Chris Simms has ensured that breaking down on the highway at night will never be the same again with this chilling story of a man who deals with road rage in a terrifying and deadly way. This darkly frightening serial-killer story is starkly different to every other serial-killer thriller I have ever read. Whereas most stories of the genre focus on the investigation into the killer and the frustration shown by the police or FBI as they struggle to gather evidence that may eventually lead them to the killer, this book simply focuses on its 3 principle characters and lets their actions lead us to the shocking conclusion. It's obvious that these 3 people are going to be linked together somehow (otherwise, why focus so carefully on them) but just how they come to affect the others' lives provides the surprise at the end.
The book is broken into chapters titled for each of the characters. The chapter titles are: The Hunter, The Killer, and The Searcher.
THE HUNTER
Andy is a rookie cop, a young man who has only ever dreamt of being a road traffic cop, nothing more or less. He loves driving cars and it's his goal to get behind the wheel of his police car but at the moment has to be content with riding shotgun for his senior (but much less motivated) partner. He is also a young man of high morals and is outraged when his partner drags him into a lie to their superior officer about their whereabouts while a murder was taking place on their patch. This murder was one of a series of brutal bashing murders taking place on motorists who had broken down at night.
Andy becomes obsessed with the case but runs into problems within the force when he speaks out against his unmotivated partner. He winds up getting suspended from the police, a devastating outcome for so dedicated an officer, but it also allows him to spend more time on the highway killings. He's probably the closest the story comes to being a protagonist and certainly the most likable character.
THE KILLER
Dave is the highway murderer. His road rage knows no bounds. Whether he's a driver or a pedestrian he is aggressive and intimidatory - and this is his public persona. It doesn't matter that his wife and baby daughter may be in the car with him, he is prepared to abuse and yell at other drivers. Heavy traffic has him fuming by the end of even the shortest trips. But what really ticks him off, what really boils his blood, is motorists who know so little about caring for their cars that they break down on motorways. He sees these people as the main cause for the constant heavy traffic that dares to block the roads he drives on.
His answer is to cruise the motorways late at night acting as a road recovery worker, stopping to assist the broken down motorist (he only preys on men who are driving alone) and then bashing their heads in with a monkey wrench. He's a brutal man with a failing grip on sanity thanks to an incident that takes place early in the book.
Dave was brilliantly described by the author, evoking all sorts of feelings of outrage and frustration from me. The more I learnt about him, the less I found to like about him.
THE SEARCHER
The Searcher is the strangest character of the trio. It is also the most difficult to work out how he will fit into the story. What he does have in common with the others is his presence around motorways at nighttime. What he does is, he dresses up in camouflage gear, complete with face paint and then crawls through the grass and bushes along the side of the road. This behaviour is unusual enough. But then we find out what he is searching for and what he does with what he finds when he gets back to his home and discover that this is one truly bizarre character. Strangely enough, we find out most about The Searcher's past, what has driven him to this behaviour, but we never find out his name.
Chris Simms has written a powerful thriller that I've found unique in its presentation, particularly in the spotlight focus of the central characters. A great guide as to the effectiveness of his writing style was the strong emotions I felt while reading it. It's not often I get drawn into a book so deeply that I virtually forget that I'm reading about fictional characters, but that's what happened to me while reading this book.
The story progresses at a steady pace, rather than as a helter-skelter romp of mayhem. It's the kind of story that builds in intensity, magnifying the importance of the actions of the 3 main characters. This results in an exquisite tension building and had me wondering just how the climax to the story would be reached. I must say it was in a most unexpected, but wholly satisfying way.
I should also add a warning, although it may already be obvious, that this book contains graphic descriptions of violence. I would advise readers who are distressed by these kinds of scenes to give this book a miss.
