'Cruel' is the fourth novel to feature Los Angeles Detective Morris Brick, and I thoroughly enjoyed it for the most part. As always, it's preferable to have read the preceding three books before delving into this one as there is background information, particularly surrounding main character Brick, that you cannot know without reading the series from the beginning. That said, if you're not too bothered by that, it does work fine as a standalone.

After reading the compelling premise, I knew this was my type of read. If the description doesn't leave you wanting more, I don't know what will! The Nightmare Man is a creepy and amazing character. The use of numbers to make the plot more exciting certainly thrilled me too. This is not a book for the faint-hearted as the murders that take place are gory and gruesome - just what I enjoy! Stone is an excellent writer, and the story is so, so riveting that I got through it incredibly quickly. Brick's character is developed sufficiently, although I would've liked some more information about him if i'm honest. The other characters are peripheral, and it is not easy to remember each of their names as they play such a minor part in the plot. This is definitely a story driven novel, rather than character driven.

I am not entirely sure whether this is the end of the series, although, if it is, it sure didn't feel like it as the conclusion left a little to be desired. However, I would read another book should there be one.

Many thanks to Lyrical Underground for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Cruel by Jacob Stone
Morris Block Thriller #4

Serial killer mysteries are not everyone’s cup of tea but for some reason I do enjoy such stories once in a while. I also like to read a wide variety of authors and genres and at this time I was ready for a new-to-me author and a murder mystery with an edge – this book happens to be the one that came my way.

Not having read the first three books in the series makes me wonder if those who have are more in tune with Morris, his family and the people he works with. I found him an interesting character though rather laid back and less communicative than I might have liked…wanted to know him better than I did by the end of the book. That said, I learned that he loves his wife and daughter and dog, Parker. He has good men that he works with that are also good friends that joined him when he left the police force. He is invested in solving cases and it seems he is called in to consult with the police from time to time though most of his work sounded to be mundane private investigator type work. That said…he seems to be one who has managed to catch more than one serial killer that has come into his neighborhood.

In this book there is a rather demented person on the loose - a person that kills every seventeen years and does so in a depraved and painful way…painful for the person who dies anyway. The first group of murders occurred in 1984 when Morris was young and his father was assigned the case. The second set of murders occurred in 2001 and Morris was a young man on the police homicide team looking for the killer. As this story begins it is nearing the time for a third round of murders to occur and Morris is concerned – and rightly so.

The mystery is ongoing...
* Who is the murderer?
* Why are the murders occurring as they do?
* Is there symbolism or reason behind the murders?
* Is there only one person killing people?
* Why every seventeen years?
* Will they catch the murderer in 1918 or not?

So, Morris steps in and leads a team of his investigators and some of the police force in hopes of finding the killer before he finishes killing the five women slated to die. As murders begin clues also start to trickle in. When all is said and done…it is a story that is different than most I have read before in this genre. There was torture and enough written about it to know how horrible the experience was for the person who dies without actually having to live through each moment with her. There were not really any suspects to speak of at first though there were hunches from time to time. There was eventually a connection made that provided a tip that that lead to the first concrete steps in figuring out the puzzle of the Nightmare Man but it wasn’t until nearly the end that all the pieces were put together.

I have mixed feelings on this one. I never really identified with Morris and am not sure why. And, I wonder again if I had read from book one if that might be different. I liked the women that were murdered and wished they had not died and perhaps that is a sign of a good writer and writing style to so invest the reader in the murdered. I also worried about a dog that went missing and hoped it ended up okay. In the end I did enjoy the book enough to read another one but it did not grab me, make me love Morris and end the book eagerly waiting for the next book to come out. Perhaps that is in part due to the gruesome nature of the murders and my hope that nobody else like the Nightmare Man will show up again.

An aside – with so many serial murderers around in books and on television shows I wondered how many there are actually are out there AND I learned that a person who kills two (I thought it was three or more) is considered a serial murderer so there are no doubt more serial killers around than I thought AND interestingly enough there is a good possibility that there are more on the loose than there are that have been captured…creepy to think about isn’t it?

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books-Lyrical Underground for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

This was just an okay read. I enjoyed it for the most part. There were places that were a little too detailed. It wrapped up nicely at the end.

This book is part of a series of books that feature Morris Brick. Yet, it reads as a stand alone novel. I did like Brick. He showed intelligence and could lead a team. From what I read, I did like this book and do want to get to know Brick better.

In regards, to the killings, they were gruesome. Yet, not a lot of time was spent in great details. Therefore, anyone who is a bit skirmish about gore could handle reading this book. Ok, so I admit that I didn't see the plot twist. This is a good thing as I enjoy a book that can surprise me; especially mystery books.

The only reason that I didn't give this book five stars is because most of the other characters while fine were not as up t par as Brick's character. Thus at times I felt the story dragged in parts. Overall, I did like this book and would read more books from this author.