Gardiner's latest novel compelling, frightening
- Brett Hiner: A Work in Progress
- April 16, 2020
- 885
I do not think I slept for a week after watching the film, “The Silence of the Lambs.” In fact it might still be the scariest movie I have ever seen.
This reaction was mostly because of Anthony Hopkins’ Oscar-worthy performance portraying Hannibal Lecter, but also because, at times, I recall rooting for the guy as he helped FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodi Foster) track down and ultimately kill Buffalo Bill. That reaction weirded me out. However, some of the best screen villains often have the audience rooting for them, even if he is a cannibal.
After seeing the film, I was one of the many who headed to the local bookstore to snag a copy of Thomas Harris’ novel, along with Lecter’s first appearance in “Red Dragon.”
Being scared while reading a book is a much more challenging task than accomplishing fear in a film. Maybe because I saw the movie, I did not find Hannibal quite as frightening in the book, rather I became more enthralled with the strength and vulnerability of Harris’ female protagonist, Clarice Starling.
Since her last appearance came in 1999, it is a protagonist type/style which I have been looking forward to finding again somewhere else. She has finally come along in the character of Caitlin Hendrix in Meg Gardiner's “UNSUB” (an abbreviation used by the FBI for “unknown subjects”) novels.
In the latest and third book in the series, “The Dark Corners of the Night,” Hendrix, now working as an FBI behavioral analyst, is on the hunt for the serial killer going by the moniker of “The Midnight Man.” His MO is breaking into the homes of families, murdering the parents and leaving the children orphaned. As she delves deeper into the murders and the psyche of the killer, she realizes they are dealing with something and someone incredibly rare and horrific — more so than the threats presented in the first two books.
Many thriller writers save that elusive twist for the end of the book, and it spoils nothing to tell you Gardiner reveals the traits of the murderer about halfway through the novel, which also is where it becomes as engrossing of a read as Harris’ “Silence.”
After Gardiner discloses the murderer's identity, as well as his incentive to kill, the book's somewhat slow beginning accelerates as Caitlin and the authorities tasked to the Midnight Man’s task force desperately rush to apprehend and prevent him from claiming more victims.
Gardiner deftly sets the final showdown at a downtown Los Angeles redevelopment project. It is a four-block area about to be demolished and replaced with upscale office buildings and apartments, but not before providing the perfect atmosphere for the book’s final confrontation.
Here, Gardiner's characters encounter enhanced dangers and suspense as they close in on the killer, and her gift as an author, vividly painting descriptions of car chases and abandoned building showdowns, becomes all the more apparent.
Gardiner succeeds, albeit not as much as in the first two books, at creating a compelling, frightening mystery that is completely absorbing and highly entertaining.
A good protagonist must be somewhat relatable, and in the case of Hendrix, her relatability comes in her flaws. Insecure about the relationship her boyfriend has with his ex-wife, still haunted by the sins of her father who was the lead detective on a serial killer case referenced in the first two books and still carrying the uncertainty of whether she can be an effective profiler, all make for some layered character development.
Fans of the thriller genre will be absorbed with Gardiner's character and should probably start with the first in the series, “UNSUB.” While “The Dark Corners of the Night” might be the weakest of the three, it is still a novel you will race to finish, and Google “book number four” to see if a release date has yet been set.
With Michael Connelly’s “Bosch” recently wrapping up filming on its sixth and final season, Amazon Studios acquired the rights to produce and film Gardiner’s “UNSUB” series. It will be fun to see if they give Caitlin Hendrix and the books the justice they deserve. While I will probably not be as freaked out as I once was by Hannibal, I am hoping the film version of Caitlin will rank right up there with Clarice.
Brett Hiner can be emailed at workinprogressWWN@gmail.com.