AZURE DYING

Haunting suspense/thriller debut by author Gordon.

After a lifetime of abuse at the hands of his warped mother, 25-year-old Austin, Texas, resident Adam Parker takes the advice of a homeless person and decides to “give it back.” In his warped interpretation, that means making a human-sized “killing jar” in the back of his Hummer H2. Watching his young female victims suffocate, then hanging their corpses, brings Adam–or “D” or the Capital Hangman–a level of satisfaction that he finds addictive. Stymied by the complete lack of DNA “D” leaves, Austin detective Stanley Bodinger gets his first break when a young witness emerges. Knowing the make and color of the “killing jar” helps, but learning that the third victim was the adored assistant of his former partner, Frank Castro, puts him in a race against the alcoholic, lawless, skilled investigator. Not only is Frank determined to make Tiffany’s killer pay with his own life, he needs to play out his resentment against Stanley, who he feels betrayed him 20 years prior, after a fatal shooting. Adam’s growing fascination with the two men trying to identify him makes his choice of his next victim less random. As the suspense builds and Adam loses his tenuous grasp on self-control, readers will be unable to put Azure Dying down. Extending far beyond realism to a realm most people never experience, and probably do not care to contemplate, the book takes readers on a twisted journey into abuse, alcoholism and serial killing. Adam’s flashbacks to his incestuous relationship with his mother, combined with graphic depictions of the murder scenes and Frank’s everyday life, are not for the squeamish. Although deeply flawed, Frank is the book’s most engaging character.

Disturbing, well-written page-turner, but the gritty subject matter may turn off some readers.