The Face of Death

Starred review from March 26, 2007
McFadyen's outstanding sequel to his debut, Shadow Man
(2006), provides a chilling reminder: "However bad things may become, evil men only triumph in the most important ways when we let them." FBI Special Agent Smoky Barrett is barely back in fighting form six months after killing the man who murdered her family and best friend before she must deal with another threat. "The Stranger," a serial killer seeking revenge for a miscarriage of justice, has targeted 16-year-old Sarah Langstrom, who asks for Smoky's help after the Stranger kills Sarah's latest foster family. The Stranger's murder spree actually began on Sarah's sixth birthday with her biological parents and dog. Smoky's crackerjack L.A. Violent Crimes Unit whirls into action to catch a monster who inflicts pain on Sarah by systematically killing anyone she loves. Smoky's fierce first-person narrative and Sarah's eerie diary excerpts, supplemented by a great cast, lift this scary thriller far above the usual serial-killer norm.

May 1, 2007
You don't want to be at the watering hole where the dark things drinkbut Smoky must, to catch a serial killer. McFadyen's ("Shadow Man") sequel begins with Special Agent Smoky Barrett trying to decide whether to accept a teaching transfer to Quantico when she and her team are called to the scene of a vicious triple homicide. Sixteen-year-old Sarah, the sole survivor, threatens suicide unless she's allowed to speak to Smoky. Sarah claims that a man known only as "The Stranger" has been targeting her since she was six by killing everyone she has ever loved. Smoky is the first to believe her. Thus begins the case to find the identity of "The Stranger" by deciphering his motive in ruining Sarah's life. McFadyen's sophomore work is more dramatic than its predecessor but just as brutally vivid. The story interweaves Smoky's pursuit with Sarah's journal entries, which detail this inhuman killer's past crimes. This makes for a gripping tale with an ending as shocking as it is tragic. Strongly recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 2/1/07.]Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.L.s, MD

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