The Killer Net by Matthew W. Grant is the second audio book I’ve had the pleasure of listening to by author Matthew W. Grant, and it certainly won’t be the last. This story was incredibly unique because it combined a very realistic, modern fear with the eve of the new millennium. It took me back to a time when AOL instant messenger was the primary means of communicating online, and when meeting someone via the internet was a very new, and very scary, possibility. (It threw me off when someone snapped closed their cell phone in anger. Oh to return to the days of the flip phone…)
Book Description:
Ten little girls sat at their computers
Wondering who they’d find on line
One entered a chat room with a killer
And then there were nine. . .On the eve of the new millennium, thousands of people logged on to the Internet for the first time every day. Some were looking for love. Some were looking for victims.
In The Killer Net, courageous police department secretary, Jennifer Warren, matches wits against a genius who lures women in under the pretense of looking for a relationship. He boldly taunts the police with e-mail poems about their murders sent from the crime scenes. The cops continue to arrive only to discover another dead body and no way to find a killer who has disappeared without a trace.
Can Jennifer figure out the psychopath’s true identity before she becomes the next victim?
Grant’s writing style darts around from character to character sometimes. This is slightly confusing at first, and since the majority of the perspectives which are featured end up being murder victims I hit a certain point in the story where I wondered if anyone was going to survive for longer than a few pages. (Spoiler alert: A lot of people die in this book. That’s okay, though. It’s worth it.) One of Grant’s strengths is writing compelling fight, kill, and murder scenes, so the book automatically becomes a page turner. Although Jennifer Warren isn’t my favorite protagonist of all time, she certainly does well at playing detective as she tries to emulate her father to catch “The Net Killer”.
The book is a fun read, overall. It combines the best elements of mysteries, thrillers, and even a few elements that are typically reserved for “chick lit” titles. (Although, I find more often than not that “chick lit” is grossly overused and tends to apply to books written by women or featuring female characters in the lead.) The ending will absolutely keep you guessing, as there are multiple potential killers introduced over the course of the story.
If you’re looking for a fun romp through a thriller/mystery plotline, then definitely consider checking out The Killer Net. You won’t be disappointed by any aspect of Grant’s storytelling, and the nostalgic description of waiting for a dial up modem to connect will take you back. Way back.
