Abandoned - Cody McFadyen

HE DOESN'T KILL FOR THRILLS, FOR SEX, OR EVEN FOR POWER. IT'S FAR MORE TWISTED THAN THAT. . . .

Cody McFadyen, acclaimed author of The Darker Side, The Face of Death, and Shadow Man, delivers this shocking new thriller that brings to light a psychopath unlike any we've ever seen--a killer who thrives in absolute darkness and doesn't derive pleasure from the kill. And only one woman has the ability to see him coming . . . even if it's already too late to stop her own murder.

For FBI special agent Smoky Barrett, the wedding of one of the Bureau's own was cause for celebration. Until a woman staggered down the aisle, incoherent, emaciated, head shaved, and wearing only a white nightgown.
No one knows who she is or where she's come from--or why she's chosen to appear in a church filled with law enforcement agents. Then a fingerprint check determines that the woman has been missing for nearly eight years--that once she was someone's wife, someone's mother. . . and a cop. Imprisoning her in a dark cell, depriving her of any contact with the outside world, her enigmatic captor was a man she didn't know and who seldom spoke, who punished her only when she failed to follow his most basic instructions designed to keep her alive.
Cold, businesslike, seemingly indifferent to his victims, he's a predator with an M.O. as terrifyingly inscrutable as any Smoky has ever encountered. As she fits together the pieces of what remains of his victim's fractured life, a chilling picture emerges of a killer every bit as calculating, masterful, and professional as Smoky and the team she leads--a psychopath who doesn't take murder personally and never makes a mistake.
There's a reason he let one of his victims go free. And by the time Smoky pierces the darkness of his twisted mind, it may cost her more than she can bear to lose to escape. For a trap snapped closed the moment she took this case too much to heart.

Title: Abandoned
Author: Cody McFadyen
Genre: Adult Fiction, Thriller, Suspense.
Publisher: Bantam Books
My Rating: 5/5

Cody has done it again. In this latest installment, Smoky Barrett has met the most disturbing serial killer yet. Reminiscent of the show Criminal Minds, Smoky and her team are FBI profilers. This is the fourth book with this set of characters, and they all are portrayed amazingly. I can't tell you how much I love this cast of characters. The side characters are more so three dimensional as well. (I'll just say that I'm a huge fan of one of the side characters in this book, and I'm now somewhat perturbed with Cody. I won't post spoilers as I don't want to ruin the book for anyone.) This book is incredibly detailed, and some of the things that are done are just gruesome, but it just adds more to the story. It is very gritty, and the characters are so human. The level of depravity they have to deal with is incredible. I enjoyed this book immensely and was surprised by the ending as I didn't see that coming. (I probably should have, but I didn't. It just goes to show you how great an author Cody is.) It is a hauntingly dark read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good, dark, thriller.


This book counts toward the 2010 100+ Reading Challenge hosted over at J. Kaye's book blog.