By Jessica Moon

A ruthless copycat serial killer is on the loose in the suburbs of Virginia and there is nothing stopping him but two ex-Secret Service agents turned private investigators, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, in the suspense novel,’Hour Game’, by David Baldacci.

The thriller begins with a woman found dead in an open field with her arm raised up, wearing a zodiac watch; this launches the chaos that stirs in a place which knows no bloodshed. As the story carries on and the killer continues to copy-cat infamous serial killers such as Son of Sam, the San Francisco Zodiac killer, Richard Ramirez, and John Wayne Gracy, an unrelated murder occurs.

As autopsies are conducted and leads end up short, King and Maxwell continue to investigate and prove the innocence of Junior Deaver. Junior is a local handyman accused of breaking and entering by Remmy Battle, the wife of a dysfunctional aristocratic family whose husband, Bobby Battle, is bedridden and nearing his death. As King and Maxwell dig deeper, discovering unanswered clues to Deaver’s innocence and knowing the mischievous nature of Remmy Battle, they find this case to be more complicated than both thought as secrets unfold.

Minute details become essential and murders within the aristocratic family occur. The question then becomes not who the serial killer is, but whether or not a connection exists between the unrelated murder, the aristocratic family and serial killer. The race to find the killer becomes vital when the lives of those in cahrge of the investigation, King and Maxwell find themselves to be on the killer’s list. It is then that they encounter a surprise that not even their Secret Service experience could prepare them for.

Throughout the whole novel, Baldacci keeps the reader speculating on who the possible killer could be. ‘Hour Game’ is a rollercoaster; the suspense is evenly spread, as is the downtime when Baldacci provides diminutive but indispensable clues about the serial killer, the aristocratic family and the unrelated murder. The novel ends with an unexpected twist that leaves the reader captivated by Baldacci’s sheer genius. As action packed as it is, Hour Game did have a tendency to drag midway through the novel as the cunning and ingenious deaths piled on and obstacles arose without a solid lead. But just as the frustrated reader is compelled to put the book down, Baldacci drops an obvious clue and brings the reader back into the game, not as a spectator but as a participant. It then becomes hard to close until the end.

If readers are usually not being drawn to suspense novels, this should be given a shot and they might find it to be a great thriller. It was not predictable; in retrospect I can see how every word I read from beginning to end played such an important part in finding the serial killer, making the book that much more satisfying of a read.

There was, however, some confusion. I had to occasionally refer to past pages to recall what Baldacci was talking about. The amount of detail also became overwhelming at times, but nevertheless it was gratifying when the killer was finally revealed. I give it four stars out of five. It is definitely a novel worth reading.

David Baldacci´s ´Hour Game´ will provoke readers to never stop reading. (Image courtesy bn.com)