Wallflower by Carolyn McCray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Wallflower” by Carolyn McCray is definitely not for the squeamish! Once again Kent Harbinger is on the trail of a serial killer accompanied by his detective lover Nicole.
As with the other Harbinger tales, Wallflower tracks the escalating horrors of a serial killer honing his craft. The plot for this story is great but unlike” Plain Jane”, the previous Harbinger thriller, I found the dialogue in this book a little stilted. While I must admit Kent still sounds like the delightfully pretentious guy we expect, Nicole has been somewhat reduced to a teenage minded girlfriend. Admittedly this change fits well with some of the action in the latter part of the story but it is still a little disconcerting to have the once stable Nicole become erratic.
It is nice to see the return of Ruben, Joshua, and the ever annoying medical examiner. The addition of Yvent, the observant Jewish profiler in training, is an interesting touch and I can’t help but wonder if we will see more of him in future books.
Overall this is a good story albeit with some unbelievable plot twists. But it is worth reading especially if you like Harbinger from earlier reads. The story still carries the gritty edge of “Plain Jane” and the end will once again catch you by surprise. At the end I found I was already hoping there would be a follow up so I can see where Kent and Nicole end up next and what other psychos they will come up against.
Between the Beats 