The Dead Place

by Rebecca Drake

A twisted serial killer is preying on college students in the small university town of Wickfield. The first victim is found floating in a creek - naked, beautiful and brutally garroted. Lily Slocum was a college student with everything to live for and nothing to fear. How many more victims will there be?

Genres: Mystery, Suspense, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

359 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Rebecca Drake is an American author of psychological suspense. Her latest book, JUST BETWEEN US, was featured by O, The Oprah Magazine as a “compulsively readable thriller,” while Publisher’s Weekly and the Associated Press lauded it as “tense, bombshell laden and action-packed” and “twisty and compelling.” 

Her previous novel ONLY EVER YOU, was chosen by Barnes & Noble as a top thriller and Library Journal’s starred review called it a “gripping domestic thriller.” She is also the author of DON’T BE AFRAID, THE NEXT KILLING and THE DEAD PLACE,as well as short fiction featured in the anthologies, PITTSBURGH NOIR, SWAMP KILLERS, and A THOUSAND DOORS.

A native New Yorker and Penn State grad, Rebecca has lived in eight cities, including Doha, Qatar, and was an instructor in Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program. She currently resides in Pittsburgh with her husband, two children, a large cat and a little dog.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely captivating suspense story set in a small college town where young girls are going missing. Fast-paced with some pretty creepy characters and an atmospheric setting. Kept me interested throughout.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by Rebecca Drake. Why have I never heard of her? Book was excellent. I cannot imagine what I would do if I was the main character. Fast pace book. Hard to put down. Definitely will be reading more from this author. 5 stars.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this book at a garage sale. Read the back and thought it would be a good read. I was wrong. I didn't mind the beginning, but it just got boring and couldn't keep my interest. I actually skipped to the middle of the book and read the rest from there. I don't understand how Kate went from being so insecure and afraid of everything to finding her daughter. The transformation wasn't clear.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Spoiler Alert**

One word thoughts to this book: Ugh. Disappointing. Let-down (okay, that was two words, LOL!)

The beginning, you're learning about the characters and thinking... okay, establishing story, I'll keep going.

The middle, dddddrrrrrraaaaaagggggggged. OMG! I fougth with myself to pick it up! All I kept thinking was - will something happen already? Good grief! Dull, and I was getting (excuse the expression but) pissed off at the characters, from the jerk of a husband to the brat of a daughter (teenager or not - if mine turns out like Grace, I'm going to set my little chicky straight, right, quick and in a hurry!) to the idiot of a main character. Breaking into a neighbor's for proof that he had a girl in there? Um, let's say it together, Ladies: STUPID! *eyeroll* I wasn't convinced about this story line or the characters at all - in fact, disappointed would be one word to describe the entire book, but in no way explains it all. That's just saying it nicely.

The ending: well, the author halfway redeemed herself. On the cover, author Kevin O'Brien is quoted as saying "Deliciously creepy... this one grabs you and doesn't let go!" Um, Mr. O'Brien, did you even read it? Did we read the same book? I had no problem putting this one down; my problem was picking it back up. Anyway, the ending is halfway decent. Kate figures out who the kidnapper/killer is and because everyone thinks she's crazy and doesn't believe her, she does what she has to do. I'm thinking: Finally! The action, the desperation, in the final chapters was pretty good, and if the rest of the book had been pretty good, I'd have said the ending was excellent. But because the rest of the book doesn't match up with the ending, the book is disappointing. The characters seemed two-dimentional; you don't feel anything towards them but anger at their carelessness, their uppitty attitudes, and their disregard for others feelings. I was getting so mad at Kate's husband, I wanted to jump in the book and throttle the ... jerk.

3-stars (and that's only because the ending rated one star, otherwise, this would be a 2).

[Wally Cwik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not care for this book. Author should have spent more time developing the characters and less on describing the settings. The detail and backstories slowed the pace. Near the end I was hoping the story would end up in the crematorium instead of the victims.

[Elvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!!!! Could not put this one down

[Mary]

on page 23

[Carolyn Greeley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had scenes more graphic than I expected and not what I could determine from the blurb. Beyond that, parts felt too unrealistic and implausible, and the end wrapped too quickly for me. The story had good tension and suspense, though.

[Shonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Corbin survived a brutal sexual assault which left her depressed, shattered and absent in her life. Her husband, Ian, is offered a position at an university. He accepts thinking the move will help Kate get back on track with her life. In the meantime, their teen-age daughter, Grace, is dating an older guy and breaking every rule to be with him.

The Corbins move to the idyllic town of Wickfield to make a fresh start. What they don't know is a serial killer hides in plain sight, kidnapping and torturing college students. When Kate suspects someone, she begins her own investigation. Unfortunately for her, she accuses the wrong man and is now known as the "crazy stalker". When another girl is abducted, Kate risks everything to make sure she stops the killer before he has the opportunity to kill again.

Overall, I really liked this book. The process Kate went through (and why she gets involved in the first place) to discover the real killer was a bit predictable, but didn't ruin the story for me. The killer is sick and twisted, but manages to contain his/her psychopathology to uphold his/her status in the community. This would be a good book to curl up with during a rainy weekend.

[Barbara ★ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually enjoy the background story on the characters but this was way too much. It was all background and no story. I thought the focus of this book was the murdered girls but it's not. It's the family dynamics of Ian, Kate and Grace - mainly rebellious teenager antics. It's a good possibility that is gonna morph into Grace being abducted but still way too much day-to-day family interactions.

There is absolutely nothing to connect to with any of the characters in this book.

Ian is a self-centered ass.
Grace is a sullen, bratty, rebellious teenager.
Kate was raped so it's expected that she's a little off but she's neurotic as hell, agoraphobic and paranoid. In the beginning it was understandable but then it's just aggravating.

It's sad to say but the only semi-likable character is the killer. He may be a total nutjob and a necrophiliac but he has character and adds some life to the story. It's actually kind of offputting that I prefer the serial killer to the "normal" people...but there it is.

This book might have been a dud (and really not work reading) but the ending is spectacular. The last 100 pages had me glued to my seat. The culprit is such a surprise. I never guessed it was him.

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out pretty decent, with a little bit of difference to some characters. Then it just jumped right into Clicheville with a stop at Of Course That Happened Town.

Of course Ian didn't believe his wife, because, you know, she was raped and has been acting weird. Of course Kate's rapist, who raped her in NYC, just happened to be the killer in the small college town of Wickfield where she and her family moved. Of course the "taser" only worked on teh killed long enough for him to let go of Grace, but not long enough for Grace and Kate to actually get away. Of course Kate took Ian back after he essentially told the cops she was making shit up. I'd have been out of his life so fast, he'd have tracks on his back.

A promising start, just petered away.

[Jess Rodgers · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was good and interesting, but some of the scenes were written so awkwardly and the sentences themselves were awkward. At the beginning of the book, Drake also gage age ranges for all the characters, like “somewhere between 60 and 90.” She definitely knows how to write teenagers though!
I’m glad I read her later works, because in Only Ever You and Just Between Us her writing is fantastic and she loses the awkward prose. Keep writing, Drake!!! 😃

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Well written and an exciting ending. Unfortunately for me, I inadvertently saw the killer's name on one of the last pages of the book so I had a pretty good idea who it was. I was still surprised however when the killer turned out to also be the same person who attaked Kate.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh..Not horrible...but definitely nothing to write home about. It starts out slow, has a flash of interest, and goes downhill from there. This is the perfect book for you if you like a backstory with a little mystery. I would say this is more of a story about family dynamics than a thriller.

[J.J. Hensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good thriller. Drake does a great job at building suspense and painting a chilling and disturbing picture while she keeps the story moving along. The setting was perfect for the story and the characters were believable.

[Kimberly Iverson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd like to rate this higher, but like others, I thought the middle dragged. Still a great read, but I doubt I'll read it again. Good original plot though. Lots of surprises, lots of page turning moments in the beginning and end.

[Jennifer Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a great read. Lots of twists and turns, a real thrill ride. What would happen if your child went missing and no one believed you? Read this book and find out, great author good story highly recommend.

[Annette Dashofy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing and chilling. Not a book to read while sitting home alone at night. A downright creepy page turner.

[Lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a little graphic and disturbing for my taste. It reminded me of a Dean Koontz book but not all that great.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as gory as I would have imagained. Kidnapping is never one of my favourite topics, but this one was done fairly well.

[Lindsay Wolsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. It kept me guessing the whole time.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a waste of my time. it was so bad it doesn't even rate a review. ugh.

The only thing good about it was the first 3 pgs, and the last few chapters, otherwise it would be a 1. ugh.

[Lori]

confusing and not worth your time

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is a different genre than I normally read and I loved how it was told from all the different characters points of views.

[LuAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, creepy mystery. I was actually a little surprised by the ending - not who I suspected.

[Tiffany Faw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book of hers. Characters weren't that interesting to me.
The killer was surprising to me!

[Aribear23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!