UNSUB

Author: Meg Gardiner
Genre: Crime/Police Procedural Thriller
432 pages
Publisher: Dutton, 2017

Synopsis
Caitlin Hendrix has been a Narcotics detective for six months when the killer at the heart of all her childhood nightmares reemerges: the Prophet. An UNSUB—what the FBI calls an unknown subject—the Prophet terrorized the Bay Area in the 1990s and nearly destroyed her father, the lead investigator on the case.

The Prophet’s cryptic messages and mind games drove Detective Mack Hendrix to the brink of madness, and Mack’s failure to solve the series of ritualized murders—eleven seemingly unconnected victims left with the ancient sign for Mercury etched into their flesh—was the final nail in the coffin for a once promising career.

Twenty years later, two bodies are found bearing the haunting signature of the Prophet. Caitlin Hendrix has never escaped the shadow of her father’s failure to protect their city. But now the ruthless madman is killing again and has set his sights on her, threatening to undermine the fragile barrier she rigidly maintains for her own protection, between relentless pursuit and dangerous obsession.

Determined to decipher his twisted messages and stop the carnage, Caitlin ignores her father’s warnings as she draws closer to the killer with each new gruesome murder. Is it a copycat, or can this really be the same Prophet who haunted her childhood? Will Caitlin avoid repeating her father’s mistakes and redeem her family name, or will chasing the Prophet drag her and everyone she loves into the depths of the abyss?

My review
UNSUB by Meg Gardiner is a gripping, smartly written, and atmospheric police procedural that drew me in from the start. It’s gritty, dark, and packed with tension, keeping the action nonstop from beginning to end. Gardiner’s writing is sharp and to the point, there’s no wasted words, just pure adrenaline. While the narrative gave me flashes of other serial killer thrillers, it still felt completely original and delivered a top-tier, edge-of-your-seat reading experience.

Twenty years after a brutal five-year killing spree that left 11 people dead, the serial killer known as the Prophet is back. When two new bodies turn up marked with the Prophet’s signature mercury symbol, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department brings in Caitlin Hendrix, daughter of Mack Hendrix, the lead detective in the original investigation, hoping she can tap into her father’s deep knowledge of the case. Despite her mother’s desperate pleas to stay away, Caitlin dives in, determined to uncover long-buried insights from her father, fend off relentless reporter Bart Fletcher, and stay one step ahead of a killer who seems more ruthless and twisted than ever.

The intricate plotting, layered storyline, and eerie messages were the real standouts in this novel and it was exciting to see Hendrix decipher the cryptic messages that alluded detectives twenty years prior. Where the narrative fell a bit short for me was in character development. Caitlin Hendrix was well fleshed out, but I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with her—sometimes she came across as sharp and fearless, but other times she felt whiny and overly dramatic. The Prophet leaves a trail of taunting notes, first for the public and then specifically for Caitlin, setting up a tense cat-and-mouse game where she proves she can match wits with him when it counts. I wish Gardiner had given us more insight into the killer’s mind and spent more time telling the story from his (or her) perspective.

UNSUB is a definite page-turner, with a fast-paced plot that keeps ramping up the tension. There’s enough backstory, emotional drama, and little moments of levity that made the story feel real, all set against a killer with disturbingly twisted motives and gruesome crime scenes. UNSUB is an intense, high-stakes game of cat and mouse, and I can’t wait to dive into the next installment!

My recommendation: definitely worth the read!