Detective Jack Murphy and his partner 'Bigfoot' Liddell make their 6th appearance in this terrific crime thriller.

He and his partner are looking for a serial killer. First a fellow cop was tortured, mutilated and killed. Railroad spikes were driven into his eyes. During the autopsy, a monkey figurine declaring See No Evil was found shoved down his throat.

And then a judge is found after having been set on fire. Another figurine was found in his throat. A Mob associate and a lawyer are the next to be brutally murdered.

What connects all these victims? Why would a serial killer pick out this small town in Indiana? Everyone connected with this case ha secrets .... secrets they may be killed for before Murphy can stop the killer.

This is well-written, as has all the books in this particular series. While doing well as a stand alone, I highly recommend starting at the very beginning. I love the characters. Murphy and Liddell have been partners forever and I enjoy the interaction between these two. The humor between them is closer than most brothers. They have each others' backs, come hell or high water.

The story premise is a good one. Full of twists and turns, lies and secrets, the ending blew me away. Just can't get much better than this.

Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books-Lyrical Underground / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Rick Reed is a new author to me, and this is my first book to read that's written by him. I gave it five stars because I liked the style which he wrote in and I liked that I didn't figure it out until the very end.

Revenge killing is special kind of killing and the deaths in this book are gruesome and graphic. The characters are fantastic and the plot was amazing.

I will be reading more by this author. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

enjoy reading serial killer books as I love to find the killer. I was able to guess the killer only when I was almost 80% of the book. I love Jack Murphy and his partner

Lyrical Underground and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Slowest Death. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

A homicide in a bad part of town turns out to have deadly implications for the police department. When an additional victim also has ties to the law enforcement community, will detectives Jack Murphy and Liddell Blanchard figure out the connection before the worst is realized?

Like all of the other Jack Murphy novels that have come before, The Slowest Death has a quick pace and investigative thrills. Again, it seems that Jack has the biggest brains in town and is the only one who can put all of the clues together. Although he is the main character, Jack is not a one man show. There are other characters that deserve a little bit more of the limelight than they are given, as it would help to add more dimension to the series as a whole. Readers who are new to the Jack Murphy books should start from the beginning, as his personal life is very much a part of the stories.

The Slowest Death by Rick Reed
Jack Murphy # 5

New author to me – would definitely read more by this author

Jack Murphy has a story that I had no inkling of before joining in on book six of his literary detective journey. I am curious about his past BUT did not need to know all of it as he tried to figure out who was killing people on his turf in graphically disturbing ways.

Netsuke figures of monkeys in the iconic see/hear/speak no evil and then some small figures appear in the murders and all are stuffed down baddies throats after they have suffered at the hands of a righteously vengeful avenger of the death of someone oh so close to his soul. I won’t tell you more but will say that the revenge felt justified in some ways but also felt as if the perpetrator was somewhat unhings…again…justified? And, there was Jack and his life that I don’t know much about as well as his partner and others but all in all this was a great read that kept me interested from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books-Lyrical Press for the ARC this is my honest review.

4 Stars

It was a great mystery novel that had everything from greed to vengeance . I recommend it for those who like mysteries.

"See No Evil, Hear No Evil," Jack said. "That leaves Speak No Evil." Tunney said, "The killer isn't finished.".....

One of my favorite detectives is back in the 6th of the “Jack Murphy” series. Be prepared for dark humor and a gruesome story.

Life circumstances have changed for Jack. A new murder case hits close to home. A fellow cop has been murdered. The circumstances will make Jack search close to fellow law enforcement. More victims, more secrets. The killer may be closer than he thinks.

As always, a thrilling adventure. Details that will make you shudder. Written by a former police officer, expect a story that feels real. I’ve read the five previous books by this author and am never disappointed. Dark humor will make you smile.

With his partner, Liddell Blanchard, they are searching for this killer who tortured his victims in horrific ways. Jack won’t give up, Liddell will be there to back him up. Will the other officers be as forthcoming with them, or are some of them keeping secrets? Sometimes the biggest obstacles are people you work with. Some are downright annoying.

As the murders continue, an object connects the killings. Where the victims are from make it easier to lead in the right direction. When this case is behind them, there will be more life changes for Jack and Liddell. The next book in the series, “The Deadliest Sin,” is soon to follow. I look forward to more “Jack Murphy.”

Thank you Rick Reed, Netgalley, and Kensington Books

This just wasn't for me and I DNF. I hadn't read the earlier books and felt a bit at sea. More importantly, it was just too graphic.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Kensington Press for an advance copy of The Slowest Death, the sixth novel in the detective Jack Murphy series, set in Evansville, Indiana.

Jack is called out to murder scene where a man has been brutally tortured and finally suffocated by an ivory monkey stuffed down his throat. When the body turns out to be "good guy" detective Sergeant Sonny Caparelli Jack and his partner, Liddell "Bigfoot" Blanchard feel the pressure but also wonder. When a judge is found murdered with a similar monkey in his throat they wonder even more. And what does "Uncle Marty" Crispino have to do with it all?

I thoroughly enjoyed The Slowest Death as I have enjoyed all the novels in this excellent series. It has a great mixture of clever plotting, humourous dialogue and the authenticity only an experienced officer can bring and it held my attention throughout. In fact, I couldn't wait to get back it when I had to interrupt my reading.

The plotting is masterful with plenty of twists and turns and a well concealed perpetrator. His actions and thoughts are well laid out as the point of view sometimes switches to him or other nefarious characters but his identity is never revealed until a surprise at the end. Obviously this means that the reader has more information than the detectives but rather than proving annoying, as it is in many novels, I found myself rooting for them to cotton on. I love the way the novel unfolds logically with one clue leading to another and the way the detectives put it together as it makes for an enjoyable read.

There is no doubt that the murder scenes are violent and gruesome so the novel is not for the faint hearted but it's not gratuitous and probably reflects accurately the killer's mindset.

The characterisation is excellent from the minor characters where I felt that sometimes I was caught up in Elmore Leonard's alternative universe to Jack and Bigfoot's funny if childish, horror deflecting banter. They all seem very realistic and believable.

The Slowest Death is a great read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Great read. Rick Reed does it again with this engrossing book. This was hard to put down and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Lots of suspense. Highly recommended

4 stars

Detective Jack Murphy responds to a homicide in a run down and bad part of Evansville. His partner Liddell “Bigfoot” Blanchard is not with him at the time. Bigfoot is at sensitivity training which garners many comments from the other cops at the scene. The dead man is badly mutilated and hung from the wall by meat hooks. The man is Franco “Sonny” Caparelli, a narcotics officer with the Evansville department. All of the police agree that Sonny was one of “the good guys.”

Jack and Bigfoot begin their investigation and learn that Mindy, Sonny’s girlfriend is living in style and is a drunk, Sully, her attorney and Sonny’s friend doesn’t want Mindy to talk and knew of Sonny’s death before anyone else, but won’t say how and that Sonny had about $100,000.00 in cash when he died on him and in his pickup.

The autopsy reveals something was crammed down Sonny’s throat. It is the little monkey figurine: “See no evil.”

Jack and Bigfoot are still interviewing people about Sonny’s death when they receive a call to go to a body in a burned out car. The victim this time is Sam Knight who was a judge. So far the two victims were from Boston with ties to law enforcement. Before long, someone shows up in Evansville claiming to be friends with Sonny and telling the police a story. Jack and Bigfoot suspect he is a wise guy for some mob-connected big shot in Boston. Sam also has a monkey figurine in his throat. The two cases are connected.

The city of Evansville seems to be crawling with transplanted Bostonians. Was Sonny up to something in Boston? Was he dirty? How about the judge? Jack and Bigfoot tie the murders in with the horrific killing and burning of a young woman back in Boston. More murders occur. The FBI Special Agent that is assisting Jack and Bigfoot believes that the killings are over. The four monkeys have been found – what more is there? Jack gets an epiphany and he and Bigfoot go to make an arrest.

The identity of the killer comes as a surprise.

This book is well written and plotted. It follows the investigation step by step with all the attendant drama and tension. I like Jack and Bigfoot. I love the banter between Jack and some of his colleagues, especially Bigfoot. There is sufficient background information given about the characters to flesh them out, but not so much that it intrudes on the story. This is my first Rick Reed novel, and I immediately went to Amazon to look for other books of his. I enjoyed the book, but it was a little raw in places when describing the injuries inflicted on the victims.

I want to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books/Lyrical Underground for forwarding to me a copy of this good book to read and enjoy.

I received this book #TheSlowestDeath by Rick Reed from #NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion. This is my first time reading a book with detective Jack Murray and his sidekick Liddell Blanchard aka Bigfoot. Liddell has what I consider a very annoying habit of almost continually refer to his partner as pod’na. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be a slang or dialect from Louisiana but that’s the only slang he uses and as I said as nauseum. The book is a total blood and guts novel. For each death and there are many every wound is described in minute details. The story line is fast paced and has enough excitement to keep you going till the end. As stated the murders are gruesome and in each case a tiny monkey (hear no evil, see no evil, etc) is shoved down the victims’ throat which leaves a forewarning how many deaths are yet to come. An interesting concept and a good ending.

This was the second book I've read in the Jack Murphy series, and I enjoyed it ,even though I had figured out who the killer was early on. If I have one complaint, it's that sometimes some of the characters seem a little one dimensional and stereotypical, for example Jack's partner, Liddell. He just comes across as too contrived which I feel hurts this series. Jack seems to be designed to be more of a lone wolf in my opinion. I would like to see Murphy without his "sidekick". All in all, a decent installment in the series.