Swimsuit ,
by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Read by Christian
Rummel)
Do not allow the title of this book to
let you pass it by. This is a fantastic story of a psychotic
killer who gets paid for his acts. No, he is not a hit
man who puts down his victims with two shots to the
back of the head. He is a killer without remorse who
not only enjoys his work but is highly paid by a group
of super wealthy people for providing them with videos
of his work. The psychotic killer, Henri Benoit, is
paid by a wealthy and very powerful German man who sends
the videos via Internet to an international group of
voyeurs Henri calls "The Peepers." The videos
show everything that has taken place -- the abductions,
the rapes and the actual murders. The group, officially
known as the Alliance, is constantly asking for more
and more sexual and violent action.
This story starts in Maui with Henri's
first murder, but far from the last one, on the islands.
Kim McDaniels, a young swimsuit model is murdered and
everyone thinks she has just gone on a spree. The killer
calls her parents back on the mainland and tells them
she has been kidnapped and is in very bad hands. When
they can't get any information by calling the hotel
where Kim was staying, they fly to Maui. Although they
get very little help from the police, they are befriended
by a crime reporter from the Los Angeles Times, Ben
Hawkins.
From the moment they arrive in Hawaii,
the parents unknowingly interact with their daughter's
killer. When the McDaniels arrive at the airport, they
are met by a chauffeur named Marco who tells them the
hotel sent him to take the McDaniels wherever they want
to go. They have no idea that Marco is really the killer,
Henri. The next day at a police press conference, a
photographer introduces himself to Ben Hawkins who is
standing with the McDaniels. His name and press credentials
identify him as Charles Rawlings, but he is really Marco,
AKA Henri, the killer.
The killings go on, eventually claiming
the lives of the McDaniels. When they are killed, Ben
Hawkins returns to Los Angeles since there will be no
human interest story with the girl's parents. It is
then that Henri confronts Ben and demands that he write
and publish his biography. Ben disapproves of it and
doubts Henri is for real. He is shocked but convinced,
when Henri shows him the video of Kim McDaniels being
raped and then beheaded by the monster. Henri tells
Ben that he and his girlfriend will be killed if Ben
does not write his autobiography. The story then moves
to Paris where Henri continues his killing. Ben and
his girlfriend follow Henri and a cat and mouse game
is played out.
The conclusion will shock even the most
attentive listener. As he gathers information from Henri
for his biography, Ben learns all the details from Henri's
early youth and of the killing spree he's been on into
the present. This book is gripping from the opening
page to the last. It will leave you wondering if Henri
is just a cold-blooded killer or if he is driven by
an obsession to understand life and death. He tells
Ben at one point that he always wondered what the last
thoughts one had at that precise moment between life
and death. This book is highly recommended as an absorbing
mystery thriller and an intriguing look into the mind
of a killer.
John
Mormon
7/24/09
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