An Evil Mind

October 5, 2015
In this slick serial-killer thriller from bestselling author Carter (The Death Sculptor), a gruesome discovery in a Wyoming diner parking lot leads to a series of interviews at the FBI’s Quantico Academy between Det. Robert Hunter, of the LAPD, and Lucien Folter, Hunter’s former Stanford roommate and a fellow criminal psychologist, who’s the prime suspect in some 30 cannibalistic murders. Bent on discovering the remains of all the skinned and mutilated victims, Hunter and FBI special agent Courtney Taylor, supervised by Adrian Kennedy, director of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, embark on a lurid game with Folter that culminates in a beyond-belief chase through New England and a predictable climactic bloodbath. Shallow characterizations and barely digested gobbets of textbook behavioral psychology make this lurid exercise not so much a dizzying descent into a sociopathic mind as a sensationalistic carnival ride through shaky chipped-paint scenery. Agent: Darley Anderson, Darley Anderson Literary Agency.

George Newbern narrates the sixth Robert Hunter crime novel. Carter's dialogue tags are vital in this production as Newbern makes little distinction between characters. However, there are still spots where listeners will likely lose track of the speaker and find themselves confused. While Newbern's calm, even delivery works well to highlight the emotional control of the psychotic serial killer, the production has additional problems. Hunter works with a female FBI agent in this series installment. Disappointingly, the author characterizes her as an emotional bumbling idiot who is regularly shown up by L.A. police detective Hunter. Newbern exaggerates this trait in her especially frenzied reactions to the antagonist. Fans of mysteries involving serial killers may enjoy this, but most crime fiction listeners can take a pass. J.F. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine