The Journals of Taylor Hart: Inside the Mind of a School Shooter by Dan Andrews

Synopsis:

An extraordinary, disturbingly powerful collection of journals, The Journals of Taylor Hart is a collection of writings penned by a lonely, violent, and yet brilliant young man, spanning across more than four of his most formative years—culminating in the ultimate end of murder and slaughter on a university campus, giving the reader a once in a lifetime opportunity to glimpse into the mind of an individual capable of committing a mass school shooting.

On Monday, December 29th, 2008, Taylor Hart began writing his journals in spiral-bound notebooks. Obsessively, he recorded everything ranging from his thought provoking philosophical views down to beautiful short stories, even down to entries that could be described as nothing other than the products of raw emotion— insanity driven rants.

After four years of spiraling downward, Taylor’s maniacal and sociopathic progression collapses, concluding with his suicide in his university’s observatory and with the confiscation of his writings, but now, after some time, Dan Andrews has reacquired his former close friend’s unpublished journals. Published with all of Taylor’s originality intact, laced with timeless existential questions and violence, The Journals of Taylor Hart forces the reader to confront the question, “Who is the next person on the brink of committing the world’s next atrocity?”

Intriguing and disturbing all at once

Taylor Hart’s journals take you through the mind of a seriously tortured soul. Following him for four years, you can see the insanity building up as it gets closer to the end.

There were many entries where I found myself cringing and feeling ill. These scenes usually involved animals.

Going into this, I was expecting to see a few more entries written about what lead to his murder spree and suicide. But, I suppose the whole book is a build up to that.

There are many entries that make you think, and some that you may even agree with.

It is an interesting fiction look into a mind full of demons.

That being said, I was hoping for just a bit more.

3/5 stars.

 Click To Purchase!

Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson

Synopsis:

DON'T LOOK, ALEX CROSS Top plastic surgeon Elijah Creem is renowned for his skills in the operating room, and for his wild, no-expense-spared "industry parties," bringing in underage exotic dancers and models for nights of drugs, champagne, and uninhibited sex. That is, until Detective Alex Cross busts one of Creem's lavish soirees and ruins his fun. Now Creem is willing to do anything to avoid going to jail. DON'T THINK, ALEX CROSS But Alex doesn't have time to dwell on that case. A beautiful woman has been found murdered in her car, a lock of her hair viciously ripped off. Then a second woman is found hanging from a sixth-floor window with a brutal scar slashed across her stomach. When a third mutilated body is discovered, rumors of three serial killers on the loose send Washington D.C. into an all-out frenzy. JUST RUN Alex is under so much pressure to solve these three grim cases that he hasn't noticed that someone else investigating him-someone so obsessed and so twisted that they'll do anything-ANYTHING- to get the vengeance they require.

This book was full of action. There were cases to solve left and right, but most of them were connected. Alex has three men to take down in this one before things spiral way too out of control.

I think this book was a lot better than the previous entry in the series. The bad guys were more interesting and it moved at a faster pace. There were also no terrorism sub-plots, which has left me disinterested for a bit in the last couple books.

The crime scenes were unique and reminded me of earlier cross books all at the same time. They were gruesome but psychologically interesting.

This one definitely kept me turning the page and wanting more. I can’t believe I am nearly caught up on this series!

4/5 stars

 Click To Purchase!

False Memory by Dean Koontz

Synopsis:

It's a fear more paralyzing than falling. More terrifying than darkness. More horrifying than anything you can imagine. It's the one fear you cannot escape, no matter where you run . . . no matter where you hide. It's the fear of yourself. It's real. It can happen to you. And facing it can be deadly. "Fear for your mind".

Dean Koontz hits your darkest fears with this deadly thriller. Going inside your mind and making you afraid of yourself and what you are capable of. He targets mind control and not having control over your own thoughts or actions. It is a truly horrifying concept that comes from one of the great creators of thrilling fiction.

False Memory has just a creepy tone to it that carries throughout the whole novel. It keeps you on the edge of your seat because it is impossible to put down. There are a bunch of twists and turns to haunt you on every page. It truly drags you through the realm of insanity.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it all seems unattainable.

The characters in this book are extremely interesting. This is especially true at the beginning when it appears that they developed crippling mental illnesses out of the blue. As the book progresses, the characters only become stronger and stronger.

This novel had everything that I really enjoy. Great characters that you can root for, a thrilling story that is fast-paced and eerie, great writing that doesn’t drag on and get boring, and ultimately and ending that I enjoyed.

The length of this book was a bit intimidating because of how large my TBR pile is, but once I really sat down with it, it was easy to finish it fairly quickly and I really recommend it for fans of thrillers.

5/5 Stars

 Click To Purchase!