Book Review: The Murder List by Jackie Kabler

 

Book: The Murder List 

Author: Jackie Kabler 

Pages: 338

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~3 hours 

Plot Summary: 

When Mary receives a blank diary as a present, she thinks nothing of it. Until she opens the diary, and sees it’s not blank after all…

1st January MURDER LISA, OXFORD
1st February MURDER JANE, BIRMINGHAM
1st March MURDER DAVID, CARDIFF
1st April MURDER MARY, CHELTENHAM

Is this a sick joke? But…it’s the end of January now. And a woman called Lisa was murdered in Oxford on 1st January.

Could there really be a killer out there, planning to commit a new murder each month? And is the Mary due to be killed on 1st April her?

The clock is ticking for Mary to uncover the truth, before she becomes the next victim on the killer’s list. 

Things I Liked: 

1. Imagine a serial killer sending you a diary with the names and locations and dates of his planned murders. Except, the names are first names and super common ones at that and the last name on the list could be yours! Interesting, right? So, that's what this book is all about. Crime feature writer- Mary- receives a diary as a New Years' present from an anonymous sender. Since she doesn't use paper diaries, on January 30th, she adds it to the pile of gifts she is about to donate to a charity shop. Before chucking it in the pile, she opens it to see if there is clue as to who it is from so that she can send them a 'thank you' note. Instead, she finds a post-it on the first page asking her to read the diary. That's when she finds these names and takes the diary to the police. 

2. I liked how realistic this book was! The cops have first names, dates and locations and not much else to go on, so, they wait to see if someone called Jane is killed in Birmingham on February 1st before taking this diary seriously. Also, once they know this killer is not kidding, they start trying to find some connections between the first two victims and come up with potential victimology and try to warn as many Davids in Cardiff as possible that fit this profile... I mean, in such a situation what else could the cops even do without causing mass panic?

3. There is some mystery about Mary's past- her father and best friend died in a fire in her home, which burnt off a part of her face. So, there is that mystery that is teased throughout the book. So, you wonder what her deal is!

4. The book is pretty fast-paced and the narrative keeps you engrossed throughout. Always a good thing in crime fiction. 

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. The big mystery about Mary's past is very guess-able. I am sure almost everyone would've guessed it. I wish it wasn't so obvious!

2. The killer's identity is a bit strange and his/her motivations are not the clearest or very sensible.. It is almost like the author thought, "Hmmm, how do I have a not-obvious killer?" and BAM! came up with this weird rationale for the killing! Some may enjoy the reveal of the killer, but I was a bit stumped and annoyed with it! 

Rating: 3.5/5