Darwin's Tulip

by Logan Amherst

Obsession, love, and revenge produce a riveting crime puzzle that comes together like a piece of art.

Jack Master, a successful New York FBI agent, gets assigned to the case of a lifetime: a serial killer who calls himself the Red Apple. The opportunity morphs into a curse as Jack’s leads dry up and his relationship with his fiancée deteriorates. After the Red Apple murders her, Jack’s colleagues betray him, and his boss fires him.

Five years later, a man contacts Jack and claims to know who the Red Apple is. When the man is killed before he can make his case, Jack decides to find the Red Apple without federal resources. He teams up with the dead man’s mercurial sister, Emily, and hunts his nemesis throughout New York State.

Darwin’s Tulip explores institutional failure, grief, and the reality that nobody is ever safe.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller

208 pages, Paperback

First published December 3, 2018

About the author

Hey Everyone,

My crime thriller Darwin’s Tulip is out. There are thousands of thrillers out there, so it is natural to ignore most. I believe, however, that Darwin’s Tulip is worth your time.

To be concise, I will give two reasons:

1) Crime fiction is common. Less common is something that really lets you appreciate what is lost forever in every murder: an unimaginably complex biological artwork, perfected over billions of years. We as a society should protect these artworks more.

2) I believe my unusual life experiences on three continents provided me with more substance to draw upon than most authors.

Thank you for your time. If you choose to read Darwin’s Tulip, I hope you enjoy it!

Reviews

[Liz]

This is an extremely fast paced and violent story that confused me at times. There were so many complexities that either I didn't understand or that didn't seem possible that I often found myself rereading parts of the story. I really liked the basic plot but had some trouble putting all the pieces together. I did find it an interesting book but never really warmed up to Jack (the main character). He seemed inconsistently defined to me ... sometimes emotional over the loss of his fiancee and other times overly analytical. I do think his character could benefit with some additional work.
But if you're looking for a story with intense action combined a large dash of sadism, this might be the book for you and I do wonder what the sequel might entail.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.

[Shayne Wright]

Goodreads Giveaway. As a reader, I am always upfor a serial killer story. This one had a great premise with a serial killer using varied methoods. But wait could there be two killers teaming up? The protagonists are strongly motivated having lost people close to them. The plot moves with a hectic pace....with bodies littering the investigation. I found the writing at times awkward and uneven but the story held my interest. I was intrigued when the meaning of the title was revealed.

[River]

Can’t put it down!

I read this one in several hours. I just couldn’t put it down! Jack and his search for the serial killer kept me on the edge of my seat. The presentation of the ending was unique. I was a bit surprised by the quick resolution, but I still felt that it fit the story.

[Chelsea]

I loved the way this book was written. Logan really gives you all the details you want and need, with some twists and turns along the way. A fun thriller to read!

[Caitlin]

This one started off about slow for me and I struggled to really get into it until about halfway through the book. Despite the slow start, it's still a fairly face paced story, to the point where some parts feel a bit rushed. I also struggled with the writing style a bit at first, but that seemed to improve a bit the further into the book I got. The main character seemed a bit dull to me throughout the majority of the story, and I didn't really find him all that likeable or relatable. The constant use of "short and fat" to describe just about every single side character the main characters came into contact with also got old pretty quick. It was fine the first couple times, but then just started getting irritated because it was so overused. Despite the book's shortcomings, it was still an interesting read and I have to give the plot credit for keeping me up late into the night until I finished the book just to find out how it would all end, even if I did manage to have much of it figured out long before the end.

[Shannon]

I won this book through Goodreads giveaways in exchange for a review. The book was fast paced and I liked the core plot of the story. I typically enjoy serial killer thrillers and enjoy stories where a member of law enforcement is trying to solve the case that is for them the case that is unresolved in their life. For me, it was a bit hard to follow in places. In some parts, it was difficult to understand how the characters came up with the information/clues they uncovered and other parts it just was not disclosed how they linked pieces together. Maybe because of this I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters. I would have liked it more if the flow had been smoother but having to reread many sections broke it up too much for me.

[Sil]

I won a digital copy of this book through goodreads giveaways. Thank you.
I round up to 4 stars but would give it 3.5 . I read through the story quite quickly, it is very fast paced and not predictable; but I personally would have liked it to have a bit more in between the constant chase for the killer. The story is just that, so, to me it feels a little flat.

[Sharon]

Fast paced and complex story that provides readers a rather gruesome serial killer saga with multiple suspects as solving the case is pursued. For me, a few too many characters to keep straight as the story proceeds. 3.5 star read.

My thanks to goodreads and the book's giveaway sponsors for the opportunity to obtain and read a copy of this book.

[Lori]

Darwin's Tulip is a debut mystery thriller set partially in Rochester and Buffalo, New York. The title refers to a view of murder as fundamentally the senseless destruction of a biological construct perfected over billions of years of evolution. This concept actually isn't brought up until towards the end; I think the author should have developed it as a theme earlier in the book so the title made more sense and to give the story some more depth. The narrative was a very fast-paced one, which worked for its genre, but could have used something weighty to keep it grounded as the characters ran from place to place and the attacks and murders continued nonstop. Additionally, there were some flashbacks involving Emily that I think were intended to flesh out her character, but ultimately had nothing to do with the rest of the story and were inserted in a very jarring, distracting manner.

I also found the the villain way too omnipotent - he almost always knew were the protagonists were and where they were going next and had the uncanny ability to kidnap people and sneak entire dead bodies into apartment buildings without anyone noticing. The conclusion revealed him to be a minor character who was absent for most of the book and not built up enough to have an impact on the reader.

All that being said, however, Darwin's Tulip had a very strong opening and the high stakes and action really kept things moving. There is definitely potential here.

Content warning for sexual violence and torture.