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The Samaritan
(Carter Blake #2)
by
When the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in the Santa Monica Mountains, LAPD Detective Jessica Allen knows she's seen this before—two and a half years ago on the other side of the country.
A sadistic serial killer has been operating undetected for a decade, preying on lone female drivers whose cars have broken down. The press dub the killer 'the Samaritan,' bu ...more
A sadistic serial killer has been operating undetected for a decade, preying on lone female drivers whose cars have broken down. The press dub the killer 'the Samaritan,' bu ...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
May 21st 2015
by Orion
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* A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK SPRING 2016 *
Yes I have fallen behind on my reading of this author, after loving the first book "The Killing Season"
Now I am catching up with number 2 reading number 3 , 4 and 5 are on the kindle!
When the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered, LAPD Detective Jessica Allen knows she's seen this MO before.
A sadistic serial killer has been operating undetected for a decade, preying on lone female drivers who have broken down. The press dub the killer 'the ...more
Yes I have fallen behind on my reading of this author, after loving the first book "The Killing Season"
Now I am catching up with number 2 reading number 3 , 4 and 5 are on the kindle!
When the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered, LAPD Detective Jessica Allen knows she's seen this MO before.
A sadistic serial killer has been operating undetected for a decade, preying on lone female drivers who have broken down. The press dub the killer 'the ...more

Having really enjoyed, “The Killing Season,” which was the first thriller featuring Carter Blake, I was very happy to receive a copy of the sequel. Blake, as we know, is a specialist in finding people who do not want to be found and the beginning of this novel finds him locating the daughter of a wealthy man and returning her home. His job done, he wonders whether to return to the place he calls home, when his attention is drawn to a news story on the television in his hotel room. A woman has be
...more

So before I start talking about The Samaritan have you read The Killing Season? If not, well that is the first Carter Blake thriller so you could catch up before The Samaritan is released later this year – I don’t think you will be disappointed and unlike me you won’t then have to wait long for more…
The Killing Season introduced us to Carter Blake (not his real name) who basically finds people for a living. Very basically. Which is what he is doing when we catch up with him again at the beginnin ...more
The Killing Season introduced us to Carter Blake (not his real name) who basically finds people for a living. Very basically. Which is what he is doing when we catch up with him again at the beginnin ...more

The Samaritan by Mason Cross has been published to great acclaim and has a recommendation from the Richard and Judy Book Club, here in the UK, so it must be good!
I loved it: It's everything a good thriller should be, snappy characters, great setting and a cracking storyline that moves along at such an accelerated pace it's almost impossible to catch your breath. Carter Blake is at the centre of this serial killer novel, he is a kind of a Jack Reacher character but without that bullish aggressive ...more
I loved it: It's everything a good thriller should be, snappy characters, great setting and a cracking storyline that moves along at such an accelerated pace it's almost impossible to catch your breath. Carter Blake is at the centre of this serial killer novel, he is a kind of a Jack Reacher character but without that bullish aggressive ...more

There’s a serial killer operating in Los Angeles, here in Mason Cross’ latest Carter Blake thriller. Trouble is, nobody realises it until the mutilated body of a young woman is found in the Santa Monica mountains after torrential rain produces a mud slide and reveals her body. When officers begin to investigate the dump site they find more bodies. Each victim was mutilated before the coup de grace: having their throats cut using an unusual knife which leaves behind a distinctive wound.
LAPD detec ...more
LAPD detec ...more

My original The Samaritan audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
The Samaritan is the second book written by Scottish author Mason Cross featuring Carter Blake. Carter is a man with a mysterious past who now makes his living by finding people. When he hears news of the search for a killer in LA, he believes the person being sought is someone from his past, so Carter interjects himself in the manhunt. Detective Jessica Allen and her partner are initially wary of Carte ...more
The Samaritan is the second book written by Scottish author Mason Cross featuring Carter Blake. Carter is a man with a mysterious past who now makes his living by finding people. When he hears news of the search for a killer in LA, he believes the person being sought is someone from his past, so Carter interjects himself in the manhunt. Detective Jessica Allen and her partner are initially wary of Carte ...more

The Killing Season - the debut novel from Mason Cross - was a great success and certainly one of the more enjoyable books that I have read this year. I was incredibly relieved to have a review copy of The Samaritan to read rather than having to wait after the thrilling conclusion delivered by Mason in The Killing Season. Mason proves in The Samaritan that the comparisons to the various bestselling authors are not just marketing tools, he has created a character in Carter Blake that can easily st
...more

Before you pick up this book - I'd suggest reading the first in this series The Killing Season- that was, for me anyway a 5 star read- This book is more of a 3.5 - but I did add another .5 being that the Carter Blake character is amazing. This still was a good, fast, thrilling read-and I'm so looking forward to picking up book #3 in the future.
If you enjoy the Jack Reacher type books- you will like this as well. ...more
If you enjoy the Jack Reacher type books- you will like this as well. ...more

3.5 stars. Well, I didn't enjoy as much as the first book... and not so much the story itself but the way it was told. First of all, the story was great and I did enjoy the murder/mystery aspect of it. I didn't really understand why Blake didn't team up with the FBI (like the first book).... and instead chose to team up with the local cops. Especially since they didn't trust him a whole lot. It definatly had some awesome twists and turns... and a few of those thrilling moments of, "Don't go in t
...more

Wow, and to think I almost didn't read this. I borrowed it from my local library not realising it was no.2 in a series and, look away now if easily upset, I hadn't read book no.1. The fact that it was all shiny and new and hadn't been on loan before meant that I gave in and decided I would take a chance. This is just exactly my favourite kind of book, fast paced and action packed. 5 stars all the way.
...more

When I started this book I thought it was going to be one of the best books i've read sofar (wich isn't realy allot though), it started of strong, but even before the midpoint it took a downward turn, the main character became unbelievable, making choices I myself would never make and certainly a so-called professional wouldn't make.
Some times I found myself tempted to skip pieces to get back to the more interresting storylines, the author at some points over explains whats going on, or what the ...more
Some times I found myself tempted to skip pieces to get back to the more interresting storylines, the author at some points over explains whats going on, or what the ...more

Aug 11, 2015
Kate
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
out-in-2015-and-read,
favourites-read-in-2015
Entertaining and tense thriller but, for me, it suffers by comparison with its excellent predecessor The Killing Season.

Strong followup to "The Killing Season" has Carter Blake on the hunt for a serial killer in Los Angeles who is familiar to Blake from his black Ops past.
...more

This was a great read. It had a great killer at its center—smart, skilled, and willing to improvise. It provided a good challenge for Carter, Allen, and company. I really had no clue as to the motivation of the killer and why, after rampaging across the country, he would come home to roost in L.A. The twist at the end to explain was expertly done and caused me to gasp audibly, which doesn’t happen often.
My only quibble is it takes far too long for Blake and Allen to join forces, as it were. 150 ...more
My only quibble is it takes far too long for Blake and Allen to join forces, as it were. 150 ...more

I. Love. This. Series. This second book was packed with all of the heart-stopping action, break-neck pace, and twisting-turning plotlines of the first one. The hero of this series, Blake, is a former black ops agent who specializes in finding people who don’t want to be found. In The Samaritan, he gets involved in an intriguing plot to capture a serial killer and as we go through the chapters the story just gets better. Mason Cross has tapped into our timeless dread of roadside assassins ... I s
...more

Would have given it 4 and a half stars if this shitty app would let me. Thoroughly good read, some nice twists, would recommend. If you're reading this (probably nobody) go out buy the book and read it...Yeah!
...more

I will hold my hand up and admit that a 2 star review is pretty stingy for this novel. I will also admit I have no idea why it left me so cold and caused me to give up two thirds of the way through. It is well written with interesting characters I warmed to straightaway particularly the three main protagonists. I found Blake in particular intriguing.
Unfortunately I just found it too much of a slog to complete. I am not overly a fan of thrillers where we know ‘whodunnit’ from the start, I much p ...more
Unfortunately I just found it too much of a slog to complete. I am not overly a fan of thrillers where we know ‘whodunnit’ from the start, I much p ...more

A woman is found dead in the Santa Monica mountains and the MO looks suspiciously like a murder which took place on the other side of the country more than two years ago…
Starting off in Yungay Province in Peru, where the past starts to come to light, the novel switches from here eight years ago, to present day LA and to a woman who driving in the rain, crosses the infamous Mulholland Drive in downtown LA. Breaking down, someone offers help…
“People who do not live in LA life to complain that it a ...more
Starting off in Yungay Province in Peru, where the past starts to come to light, the novel switches from here eight years ago, to present day LA and to a woman who driving in the rain, crosses the infamous Mulholland Drive in downtown LA. Breaking down, someone offers help…
“People who do not live in LA life to complain that it a ...more

As I like thrillers books, I decided to buy The Samaritan by Mason Cross when I saw it on the last Richard and Judy book club list, on the WHSMITH website. In the beginning, I have found Cross’s style very interesting . It reminded me of old crime books. The plot seemed original and I rather enjoyed my purchase. But my happiness was short lived. Mason Cross, like many others in this kind of literature, seems to believe that the more depictions of violence they’ll give, the greater will be their
...more

Jul 31, 2016
Barbara Elsborg
added it
I found this a bit hard going to start with. I don't appear to be fond of the style of having the 'hero' in first person and then the rest third person. If the hero had played a greater role, maybe I'd have liked it better but at times he seemed almost superfluous to the plot. I thought about giving up but I didn't and I'm glad I didn't because there is one action scene in particular that had me reading frantically and turning pages to see what happened. I don't really care about how realistic i
...more

After reading The Killing Season and really enjoying it, I couldn't wait to read this book and I'm pleased to say it didn't disappoint. Like the first Blake book, we already know the killer and the story focuses on Blake and the LAPD trying to find him. Lots of plot twists that keep you going.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review ...more
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review ...more

I really can't get into this book. I'm not sure if it's my mood or the plot is slow to get going.
...more

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

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

Former Black Ops member, Carter Blake is now a freelance people finder. Having just finished a job in Florida his attention is grabbed by the report of the slayings of three women in LA. The description of the slash across the victims' throats is familiar. If his gut is right, the LAPD will need help tracking down this killer. He is a former Black Ops member, too and he is good at his job. Forgoing his well earned R&R Blake hops a plane and offers his services to Jessica Allen, the lead detectiv
...more

Jun 26, 2018
Plum-crazy
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-2018,
reacher-and-wannabees
Second book in the Carter Blake series & another good read though it failed to enthral me like the "The Killing Season" had. To be fair, with the hot weather we're having at the moment (us Yorkshire folk aren't used to heat!) my concentration hasn't been what it should be & it resulted in me putting the book down more often than I normally would.
Despite my distracted air I still thought it an entertaining read. The story is fast paced & with snappy dialogue, there's no messing about with unnec ...more
Despite my distracted air I still thought it an entertaining read. The story is fast paced & with snappy dialogue, there's no messing about with unnec ...more

Writing a book on a serial killer is not a piece of cake and that to with so many serial killers novels in the market. Writers had to be more creative everytime to fill something in their imagination to write it off. The thought of writing a serial killer novel on a special agent but what lacked in this plot is the essence of serial killer. Serial killer somewhat grabs the attention in the novel more than the protagonist and I as a reader gets attached to him through emotions which was lacking a
...more

A very good thriller with strong characters and multiple layers.
Carter Blake (probably not his real name) is a freelance finder of people. When a serial killer preys on young women in LA he recognises the style of killings. Convinced that a former associate in the top secret government black ops unit he used to be a part of is responsible, Blake travels to assist the investigation.
Local detective Jessica Allen, recently come to LA from Washington DC, is primary on the case. She too recognises t ...more
Carter Blake (probably not his real name) is a freelance finder of people. When a serial killer preys on young women in LA he recognises the style of killings. Convinced that a former associate in the top secret government black ops unit he used to be a part of is responsible, Blake travels to assist the investigation.
Local detective Jessica Allen, recently come to LA from Washington DC, is primary on the case. She too recognises t ...more
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Mason Cross was born in Glasgow in 1979. He studied English at the University of Stirling and has worked variously as a tax officer, events coordinator, project manager and pizza delivery boy. He has written a number of short stories which have been published in Ellery Queen, Scribble and First E ...more
Mason Cross was born in Glasgow in 1979. He studied English at the University of Stirling and has worked variously as a tax officer, events coordinator, project manager and pizza delivery boy. He has written a number of short stories which have been published in Ellery Queen, Scribble and First E ...more
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