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Marked for Judgment
Knox County, Ohio, a quiet community when it comes to crime, is home to a sinister, religious killer who is eliminating members of the county in the exact order of The Ten Commandments. Struck with fear, residents are praying for someone who will put an end to an executioner who is bent on fulfilling every judgment until the last detail is achieved.Detective Elijah Jennings hopes to put a stop to that. A man of struggling faith, he pushes his alcohol problems aside knowing he needs a clear conscience to stop this psychopath who has already judged seven victims. Yet the deeper Elijah digs into the most twisted case of his career, he knows stopping a cold-blooded killer like this is anything but easy. And the further Elijah walks this perilous road, the more he realizes the killer has more in store, even for him.
273 pages, Paperback
Published March 11, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 1, 2017
Detective Elijah Jennings, a man struggling with his faith, needs to have a clear conscience if he's going to bring down "Judge Carver", a religious-minded serial killer who has already killed and/ or grievously wounded seven people from Knox County, Ohio. All of his victims in some way correspond to The Ten Commandments - in Carver's mind, each has broken one of the Commandments and Carver is doing God's work of raining down judgment on the sinners. This case is by far the most twisted that Jennings has ever faced and it will push him to the very edge, but little does he know what the Judge has in store for him.
My favorite part of this novel is that it is practically set in my own backyard! I can't say I've ever had the opportunity to read fiction set so close to where I live. It was cool to actually be able to recognize locations, local businesses, and streets featured in the book. I noticed how a few place names had been changed (such as the Judge's place of employment), but if you're familiar with the area, you'll probably be able to figure out the corresponding real life location with out much of a problem. I will admit that it's creepy to read about a fictional serial killer so close to home especially after 2010 murders of Tina Hermann, Kody Maynard (and abduction Sarah Maynard), and Stephanie Sprang by Matthew Hoffman. If you'd like to read my review of the true crime account called The Girl in the Leaves by Robert Scott with Sarah Maynard and Larry Maynard, you can find it here. However, in regards to the novel, while I think that McCann is a great storyteller even though it got just a little predictable (maybe I've watched too many episodes of CSI and Criminal Minds - and I might have been waiting for a corny one liner from Jennings at a crime scene), it could have benefited from a professional editor to help clean up the text a little. There are a few places where the writing is clunky and doesn't flow naturally. Like I said, though, I think this local Ohio author is still quite a storyteller above all, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading his next release, The Dead Will Rise.
My favorite part of this novel is that it is practically set in my own backyard! I can't say I've ever had the opportunity to read fiction set so close to where I live. It was cool to actually be able to recognize locations, local businesses, and streets featured in the book. I noticed how a few place names had been changed (such as the Judge's place of employment), but if you're familiar with the area, you'll probably be able to figure out the corresponding real life location with out much of a problem. I will admit that it's creepy to read about a fictional serial killer so close to home especially after 2010 murders of Tina Hermann, Kody Maynard (and abduction Sarah Maynard), and Stephanie Sprang by Matthew Hoffman. If you'd like to read my review of the true crime account called The Girl in the Leaves by Robert Scott with Sarah Maynard and Larry Maynard, you can find it here. However, in regards to the novel, while I think that McCann is a great storyteller even though it got just a little predictable (maybe I've watched too many episodes of CSI and Criminal Minds - and I might have been waiting for a corny one liner from Jennings at a crime scene), it could have benefited from a professional editor to help clean up the text a little. There are a few places where the writing is clunky and doesn't flow naturally. Like I said, though, I think this local Ohio author is still quite a storyteller above all, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading his next release, The Dead Will Rise.
May 5, 2016
A real page-turner!
I loved the book! I happen to have a strong fascination with serial killers that I've had since I was about eleven, and this book did a great job in creating quite the monster. I am also a fan of books set in real locations with details of the areas. I have visited certain locations just because they were the setting of a book I enjoyed. Living in an adjoining county to the one featured in the story made it much more real. It makes me think I should invest in a security system! I appreciated the detail and character profiles the author wrote into the story, and I could personally relate to the gentle witness woven throughout the story line. It was that very type of witness that brought this science-minded atheist to come to have a personal relationship with Christ. Well done, Jared, on all counts. I'm looking forward to your next book!
I loved the book! I happen to have a strong fascination with serial killers that I've had since I was about eleven, and this book did a great job in creating quite the monster. I am also a fan of books set in real locations with details of the areas. I have visited certain locations just because they were the setting of a book I enjoyed. Living in an adjoining county to the one featured in the story made it much more real. It makes me think I should invest in a security system! I appreciated the detail and character profiles the author wrote into the story, and I could personally relate to the gentle witness woven throughout the story line. It was that very type of witness that brought this science-minded atheist to come to have a personal relationship with Christ. Well done, Jared, on all counts. I'm looking forward to your next book!
September 29, 2016
Needs the help of a professional editor, but McCann is an entertaining storyteller. My problem with the story is that
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews