.
Makedde is also a working model and recently returned from Sydney, Australia where she found herself jn the ruthless arms of a serial killer.
Saved by Detective Andy Flynn, Mak is haunted by recurrent violent nightmares of her ordeal.
To make it worse Makedde is also plagued by thoughts of Andy who she had crossed the line with from saviour to lover.
Safely back in Vancouver Makedde hopes to find some peace of mind but she returns to a city gripped by fear and a campus where students are oddly disappearing.
Mak finds herself drawn into a shifting world of unstable minds and untrustworthy men.
Her past cannot be so easily forgotten and here in her hometown she must face her greatest challenge yet.
Split is an exceptional thriller full of intrigue and suspense.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
Rated: 5/5

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no expectations when I read this book and I think that was an advantage as I enjoyed the story. The characters were believable, probably because they all had flaws, and I raced to the end to see what happened. Some parts were a little hard to believe but I gave the benefit of the doubt to the author. I am now encouraged to read the next novel in the series to see how it compares.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was slow, but OK. I had a problem with the implausibility in places. A detective is in love with a beautiful woman who has been damaged by a previous serial killer. She doesn't drink. A new serial killer is on the loose. The woman has an enormous amount to drink, gets legless, goes to the detective's room to crash, wakes up at 3, and walks home alone.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a little longer than I was expecting to getinto this book. The "drama" didn't really start until about half way through, but the last 100 pages I didn't want to put it down. I like the main characters and am keen to continue reading through the series. Looking forward to the next one.

[Fiona Tarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a bit of fan of Tara's writing. Maybe it's because she's a fellow Aussie author, but the mix of mystery/crime and romantic suspense made the book a great read. I'll be picking up a few more of her books for sure.

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable story in this series. In this one, Makedde is at her Vancouver university where she is working on a PHD, and Andy is visiting the city for a conference. Not surprisingly, there is a new serial killer in the wings and yet again, she gets herself embroiled in the situation.

[Ian O'Donnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story redeems itself at the finish but unfortunately we don't need to be reminded every second paragraph that she doesn't want this man back in her life (ha ha) almost stopped reading at one stage , but the end was good.

[Jean · Rating 1 out of 5]

A clinical study of the serial killer using the protagonist (Makedde Vanderwall) as the victim of not one, but two serial killers, first in Sydney, second in Vancouver.

[Richard Warlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome, almost as good as the first book