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Death Masks Author's New Updated Edition
Computer geek Bill Cristo finds himself on the trail of a serial murderer when he takes up jogging at the local metro park. First serendipity and then curiosity prod him to begin an unofficial investigation. Who is murdering young men in this park? Is it the loony old guy who hangs out at the old cemetery or the creepy park ranger? Bill's investigative skills bring him to the attention of this killer, and the people near him become targets, including his live-in girlfriend, Dixie. To confront this killer before it gets to her, Bill faces his own meekness and fear- but not before becoming a suspect himself.
146 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Kim Richards
20 books151 followersKim Richards lives in Northern California with her husband and pets. She loves the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Her hobbies include reading, writing, sewing, weaving, bellydancing, gardening, and listening to music.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 2, 2008
Normally, I don't read e-books; I don't find electronic reading of extended texts pleasurable. But since the author graciously sent me this one by e-mail, I printed it off and used a 3-hole punch to put it into a notebook; so the reading experience was much like a conventional book.
As a rule, "thrillers," where, in contrast to the traditional mystery, the focus is on mortal danger to the protagonist, and serial killer "thrillers" in particular, aren't my cup of tea, either. However, I do appreciate the literary exploration of good and evil, in which the essential nature of all evil is revealed, sometimes by the bald exposure of very extreme forms of it; and in the hands of a writer who does not, in Dame Edith Pargeter's words, "take pleasure in evil" --which clearly Richards doesn't-- serial killer fiction certainly can do that. It does so here, and I have to admit that the story here is quite gripping and suspenseful. (At novella length, it's also a quick read.) The image of the titular death masks, a centuries-old form of funerary art that Bill's girlfriend Dixie practices, is used very effectively. Most readers will guess the killer's identity long before the climactic revelation of it (I did), but that isn't necessarily a flaw; matching wits with the author to solve the mystery before it's revealed, in this genre as well as with more traditional mysteries, is part of the pleasure of the read, and knowing something that Bill doesn't adds to the suspense. Bill himself is an average guy with an everyday job and a fairly typical life, foible-ridden but with basically good instincts; his Everyman quality makes him a protagonist that most male readers will easily identify with.
My impression is that sex, violence and bad language are often major problematic elements in this type of fiction. Here, there are a certain amount of swear words and vulgar language (including three uses of the f-word), but it didn't become intrusive enough to be a prohibitive irritant, IMO. Also, Richards doesn't go in much (at least here) for gory or directly described violence; the killer's victims are usually dispatched by being buried alive while sedated with an injected drug. Bill and Dixie cohabitate, but references to their lovemaking aren't graphic enough to make the reader feel like a voyeur, and the fact that Bill loves her and wants to marry her induces a different reader reaction than if he were dallying with her as a sex toy. (It's also worthwhile to recognize that not every behavior an author depicts, even on the part of sympathetic characters, is being advocated; depicting human behavior, in various forms that it sometimes realistically takes in an imperfect world, is a very different thing from actual advocacy, and readers need to recognize that fact.)
The major justifiable criticism of this work are the various instances of slipshod grammar and punctuation: omitted commas, (rarely) fragmentary or run-on sentences, misused words ("belied" is used several times in the opposite sense of what it actually means), incorrect use of the pronoun "them," etc. Some of this may be due to the publisher's lack of concern for proofreading, but the author also has some responsibility --which is more clear in cases where a couple of minor characters' last names get changed from one page to the next, and various instances of tangled details, as when Bill puts his money on the counter in one paragraph and gets it out of his pocket in the next. This kind of thing isn't frequent enough to ruin the book, but it's frequent enough to irritate. However, if Richards can develop the patience and attention to such details that mark the disciplined literary craftsperson, she could be a writer to watch in this genre!
As a rule, "thrillers," where, in contrast to the traditional mystery, the focus is on mortal danger to the protagonist, and serial killer "thrillers" in particular, aren't my cup of tea, either. However, I do appreciate the literary exploration of good and evil, in which the essential nature of all evil is revealed, sometimes by the bald exposure of very extreme forms of it; and in the hands of a writer who does not, in Dame Edith Pargeter's words, "take pleasure in evil" --which clearly Richards doesn't-- serial killer fiction certainly can do that. It does so here, and I have to admit that the story here is quite gripping and suspenseful. (At novella length, it's also a quick read.) The image of the titular death masks, a centuries-old form of funerary art that Bill's girlfriend Dixie practices, is used very effectively. Most readers will guess the killer's identity long before the climactic revelation of it (I did), but that isn't necessarily a flaw; matching wits with the author to solve the mystery before it's revealed, in this genre as well as with more traditional mysteries, is part of the pleasure of the read, and knowing something that Bill doesn't adds to the suspense. Bill himself is an average guy with an everyday job and a fairly typical life, foible-ridden but with basically good instincts; his Everyman quality makes him a protagonist that most male readers will easily identify with.
My impression is that sex, violence and bad language are often major problematic elements in this type of fiction. Here, there are a certain amount of swear words and vulgar language (including three uses of the f-word), but it didn't become intrusive enough to be a prohibitive irritant, IMO. Also, Richards doesn't go in much (at least here) for gory or directly described violence; the killer's victims are usually dispatched by being buried alive while sedated with an injected drug. Bill and Dixie cohabitate, but references to their lovemaking aren't graphic enough to make the reader feel like a voyeur, and the fact that Bill loves her and wants to marry her induces a different reader reaction than if he were dallying with her as a sex toy. (It's also worthwhile to recognize that not every behavior an author depicts, even on the part of sympathetic characters, is being advocated; depicting human behavior, in various forms that it sometimes realistically takes in an imperfect world, is a very different thing from actual advocacy, and readers need to recognize that fact.)
The major justifiable criticism of this work are the various instances of slipshod grammar and punctuation: omitted commas, (rarely) fragmentary or run-on sentences, misused words ("belied" is used several times in the opposite sense of what it actually means), incorrect use of the pronoun "them," etc. Some of this may be due to the publisher's lack of concern for proofreading, but the author also has some responsibility --which is more clear in cases where a couple of minor characters' last names get changed from one page to the next, and various instances of tangled details, as when Bill puts his money on the counter in one paragraph and gets it out of his pocket in the next. This kind of thing isn't frequent enough to ruin the book, but it's frequent enough to irritate. However, if Richards can develop the patience and attention to such details that mark the disciplined literary craftsperson, she could be a writer to watch in this genre!
July 4, 2020
There’s a killer on the loose. One with power and stealth. Bill is unfortunate enough to come across it one day. Somehow, he survives, but he doesn’t forget the encounter. Fueled to catch the murderer, his quest becomes a race against the clock. The killer has moved its sights from Bill to those dearest to him.
Bill was a standard type of character. He had a normal job and average life. He’s the kind of character that readers can relate to. While he made some questionable decisions, they were the kind that anyone in his type of situation might think would work. I loved the way the author eased us into his mind.
It was easy to guess the killer about midway through the book, but that didn’t detract from the suspense. There was something almost titillating about knowing who the killer was before the main character.
I’ll admit this book was a little hard for me to get into at the start, but I stuck through it, and I’m glad I did. The twist at the end was amazing.
Narration was okay. A little overdramatic in spots, but still easy to listen to.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
Bill was a standard type of character. He had a normal job and average life. He’s the kind of character that readers can relate to. While he made some questionable decisions, they were the kind that anyone in his type of situation might think would work. I loved the way the author eased us into his mind.
It was easy to guess the killer about midway through the book, but that didn’t detract from the suspense. There was something almost titillating about knowing who the killer was before the main character.
I’ll admit this book was a little hard for me to get into at the start, but I stuck through it, and I’m glad I did. The twist at the end was amazing.
Narration was okay. A little overdramatic in spots, but still easy to listen to.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews