How far will people go for money?

That is something I kept thinking about when I was reading this novel by Greg Iles. I am a fan of his books because they are very character driven and deal with a lot of issues.

Alex Morse has a lot of issues. Her sister was recently murdered, her father was shot and killed in a random shooting, and her mother is dying of cancer and in her last days. Combine that with the scars on her face because of a failed hostage negotiation she was a part of, and the resulting death of her partner.....as I said she has issues.

I forgot one. Her nephew Jamie is still with his father, who she is damn sure paid to have her sister killed. So that was another pressure for her in the novel.

She believes her sister was murdered and the trails leads to Andrew Rusk, a lawyer in Jackson, Mississippi. Strangely, a number of his client's spouses have died under mysterious circumstances. Every single one the victims were millionaires. She approaches Dr. Chris Shephard because she found out that his wife has just seen Andrew Rusk.

Thus starts a chilling story of the lengths people will go to get money. It was more than a bit frightening. I say this because of the fact that I have read my share of novels that deal with murder mysteries, and the crazy reasoning behind them. What creeped me out about this book was the method of murder.

The "villian" in this novel was Eldon Tarver. He crafted a virus that could be injected into people and it would give them cancer. That is such a horrible way for someone to die. The scam was it would save the The MOST horrible part is the spouses that pay to have this done, have to sit and watch their partner die of cancer, knowing they are the ones that paid for it to happen. That is truly messed up.

Chris Shephard did not want to believe Alex. I can understand that, people see what they want to see and it is easy to convince ourselves that something doesn't exist. Once he gets on board with Alex he unfortunately crosses paths with Tarver. In a very unique way of handling the situation, Tarver put a sleeping gas into Shepards house, therefore putting Chris, his step-son, and a retired detective that Alex had watching them to sleep. He then injected the virus into Chris.

So part of the story was someone that is very crucial to the story, having to deal with cancer like symptoms. That is not something I have evern seen done before and it really, really worked. It gave the story a sense of urgency, and it became a race of sorts.

I won't ruin the ending, but as per mystery guidelines, the day is saved.

My Rating System

Rating. Amazingly, good read.  7.5 out of 10. This book was really, really good. It was chilling and more than a bit creepy. I know there are some less than nice people out there, and that some of those people would do anything they could to get their hands on millions. The story and characters were crisp and well done. As I said, I am a fan of Greg Iles and he did not dissapoint.