ONE…TWO…BUCKLE MY SHOE
By P.K. Paranya
WhooDoo Mysteries/Treble Heart Books
www.trebleheartbooks.com
ISBN: 1932695508
Paperback, 269 pages, $13.50 US
Genre: Mystery/psychological suspense

Since the death of her daughter, Katharine Macklin has suffered from agoraphobia. Although Sergeant Richard Slater doesn’t believe in ESP, Katharine’s psychic abilities helped to find her daughter’s body and now Slater needs her help. A serial killer is on the loose, murdering young girls and leaving their untouched bodies wrapped in plastic, missing one shoe. Although Katharine is initially reluctant to help, she is pulled into the investigation when a small child named Bernie appears on her computer and shows her the shrine the killer erected with the missing shoes of the dead children.

Slater is frantic to find the killer yet Katharine holds close to her heart a promise Bernie extracted from her which reveals the motive behind the killer’s actions. As the investigation continues, she connects with the killer’s mind and tries desperately to figure out who the next victim is. Once the killer senses Katharine, he threatens her life and that of Slater’s small daughter Michelle. Despite warnings, Slater’s ex-wife doesn’t believe their daughter is in danger and Slater is torn between protecting his child and another the killer has targeted as the next victim. Although Katharine fears for her life, she cannot allow the killer to act again and begins a frenzied race to find and stop him before he can add another shoe to his collection.

Paranya provides an electrifying thriller here, allowing readers a peek into the mind of a serial killer and his twisted yet surprisingly comprehensible reasoning for murder. Nicely developed characters, plenty of psychological suspense, and a shocking twist at the end will leave readers thinking about this book for a good while.