Category Archives: Serial Killer

2013, 2014, Child abuse, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Forensics, Irish Detective Series, Kidnapping, Lesbian Theme, Netflix Streaming, Psychological Thriller, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Violent

The Fall (2013)

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From Netflix for Season One (2013)

When the Belfast police are stalled in their investigation of a spate of murders, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson is drafted to investigate. Under her lead, the team uncovers an intricate web of lives entangled by the killings.

By now (November 2016) Netflix offers all three seasons of this well-done serial-killer TV series. Season one has 5 episodes. Season two has 6 episodes. Season three has 6 episodes.

Gillian Anderson (of the X-Files) plays Stella Gibson as a blonde, slim, beautiful, intelligent, introspective, understated (not quite a sphinx) Detective Superintendent. Jamie Dornan (Christian Grey in “Fifty Shades of Grey”) is superb as the serial killer Paul Spector, who is as crafty as he is disturbed. From the very beginning of season one we witness his crimes and his impressive deceptions. He is a dedicated family man whom no one suspects. In season two his crimes continue, but more importantly he feels challenged to engage in personality combat with Stella. In fact, season two emphasizes the psychology of these two characters, both of whom had difficult childhoods.

Of course any serial killer theme is violent, but this series is no more gory than other similar TV series. Good writing, careful plots, fine acting all combine to make this a worthwhile adventure.

From Netflix for Season Two (2014)

When the Belfast police hit nothing but dead ends in their investigation of a series of murders, London-based Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson is sent to take over the case in this suspenseful and unsettling crime series. As she navigates her way through bureaucratic and personal entanglements, Gibson soon discovers that her serial killer prey is a far more complicated foe than she ever imagined — and he’s not about to give up easily.

Season Three (2015)

Season Three takes up exactly at the tense ending of Season Two which was obviously planned as a cliff hanger. Season Three starts off with a boring depiction of hospital emergency room procedure. But have patience, because Season Three is primarily a psychological delving into the personalities of Stella Gibson and Paul Spector and also Katie Benedetto (the teenager obsessed with Paul). There can be no possible continuation of this series beyond Season Three.

For its genre, this TV series is a DO NOT MISS.

2009, 2010, 2011, Amazon Prime, Bloody scenes, British Mystery Series, Computer geeks, Conspiracy, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Creepy, Crime, Detective, Disturbing Image, Forensics, Grim, Made For TV, Mental Illness, Murder Investigation, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Police Corruption, Psychological Thriller, Serial Killer, Suicide, Suspense, Violent

Whitechapel (2009)

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From Netflix:

Historic horror meets modern investigative methods in this atmospheric crime series set in 2008. When a killer mimics the murders of Jack the Ripper, a team of detectives and a tour guide join forces to bring the copycat to justice.

Amazon Prime offers all three seasons via streaming.

Yet another superb British detective TV series, and also as gory as are many other British shows.

Rupert Penry-Jones plays DI Joseph Chandler who suffers from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), especially when he is under stress, which is most of the time in this riveting series. Chandler is from the upper classes and is supposedly being groomed for upper management in the police force.

Philip Davis plays DS Ray Miles, who comes from the working class and acts as a perfect foil to Chandler’s obsessiveness. Initially Miles opposes Chandler. However, as Chandler gains the admiration of the force, both men become friends. In fact, Miles becomes somewhat of an emotional mentor for Chandler.

Steve Pemberton plays Edward Buchan who is fanatically fascinated with the history of crime, especially the history of such serial killers as Jack the Ripper. Many of the multiple episode stories involved copy-cat killers in which case Buchan’s dedication is essential in solving the cases.

There are three seasons: Season one and season two have each 4 episodes. Season three has 6 episodes. Every story is at least two episodes. Season one is devoted entirely to a Jack the Ripper copy-cat.

Kathy and I restricted ourselves to watching only one episode per night. However the stories are so engaging that it is very tempting to become a serial binger (i.e. one who binges on one episode after another non-stop).

As I have said, REALLY GORY!, but if that’s your cup of British tea, you will not regret watching.

2013, Bloody scenes, Corruption, Detective, Drugs, Erotic Thriller, Father-daughter relations, Irish, Mental Illness, Mostly About Sex, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Police Corruption, Police Story, Psychological Thriller, Redemption, Revenge, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Stalker, Strange Ending, Suicide, Suspense, TV Series, Use of Irish Brogue, Violent

The Trial (2013)

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From Netflix:

When the Belfast police are stalled in their investigation of a spate of murders, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson is drafted to investigate. Under her lead, the team uncovers an intricate web of lives entangled by the killings.

These days serial-killer dramas are standard fare and often very similar. Nonetheless some of these presentations are different enough to be of interest. So what makes this one season, 5 episode TV series which I streamed from Netflix worthwhile?

  • Both the police investigation and the ordinary home life of the married-with-kids serial killer develop at the same time. You constantly switch back and forth.
  • Instead of black and white, good and bad, the killer and the cops are humans with their own mixtures of good and bad.
  • Relations between different parties are intricately interwoven.
  • In the psychological makeup of the killer is an element of remorse and a desire for normalcy.
  • Gillian Anderson (of “X-Files” fame) is as good a stone-faced actor as she is beautiful
  • Jamei Dornan, the killer, deserves to be better known.
  • Be on the lookout for Archie Panjabi (Reed Smith in “The Fall”) who is the clever and mysterious woman Kalinda Sharma in “The Good Wife”.
  • Just as interesting as the main thread, are some secondary themes.

Tell me what you think of the ending. Since I was glued to the screen, I can only heartily recommend this TV series.

2013, Abduction, Addiction, Based on true facts, Child abuse, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crude Talk, Detective, Drugs, Grim, Nudity, Prostitutes, Serial Killer, Suspense, Thriller, True Story, Violent

Frozen Ground (2013)

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From Netflix:

In this fact-based thriller starring Nicolas Cage, an Alaska state trooper looking to bring a notorious serial killer to justice teams with a 17-year-old prostitute who escaped the predator’s clutches.

Oh no! Not another serial killer film! Nevertheless the film is well-done, exciting and engaging. Of course it doesn’t hurt that John Cusack portrays to perfection a very disturbed serial killer Robert Hansen. It always helps to have a really clever and devious bad guy. Nicolas Cage is excellent in his relentless drive to convict Robert Hansen.

Dean Norris plays Sgt. Lyle Haugsven. Every time I see Dean Norris I identify him with the DEA brother-in-law in the not-to-be-missed TV series “Breaking Bad”.

When you realize that this is a true story, the film takes on more urgency. At the end of the film the screen text tells us what happens to Robert Hansen after his conviction.

More than likely, I will never move to Alaska. But I was really caught up in this suspenseful film.

2013, Abduction, Book Review, Costa Rica, Crime thriller, Deep Sea Diving, Detective, Prostitutes, Psychiatrists, Psychological Thriller, Religious Theme, Revenge, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Stalker, Suspense, Thriller, Torture, Well developed plot

9 Killer Thrillers (2013) [Book Review]

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From Amazon I downloaded this collection of 9 Complete Thriller Novels onto my kindle for only 99 cents. At the beginning of the book there is a section “Blurbs” which gives a short sense of each story. Here is a brief summary of the 9 books contained therein:

The Halo Effect by M.J. Rose
Detective Noah Jordain seeks the help of a psychiatrist Morgan Snow whose clients are prostitutes. Noah is confronted with a serial killer who targets prostitutes. In particular the story concentrates on one such client of Dr. Snow named Cleo Thane who disappears while the murders are happening. Using somewhat questionable methods, Morgan Snow investigates on her own the disappearance of Cleo Thane. Much of the story involves Morgan’s inner musings on her life and her clients. M.J. Rose has written many books.
Vigilante by Claude Bouchard
My first impression was “This is amateurish and too simple”. But the end of the seemingly ordinary story knocked me for a loop because only until almost the last word (literally) do we learn who the VIGILANTE really is. Never have I been so cleverly misled. You are hereby challenged to see if you can guess what is really happening in the story. Upon finishing I had to re-read parts to see where I had gone so wrong. Claude Bouchard has written many books, including a collection called the Vigilante Series.
The Devil’s Deep by Michael Wallace
Costa Rica figures heavily in this thriller. Someone is doing evil things to patients and staff at Riverwood Care Center. Some of those patients are profoundly retarded, some trapped inside a frozen body. Wes, brother of one of the retarded patients, and Rebecca, a caretaker, are the heroes in this tale involving deep sea diving, murder, and family conspiracy. At least one surprising revelation awaits the reader. Not great literature but a page-turner nonetheless. Michael Wallace has written many thrillers.
Traces of Kara by Melissa Foster
YOU MIGHT WANT TO SKIP THIS SOMEWHAT TEDIOUS STORY. Rather than being a who-done-it, this suspense novel centers on a psychotic killer who is searching for his long-lost sister Marissa so that he can kill himself and the sister at the same time in order “to be together forever”. Other characters, notably Kara Knight and her mother Mimi and Sergeant Mark Agnew, eventually relate to the killer’s mad scheme. But how they relate is what you have to discover.

The 19th Element by John L. Betcher
Tom Clancy would love this story which is chuck full of all kinds of technical data which I skipped over without doing any damage to my enjoyment of the story. Basically Beck (a former undercover agent, now financially independent but cleverly disguised as a lawyer) gets wind of a terrorist plot to nuke a large area in the USA. He has trouble getting anyone else to believe him. One pleasant feature of the story is the constant sarcastic banter between Beck and his friends.
Big Lake by Nick Russell
When an armored car hijacking leaves two men dead, Arizona Sheriff Jim Weber takes the crime personally, because one of the dead men is his brother-in-law. His hunt for the killers leads him into a world of sordid sex, deceit, and violence, with a suspect list that includes jilted women, a family of anti-government survivalists, and the beautiful wife of the richest man in town. Nick Russell can produce enough action to keep me turning pages. Part of the appeal of the story is the small-town feeling and all the eccentric characters therein. Sheriff Jim Weber comes across as a solid lawman with an eye for the ladies and a tendency to violence when he is really angry. His bromance with special FBI agent Larry Parks offers a lot of amusing repartee. When the killer was revealed, I was surprised that I had never suspected the guilty party.
Before Her Eyes – Rebecca Forster
In a remote mountain community, the execution of a grocer and the abduction of a word-renowned model leave the local sheriff searching for a connection, two killers, and a woman running for her life. While Dove Connelly sets his investigation in motion, Tessa Bradley escapes her captors only to find greater peril ahead. As her life passes before her eyes, Tessa struggles to stay alive, prays for rescue, and fights for her soul’s salvation. One almost disconcerting feature of the writing is that Tessa’s ruminations, which are scattered everywhere, just start suddenly so that at times I wondered if I had skipped a page.
Corpus Christi by Luke Romyn
blah blah
2012, Acceptable Science, Book Review, Cancer theme, Child abduction and murder, Detective, Medical Theme, Mental Illness, Murder Investigation, Psychiatrists, Serial Killer

Kill Switch (2012) [Book Review]

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From Amazon:

Haunted by a disturbing childhood incident, Dr. Claire Waters is drawn to those “untreatable” patients who seem to have no conscience or fear. In a holding cell at Rikers Island, where the young forensic psychiatrist meets with a dangerous inmate whose boyish looks mask a sordid history of violence, her daring methods reveal a key to her own dark past. And when the case propels her into the mind of a homicidal maniac watching her every move, the only way to stop a killer from killing again is to go beyond the edge of reason…

Authors: Neal Baer and Jonathan Greene

Several threads make this mystery a page-turner:

  • Claire Waters’ own shattering childhood experience is interfering with her career and current case which is
  • treating and or catching a very sick serial killer
  • aided by a detective who is losing his eyesight.
  • One murder victim has a seemingly impossible cancer which needs an explanation.

Definitely worth a read!

2014, Abduction, Alcoholism, Child Molestation, Conspiracy, Corruption, Creepy, Crude Talk, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Explicit sex, FBI, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Philosophic Discussions, Physical child abuse, Police Corruption, Psychological Thriller, Serial Killer, Suspense, TV Series, Violent

True Detective (2014)

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From Netflix:

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson star in this crime drama about two detectives caught up in the 17-year-long hunt for a serial killer. Both cops’ roles in a 1995 murder investigation come back to haunt them when the case is reopened.

Because the DVDs are not yet available and because there was so much interest in this 8-episode series, I weakened and subscribed to HBO so that I could stream all 8 episodes without waiting. For $10 a month for one year, the money was well spent. HBO (and no, I am not getting a selling commission) offers not only streaming on HBOGO but also at least 14 channels on cable TV.

Besides a really gory serial killer and some pretty serious pedophilia, mostly the entire series concentrates on the two detectives. McConaughey and Harrelson have both matured in their acting as they present the two detectives constantly at each other’s throat. Harrelson is a flawed adulterer much to the unhappiness of his long-suffering wife. McConaughy is a moody philosophical pessimistic loner suffering throughout the film from the death of his young daughter and the subsequent failure of his marriage.

Wikepedia offers a very detailed discussion of the film including the plot for each episode. But that would be cheating!

“True Detective” is one of those crime series that can easily suck you into watching all episodes non-stop. But if this is your genre, then DO NOT MISS!

2013, Abduction, Action Film, Action Hero, Chase film, Clever Plot, Could Be Hard To Watch, Creepy, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Kidnapping, Prison, Sadism, Serial Killer, Suspense, Thriller, Violent

The Prey (2013)

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From Netflix:

This thriller follows the ups and downs of thief Franck Adrien, who’s serving prison time for a job whose proceeds he’s safely stashed away. But when the hidden loot and his family are compromised, Franck has no choice but to bust out early.

When you start to watch this film you get a choice of the original French version or the Americanized (i.e. dubbed) version. In addition with the English version you can select subtitles.

Brace yourselves because this is a very exciting, tense, well-done and violent French film. According to IMDB Albert Dupontel (the prison escapee Franck Adrien) has an impressive acting resumé. What does strain credibility is the actor’s superman ability to run, fight, leap from tall heights, recover from wounds and escape the police over and over. But then American movies are full of unbelievable superheroes.

In some sense the real star of the film is Stéphane Debac who plays Jean-Louis Maurel, a really creepy, clever, manipulative, charming serial killer of young girls. He kidnaps Franck Adrien’s little girl. Originally Franck escaped prison because he thought his $2 million stash was in danger. But most of the film concerns his efforts to rescue his daughter.

Suspense lasts till the last moment. If you like a really tight, tense plot then DO NOT MISS!

2010, Abduction, Acceptable Science, Asperger's Syndrome, Book Review, Crime, Forensics, Gritty, Interest in dogs, Medical Theme, Murder Investigation, Not Recommended, Plot Twist, Psychological Thriller, Revenge, Sadism, Serial Killer, Suspense, Torture, Violent

Port Mortuary (2010) [Book Review]

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From the Amazon page for the book:

Cornwell returns to form—somewhat—after the plodding Scarpetta Factor (2009). Told in the first person, the story finds Kay Scarpetta, now the chief medical examiner of the new Cambridge Forensic Center in Massachusetts, involved in a couple of cases: the mysterious sudden death of a man and the murder of a child (whose confessed killer seems to be innocent). Soon she begins to suspect the two cases are related—joined by a piece of high-tech hardware found in the first victim’s apartment—and before too long, she realizes she’s facing what could be her most clever foe yet. For the first time in a while, Cornwell seems genuinely interested in Scarpetta again, giving the novel that spark of life that has made the series so enjoyable for its many fans. The book is still a long way from the glory days of Postmortem (1991) and From Potter’s Field (1995), but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. Series fans who have felt a bit let down of late will be pleased.

Unfortunately this was the first Scarpetta novel I ever read as well as the first Patricia Cornwell I ever read. In the paragraph above there are recommendations for other Scarpetta novels that the critic deemed better.

My first impression is that Cornwell is a female version of a transmigrated Tom Clancey. No detail seems too small to include. If you like technical discussions you will love Cornwell.

As hinted in the critic’s paragraph above, she seems “interested” in Scarpetta. My general impression is that she ruminates constantly about Scarpetta’s inner worries. Scarpetta seems to spend her time fretting over her relationship with her husband, with her colleagues, with her subordinates, etc. In fact there is more navel contemplation than action. One oddity is that we never meet one of the most important personalities in the story although I will not offer a spoiler.

Her introduction to the book claims that every technical detail in the book is already true or is currently under government or industry development. If this is true, then the future looks rather bleak.

Although the plot is inventive and offers surprises, you might do better to start with another Scarpetta novel by Patricia Cornwell.

2013, Abduction, Car Chase, Clever Plot, Could Be Hard To Watch, Creepy, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Plot Twist, Psychological Thriller, Serial Killer, Suspense, Torture, Violent, Wonderful acting

Prisoners (2013)

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From Netflix:

When his 6-year-old daughter is abducted and the investigation stalls, carpenter Keller Dover tracks down the culprit himself. But his vigilante action pits him against the case’s lead detective and puts his own sanity at risk.

Hugh Jackman plays the father who becomes violently involved in the investigation. In this respect this role is somewhat of a departure for Jackman since his character’s behavior is so far over the line that he is almost a villain. But still the plot is clever enough that for almost the entire film you are not really sure Jackman is on the right track or just plain unhinged.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Lokki plays the calm, deliberate contrast to Jackman. Gyllenhaal’s job is complicated because he is both trying to find the kidnapped girls as well as keeping a suspicious eye on Jackman.

WARNING: Be prepared for violence, psychotic behavior, and torture.

Also expect some plot surprises. It takes the entire 153 minutes for answers to arrive. Finally I would enjoy hearing your reaction to the very end of the film, whose style is becoming more and more “trendy” and which has always made me chuckle.

Read the warning label and then DO NOT MISS!