St. Martin's Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Lovemurder. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

The last thing San Francisco Homicide detective Valerie Hart ever expected was to see convicted serial killer Katherine Glass again. Six years since the brutal murders, Katherine's partner has decided to kill again and bring Valerie along for the ride. With cryptic clues and taunting notes as tools for the investigation, will Valerie and the rest of her team be able to reveal the killer before more murders occur?

Katherine Glass seems to be molded out of the same clay as Hannibal Lecter, although Katherine is not as brutal as her serial killer counterpart. The plot flowed well, with suspense building as the detectives fight against time to find the victims. I did like the characters, although I am tired of the main players of the story having so many flaws. I enjoy a good suspense thriller and I am bothered when authors spend so much time on the characters that they forget about the case at hand. Although I did read book 1, it was not strictly necessary. Readers who like police procedurals with suspense will like Lovemurder.

I loved Saul Black’s first Valerie Hart novel, The Killing Lessons, and eagerly anticipated the arrival of the second, Lovemurder. I didn’t remember much about the character of Valerie herself, but I did recall how atmospheric and different The Killing Lessons had been.
Lovemurder to me was just okay. Not very atmospheric, certainly not to the degree of the previous novel, and not exactly a unique concept. The Katherine Glass element was a bit Silence of the Lambs-ish, and the trope of the killer being obsessed with the cop him/herself has been done many times before. That being said, it was well written and relatively fast paced.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a good thriller,but the sex scenes and some other dialogue was just a little too explicit for me. However, this book will find its audience and do very well. The actual murder case is interesting. Valerie has been on the hunt for a previous partner of Katherine. A murderer she managed to capture six years ago, but the partner was never found. You also have the relationship of Valerie and Nick. They are trying to keep their relationship working despite Valerie's career. I did figure out the partner very early on in the book, but the book still flowed well for me.

LoveMurder by Saul Black

This the first book I have read of the Valerie Hart series and it works as a standalone. I wish I had known about The Killing Lessons before I read this one but I can always go back and read it and I just might!! I really enjoyed Valerie. I felt like she was a good strong female detective. Saul Black shows an amazing talent in creating such larger than life characters creating such an intense and twisted plot.

This is one fast-paced, gripping, intelligent and quite hard to stomach in parts. One scene definitely had my fight or flight mode kicking in and screaming or I felt like I was screaming!! This book is not for the faint of heart, but if you love a scary, smart thriller, this should be in your black stocking.

I received an ARC of this series with the hope that I will leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.

Katherine Glass is one of the evilest, most diabolical serial killers that San Diego Homicide Detective Valerie Hart has ever put behind bars—but she didn’t work alone. She had a lover who they called the Man in the Mask (he always wore a mask and never revealed his face). Together with Katherine, the two tortured, raped, and murdered at least six women, maybe more. Although Katherine Glass has been in jail for 6 years, her partner has remained free. And as far as law enforcement knows, he’s been quiet … until now. When the violated body of Elizabeth Lambert is found, a note is found with her, and it’s addressed directly to Valerie:

Dear Valerie,

Katherine Glass stays in prison, more people die. You know who I am, but I’ve left you Danielle’s ring by way of substantiation. They’ll get fair warning, as Elizabeth did. (Look carefully, please.) No videos yet, but there will be. This one is just to open the channel. You’ve been waiting for this. More to follow.

It’s the mention of Danielle’s ring that clinches it for Valerie: Danielle was one of their former victims. And, of course, murder is never convenient. Valerie and her boyfriend Nick, the former homicide cop turned analyst, were just about to go away for the weekend. Nick was planning to pop the question, but that’s going to have to wait.

Valerie was hoping she’d never have to think about Katherine Glass again. When they put Katherine away, Valerie had to do a stint with the department shrink after watching every grueling hour of video they recovered from her adventures in murder. It took Valerie to a horrible place, and it’s taken years to recover in order to get where she is now. She’s happy, secure in Nick’s love, and even considering starting a family.

When Valerie and her team—which includes the FBI—receives a packet including another letter from the killer, it strongly hints that they may want to enlist outside help. Of course, the only person he could be referring to is Katherine Glass. This means that Valerie is going to have to go talk to her in prison, and it’s the last thing Valerie wants to do.

Keep in mind, Katherine is a brilliant, exquisitely beautiful woman, and it colors nearly every interaction, every thought about her. When Valerie and her partner Will visit her at the prison, it goes pretty much like Valerie expects. But seeing Katherine again awakens something dark and coiled inside her.

A guard entered, a stocky, big-breasted woman with maroon hair in a tight bun. “Warden,” she said, by way of acknowledgment. A moment later, Katherine Glass was there.

Prison-issue orange. Hands and legs in mobility cuffs and tether chain. The white heart-shaped face Valerie remembered, those green eyes peppered with black. The smiling look that said she knew your soul’s story, negligibly amusing in comparison to her own. Her mouth, sans lipstick, was the color of raw pork. Regulations had stripped the cosmetics and reduced the long blond hair to a jaw length bob, but it was still pulled back in a short ponytail. There was a very slight fullness to her cheeks, as if a silk-thin layer of fat had been laid beneath her skin. Her whole body had the same simple, dollish quality. Even at thirty-eight the little girl was still there. The clever little girl who kept secrets of which the grown-ups were afraid.

Katherine doesn’t waste any time getting to the cat-and-mouse antics that she’s known for either, and it really starts to get to Will.

Valerie could feel how much this was annoying Will. Not because he thought it was a waste of time, but because like everyone else he couldn’t resist the Katherine fascination. When she talked, when she was in full flight, it was impossible not to listen. Throughout the trial Valeri had watched people’s reaction to the woman on the stand: the incremental mesmerism. It wasn’t what she’d done. It was her articulate serenity in spite of what she’d done. Superficially, people were appalled by her actions. Deep down they were curious about what her actions had given her.

Knowledge.

Valerie had been no exception. Even now, she realized, she regarded Katherine as a woman who had been out past the known frontiers. Even now she couldn’t shake the feeling that Katherine knew something that she, Valerie, did not. It had always been part of the inequity between them. It was as if Katherine had gone out beyond the darkness to meet God and had returned carrying his inscrutable imprimatur.

God or the Devil.

Katherine does agree to “help” Valerie, but Valerie knows there will be a cost. She just doesn’t quite know what yet. However, she does know one thing: she won’t let anything destroy the happiness she’s found or bring harm to those she loves.

If you’ve read The Killing Lessons, you already know that Saul Black is a good writer, but LoveMurder is a step up. It’s a tense, terrifying, complex thriller, and it demands your attention. The devil is most certainly in the details. Blink and you’ll miss them.

Black forces his readers to look inside themselves and touches on some very dark places in the human psyche. Is Katherine more horrible because she’s a woman? We’re used to men doing these terrible things. And although you, dear reader, can probably call up a few female names in the serial killer club, women who torture, rape, and kill are either few and far between or verrrry good at not getting caught. Imagine the frenzy a brutally beautiful woman with a genius IQ who sadistically murders women would stir up in the collective public. It’s food for thought.

This thriller is not for the faint of heart, but if you take the plunge, you won’t be able to put it down. Buckle up.

A couple of years ago, I really enjoyed The Killing Lessons, a serial killer thriller, which featured Valerie Hart, a homicide detective. I was a bit surprised to see Valerie is back. For me, The Killing Lessons wasn't all that much about Valerie, who was your fairly standard broken detective then. However, in Lovemurder, she really takes center stage. Her life has changed for the better making her a different person to the one we met in the first book.
Even if you haven't yet read The Killing Lessons, Lovemurder works perfectly well as a standalone serial killer thriller.
The highlight for me was the relationship between Valerie and Katherine Glass, the beautiful, intelligent and mysterious serial killer who has been residing in prison since 2009, caught by Valerie and her team. I couldn't help but think of Chelsea Cains' Gretchen Lowell. Definite similarities.
Katherine's partner in crime has never been caught, and now it seems he's back. A small disappointment for me was the fact that I identified Katherine's partner pretty early on. Nevertheless, there was plenty of suspense and while it wasn't quite as dark and disturbing or as strong as the first book, it was still a very enjoyable thriller.
I received an ARC via NetGalley.

Omg this was the creepiest detective thriller I ever read. The character Katherine Glass was as charming as Hannibal Lecter

Huge fan of The Killing Lessons, book two did not disappoint. Tough books to read sometimes, because of the crimes, and that's how I like it!!

The Saul Black Valerie Hart series is one of the darkest and most gruesome murder series I've read. That being said, they're also full of intrigue and suspense, and the gruesome bits never seem gratuitous. I liked lovemurder even more than The Killing Lesson, perhaps because it was so personally connected to the main characters.

I loved, “The Killing Lessons,” which was the first novel to feature Valerie Hart, so was excited to read the second in the series. Valerie is now happily in love with Nick and, indeed, Nick is contemplating marriage. However, just before he is about to propose while the couple are on a relaxing weekend away, plans are put on hold when a call interrupts them.

Some years ago, killer Katharine Glass was put in prison; found guilty of the vicious torture and murder of six women. Katharine had an accomplice though and he has never been found. Now, it seems, he is back to his old tricks and, what is more, it is personal, with notes and clues aimed at Valerie….

Like the previous book, this is a hard hitting, graphic, violent and fast moving read. I love the character of Valerie Hart, Nick and all of their family and work colleagues. What really makes this novel sparkle though, is the relationship between Hart and Glass, who is contacted to see whether she can help with the clues. Glass is ultra intelligent, beautiful and manipulative. The sections of the novel where Hart visits Glass in prison are really extremely well done, with a great deal of tension.

Unusually, I actually guessed the killer fairly early on and, really unusually for me, I was right. However, of course I was not sure until the end of the book and this did not spoil my enjoyment at all. If you like really fast paced and exciting crime novels, with good characterisation and do not mind some graphic scenes, then you will enjoy this. It is not necessary to have read the first book, although personally I always prefer to read a series in order. I do know that Valerie Hart is certainly a character I want to follow and this is a series I will contiue reading.

So, it took me a minute to get into this book. A couple of the characters are prone to philosophizing on...everything. The nature of evil. The nature of relationship. The nature of friendship. The inner monologue can kind of slow things down a bit.

But when I started considering not finishing this one, we got to our 'Hello, Clarice' moment and suddenly I was enmeshed in an intelligent cat and mouse game that featured a Silence of the Lambs worthy character and a very worthy opponent.

Expect violence, twists, and sharp dialogue that turns this into a very compelling read.

Stick to it and it's definitely worth the read!

This book delves into the line between obsession, love and murder. Katherine glass and her serial killing partner are obsessed with the idea of love thru murdering and torturing their victims. Katherine was caught and is in prison but her murdering partner is still on the hunt. This book although a bit slow at times was a very suspenseful read. I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a book with a very interesting look into the mind of love and murder between two serial killers.

San Francisco homicide detective Valerie Hart is on the scene of a brutal murder, where a note addressed to her has been found. The note says that if convicted serial killer, Katherine Glass is not released from prison, this murder will only be the first of many. The last thing Valerie wants to do is contact Glass, the woman convicted of killing 6 women in 2009, but she doesn’t have any choice. Those six brutal murders were videotaped and showed Glass along with an unidentified male torturing and killing the victims.If police hope to catch the brutal killer, they will have to work with Glass. This begins a ritualistic dance between Hart and Glass, as twisted a psychopath literature has ever seen. This is an intense, brutal, riveting thrill ride. The second in the series, it can be read as a standalone