Michael Geczi

Keith Victor is a serial killer who has never hidden who he is – kidnapping, then killing his (so far) six victims. Law enforcement knows his name and more about him, but haven’t (yet) been able to find or stop him. When he kidnaps Chrissy Weeks, though, he has gotten in over his head.

(This is not a spoiler, as it happens at the start of the book): Chrissy walks into a police station right around the same time Keith Victor’s body is found. He has been shot in the head. She gives strange and confusing answers to the police’s questions.

I really liked this. It was a very different take on a mystery. One thing that I found a bit confusing, though, was sometimes referring to characters by first name and sometimes last name. Especially the police and FBI – there were quite a few of them, so it got a bit confusing to remember who was who. The author did look into the personal lives of some of law enforcement, as well. I did (mostly) enjoy those stories, too. There was a cliffhanger ending, though, so this means I will “have” to read the next book (whenever it comes out – hope I remember!).… (mais)

The new novel by Michael Geczi, Hunting A Cat in Dogtown, is the sequel to, Killer Dead, Victim Alive. Both novels are part of the author’s, Serial Killer Anthology. Like his prior novel, the sequel has exciting action with interesting characters reacting to serial murders that involved the sociopath, Chrissy. Well, in the new novel she is indisposed. So long, Chrissy it’s been bad to know you! But then, new bodies start showing up near the same places as the first serial murders. Is there a copycat killer dumping bodies at the scenes of the former crimes? A team of police and FBI try to validate the theory. They investigate a variety of characters in the unique area of Santa Monica California nick named Dogtown that was the birthplace of the surfing and skateboarding crazes of the 1970s. The development of relationships between people in Killer Dead, Victim Alive continues and the reader gains more insight into the motivations of former and new characters. Several mini-stories unfold in the 72 chapters titled with character, situation, and place names. The mystery and action keep the reader recalling and integrating information from the first novel and trying to solve the mystery in the second novel. The Serial Killer Anthology is a very good set of connected novels by the author of Equinox.… (mais)

Sometimes it is helpful to place people into various categories, but the groupings should not be based on spurious labels such as skin color, gender preference, or “abnormal” tags. Mislabeling people for one’s own convenience leads to potentially lethal decisions. The positive method for describing heroes and miscreants alike is to consider their consistent patterns of behavior. Readers of this very good novel will consider categories related to the consistent behaviors of narcissists, victims, enablers, pawns, and “externals.” Michael Geczi shows us that finding consistency in some characters is challenging as they seem to act randomly much of the time. A serial killer who murdered victims randomly actually had a method to his madness. However, his chaotic actions were externally determined. Oh what a tangled web persists when the serial killer is terminated and left out on a shoreline path. Great action-packed stand alone mystery novel (Serial Killer Anthology).… (mais)