Audio book of the Week - The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker

The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker
Read by John Glover


From Goodreads.com:

FBI Special Agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he's picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellbeing and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted.It's there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body.In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most 'sane people' sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls...or inside.As the Bride Collector increases the pace and volume of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector's next target. The FBI believes that the killer plans to murder seven women. Can Paradise help before it's too late?

My Take:   I have a love/hate relationship with Ted Dekker.  About 90% of the time I really don't like his books.  But I keep reading them because I know that that other 10% there is a pretty good book.  This is in that 10%.  It is not my favorite of his but I was really engaged in the story and wanted to keep listening when I really should have been doing something else.  If  you have been visiting this blog for a while you know that I am a fan of thrillers and this book is one in ever sense of the word.  There isn't any language which is refreshing and the murder scenes are toned down quite a bit ( I still would not recommend to early teens or if you don't like that sort of thing).

There are quite a few twists and turns and several times I found myself saying to myself " I don't believe that happened!"  Great book!!  here's hoping I don't have to read 9 more of his books before I find one I like.