They Never Die Quietly by D. M. Annechino : A Review

BOOK TITLE: They Never Die Quietly

AUTHOR: D.M. Annechino

ISBN/ASIN: B002WGC8K0

GENRE: Adult Fiction / Detective Thriller

NUMBER OF PAGES: 256

FORMAT: Digital

SERIES / STANDALONE: Detective Sami Rizzo Thriller #1

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK:I thank Laura Fabiani of iRead Book Tours for this review copy.

SUMMARY:

They Never Die Quietly tells the story of homicide Detective Sami Rizzo, who is assigned to head a task force investigating serial killings in San Diego. Simon, the highly intelligent, cunning, and deceptively charming villain, redefines the depths of human evil. He believes God has given him absolute authority to purify his unholy victims through a ritual that ends in a grisly crucifixion. Driven by warped religious beliefs and guided by his dead mother, very much alive in his subconscious, Simon abducts “chosen ones” and holds them captive in a Room of Redemption. 

There, the victims helplessly await their crucifixion. Detective Rizzo urgently yearns to solve the case and gain the respect of her male colleagues, but her obsession to apprehend the killer on her own clouds her thinking. When Simon outsmarts Rizzo and captures her, determined to make her his next victim, she must employ all her resources—both physical and intellectual—to outwit the villain at his own game.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

I have always been a fan of the thriller genre. Though there are many classifications under this broad topic, police procedural thrillers hold a special place in my heart - especially given the fact that I love James Patterson's books. Needless to say, a strong woman detective, police psychological thrillers and a good title and cover are reasons why I picked this book up.

The cover is simple in its brilliance. The bloody hand print is promising, chilling and of course made me want to read the book. The title sounded like a mockingly sad words of a serial killer - a strong meaning under a simple sentence.

REVIEW:

The prologue - (I should have expected this from the summary, though) failed to impress me in any new way. Agreed that it was from a different view point and it definitely sets the tone for the book. But sadly, and this might partly be due to the enormous number of such thrillers I might have read before in this genre, the prologue had nothing new. I just read it through like a story description instead of the spine chilling effect it should have had on me.

The story from then on follows the same mood. Of course it is written well. But I could not help shake the feeling that it follows a basic formulaic plot. A psychotic serial killer who believes he has a reason to commit the murders he so ruthlessly does, a lone woman detective in a testosterone filled department, scenarios set for the detective and the killer to meet out of work and get acquainted and finally the detective suspecting the truth. But Sami Rizzo somehow fails to exhibit the shrewd acumen of a lone 'more intelligent than the men' lady detective and gets into the hands of the killer. Whether or not she gets out of the situation alive forms the rest of the story.

Not to be too harsh on the story and the plot, it is quite interesting if the reader is new to the genre. There is the thrill element and then there are lots of little details that seem interesting but are additions to the story that don't offer much to the improvement of the plot as is but manage to draw the reader in. The story is true to its summary, and the language is decent. But the major complaint is that, the plot manages to become predictable and uses many cliched elements. It does not offer anything new to its readers. But overall, a great attempt and if you are not put off by the highly predictable twists and turns or the occasionally frustrating Lead Detective, you might love this book.

WHAT I LIKED:

• The title. It sends a good message and makes the reader expectant
• The cover image. Simple, striking and intriguing.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

• The plot and its elements are too predictable
• The lead character surely does not fall in line with other iconic role models of her type
• The police procedures, rules and details should have been written a bit more carefully.

VERDICT:

This book might interest you if you have not read thrillers before, and think that every plot element mentioned here has never been done or even tried before. But if you are an avid fan like me, please give this a miss.

RATING: 3/5


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Daniel M. Annechino, a former book editor specializing in full-length fiction, wrote his first book, How to Buy the Most Car for the Least Money, in 1992 while working as a General Manager in the automobile business. But his passion had always been fiction, particularly thrillers. He spent two years researching serial killers before finally penning his gripping and memorable debut novel They Never Die Quietly.

​His second book, Resuscitation (Thomas & Mercer 2011), a follow-up to his first novel, hit #1 in Kindle sales in the UK and reached #26 in the USA. He is also the author of I Do Solemnly Swear (Thomas & Mercer 2012) and Hypocrisy. A Piece of You is his fifth novel, the third in the Detective Sami Rizzo series. A native of New York, Annechino now lives in San Diego with his wife, Jennifer. He loves to cook, enjoys a glass of vintage wine, and spends lots of leisure time on the warm beaches of Southern California.

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

PRICE $1.93 for Kindle, $11.99 for Paperback.

BOOK LINKS: Amazon