Redeemer by Jeffery S Williams    Books by Jeffery S Williams · Who's To Blame? · Pirate Spirit                 >> View all
Category:	Action/Thriller	Publisher:	Virtualbookworm			Type:
Pages:	212			ISBN-13:	9781602646544	Fiction

Caroline Ferdinandsen
Warning: Reading Redeemer, a new crime drama by novelist Jeffery Williams, might provoke a range of reactions, including laughter, disgust, analysis, and self-reflection.

It is a bold, sometimes emotionally ragged, piece of fiction, one that depends on a mighty fine narrative hook. Redeemer is an ironic serial killer at best, a meta-monster who believes he is doing God's work by murdering notorious sinners. He extracts confessions from his victims while engaging medieval torture methods before sending them to heaven--or is it hell? Like Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter, his voice is as smooth as a trial attorney's. He has strangely redeeming qualities, and perhaps that is the author's most brilliant stroke.

The mood falls somewhere between the dark enigmas of The DaVinci Code, the grim analysis of CSI, and the cop-partner banter of the `80s show Moonlighting. The author blends his knowledge of classical literature and biblical archetypes with complex character development; the protagonist's faith journey is in jeopardy, and to make matters worse, her bleak day job collides with her devastating personal loss.

Not a regular consumer of crime drama, I'll admit I was a squeamish reader. But the story offers a complexity of setting and theme that sets it apart from formula fiction. The city of Fresno wins for supporting actor; its funky locales and strange little secrets provide an interesting plot of land on which to build the story.

The finale is satisfying and multi-layered, but you'll have to decide for yourself whether Redeemer delivers on its title's foreshadowing. Either way, the novel can't lose; there are enough shadows and light to keep us guessing until the end.

Enough teasing. Go get a copy and redeem your weekend.

Norm Goldman
In Jeffrey Williams third work of fiction, Redeemer- A Novel a monstrous sociopathic serial killer is on the loose in Fresno California. The murderer deludes himself into believing that he is following God's directions by tracking down some of the worst elements of our society-a minister who has seduced a few of his female parishioners, a child pornographer/pederast, a white supremacist murderer and rapist, and a woman who scams young women out of their babies, sells them and possibly kills them if necessary. Before murdering these dregs via the use of some of the most horrendous medieval torture tools, the warped killer "redeems" them making their souls, as he believes, ready to stand before God. For some readers it probably would not be too difficult to condone and endorse the killer's actions and Williams does make it a point to mention that from the media, Internet sites and talk shows, dozens of individuals have egged on the killer, believing that society is better off without these dregs.

Assigned to hunt down this religious loony and bring him to justice are Detectives Kristen Cauldron and her partner Darren Hawkins. Cauldron has recently returned to the Fresno police force, after taking leave of absence due to the disappearance of her eight year old daughter Sarah. Hawkins hails from Northern California, and after a year and half of patrol experience, has recently joined the police force. Making this story even more bloodcurdling is that this ferocious butcher, after committing each of his atrocious crimes, has no qualms about contacting Cauldron and reporting to her where she and her colleagues can find his victims' mangled dead bodies. And even more terrifying is that he even goes so far as stalking Cauldron and reminding her that he is watching all of her moves.

Thrown into this carefully crafted novel that at times may seem surreal is a disturbing twist and one Caulderon must keep a secret from her department. The killer, after finding out that her daughter has gone missing, promises that he is going to find out what happened to Sarah. Cauldron now struggles with a terrible quandary and conflict that will exact a heavy emotional toll on her. She is caught between a rock and a hard place, as she doesn't want to catch the killer until he discovers what has happened to Sarah. However, she does not know how much time would he need to find out the truth about her daughter and moreover would he succeed, although he does claim to be quite canny in matters of this nature, as evidenced from his ability to track down the low lives that he has murdered.

Rest assured there are some nightmarish and raw gory scenes scattered throughout this book that will no doubt turn off some readers, however, this in no way detracts from the fact that Williams is a master storyteller who has delivered a polished and cohesive thriller. The pace of his story moves along steadily, picking up in intensity when Cauldron's dilemma is put to the real test. In addition, Williams is very good at down-to-earth dialogue. Listening to the exchanges between his characters, you feel you are eavesdropping on real conversations. He even manages to intersperse some witty bantering between Cauldron and Hawkins with some sarcasm, irony, frustration and misunderstanding to boot. Compelling written and well-crafted, Redeemer-A Novel turns out to be not only a spine-chiller but also an interesting and thought provoking take on a detective's moral code and a mother's maternal code.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures