Classic Ketchum doesn’t disappoint

A couple murder the ex-husband of the woman in the new relationship. The ‘victim’ had been an abusive husband in the extreme and continued to stalk and harass her long after the divorce. So, they attack him on a mountain and dispose of his body in a river. But their crime has been observed by Wayne - a psychotic time-bomb waiting for the right set of events to light his fuse. What he observes is the said trigger-point. He seeks out the couple and abducts them at gunpoint, taking them on a ‘joyride’ as witnesses to his brutal killing spree.
The plot is a fairly simple one, but Ketchum weaves his magic and gets us inside the heads of all the characters involved, including the tortured cop, Raoul who is tasked with chasing down Wayne before he can wreak havoc across two counties.
This book can’t top ‘Girl next door’ - that would be a feat hard to accomplish, but this is nonetheless a gripping tale and, if you like Ketchum, you won’t be disappointed.
There’s a fascinating footnote to the story where Ketchum details where his ideas for the story came about and how he amalgamated the mos of two real life killers to produce Wayne.
The narrator, David Stifel, does a superb job. His smouldering, brooding style lends itself well to the messed up characters in this story.
This is the third book of Ketchum’s I’ve read/listened to and I’m not going to stop until I’ve finished every one of them. There’s a reason this late author is revered so much. Listen and enjoy.

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