Disturbed, By Kevin O’Brien

This book, which I recently inhaled over a lock-all-the-doors weekend, was suspense at its best. And yes, I was Disturbed, in a good way. Wow!

This author’s characters and situations feel very realistic. The mystery all takes place involving everyday people, adding to the fearful feeling that grows as you read, that this could really happen. Your imagination will be ignited by suspects and alleged motives. It’s amazing how involved a reader becomes trying to solve the mystery, as if the reader is actually one of the residents living at Willow Tree Court, part of it all, and needing to stop it.

It’s so much fun to get on and ride this roller coaster of twisted passions and intrigue. A serial murderer is on the loose. The target is specific people in their homes who live on a certain type of street, on cul-de-sacs. Be on your guard. No one is safe, while the reader and the characters try to determine if there’s some other pattern for why these people are being attacked in their homes.

There’s a particular family the author is following. The husband and wife are trying to settle into a very recent second marriage, with his kids who are a teenage boy and his younger sister. On the outside of this marriage are his ex-wife, who moved nearby, and her friends, who are still living in that same cul-de-sac. As the plot unfolds, the secrets that are revealed just within this family will raise the hairs on the back of your neck. A menacing quote from one character that will send shivers down your spine is the ominous, “I knew all your secrets — and all your weaknesses.”

Before becoming a New York Times best-selling author, and recipient of many awards, Kevin O’Brien had an interesting background as a railroad inspector by day and novel writer by night. A huge Hitchcock fan, O’Brien delivers a thrilling suspense of his own in his many hold-your-breath books. I recommend his books, and now there’s one more — his new book Hide Your Fear is now available.

If you’d like to hear more from the author himself, in his own words, please listen to Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries with Kevin O’Brien

Thereby hangs a tale . . . .

– By Wendy Kendall

Wendy Kendall is a writer, project manager and volunteer at the Edmonds Library. Follow her via her blog here or on Twitter @wendywrites1.