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Summary
Summary
This murderer went after young courting couples in an attempt to "save their souls." Nadia was killed by the first blow of the hammer. John survived, but was physically and psychologically scarred to an extent that few people could comprehend. He withdrew from society, hid in his apartment, and now only emerges to work as a crime researcher for a major newspaper. Damaged as he may be, no one in New Jersey knows more about serial killers than John Costello. So, when a new spate of murders starts-all seemingly random and unrelated-John is the only one who can discern the complex pattern that lies behind them. But could this dark knowledge threaten his own life?
Author Notes
Roger Jon Ellory was born in Birmingham, England, June 20th 1965. He was orphaned at age seven when his mother, Carole - an actress and dancer - died of pneumonia.
Between August 2001 and January 2002 Ellory wrote three books, the second of which was called Candlemoth which was published by Orion in 2003. Candlemoth was translated into German, Dutch and Italian, and has now also been purchased for translation in numerous other languages. The book was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Steel Dagger for Best Thriller in2003.
Roger's third book, A Quiet Vendetta, was released in August 2005 and went on to win the Quebec Laureat 2010 and the Villeneuve Prix Des Lecteurs 2010 in its French translation.
In 2006 Ellory published City of Lies which again was nominated for the CWA Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of that year. His fifth book - A Quiet Belief In Angels - was published in August 2006 and was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club. The book has since been translated into twenty-five languages. A Quiet Belief In Angels went on to be shortlisted for the Barry Award for Best British Crime Fiction, the 813 Trophy, the Quebec Booksellers' Prize, The Europeen Du Point Crime Fiction Prize, and was winner of the Inaugural Prix Roman Noir Nouvel Observateur, The Strand Magazine Best Thriller of the Year, the Livre De Poche Award 2010, and the US Indie Excellence Award for Best Mystery.
Ellory's subsequent book, A Simple Act of Violence, received a Barry Award nomination for Best British Crime Fiction of 2008. A Simple Act of Violence went on to win the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year Award.
In late 2009 R. J. released The Anniversary Man and then Saints of New York in early 2010. He has now completed Bad Signs for a June 2011 release.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This disappointing crime thriller from Ellory (A Quiet Belief in Angels) focuses on a serial killer who restages famous murders with new victims across New York City. As the surprisingly ineffectual NYPD struggles to track down the Anniversary Killer, Det. Ray Irving finds himself unexpectedly allied with the enigmatic and reclusive John Costello, lone survivor of a previous serial killer's rampage and perhaps New York's foremost authority on serial killers. While the fiend strikes again and again, Ray is forced to depend on the fragile John, despite the personal cost to John as well as Ray's growing concerns about John's reliability. Ellory's operatic story, for all its entertaining purple-tinged prose and forays into the lurid underbelly of serial-killer fandom, brings little new to this familiar subgenre. His decaying New York as a place of unrelenting despair and violence will strike many as far more suited to the 1970s than to the present. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Uneven thriller about a New York City police detective who tracks a copycat serial killer.Ellroy (A Quiet Belief in Angels, 2009) begins with the appealing John Costello, nearly 17 and growing up in Jersey City. When John spots Nadia, a beautiful young woman, they begin a passionate relationship. One night, as they sit outdoors, a man approaches from behind and smashes Nadia's head with a hammer. Nadia dies, John narrowly escapes and the killer eventually commits suicide at a psychiatric facility. Ellroy now jumps forward 11 years and, in what may be a strategic mistake, shifts to the point of view of police detective Ray Irving. The author provides ample details to animate Irving and his Manhattan, but neither the man nor the place equal the vibrance of Costello and his Jersey City. At work, Irving confronts a killing similar to Nadia'sin Bryant Park, the body of a teenage girl turns up, her head crushed. Then the bodies of two teenage girls, shot in the head, are dumped along FDR Drive. Later, the body of a young man, his face painted like a clown, is found in a drain. A story in the City Herald traces the killings to those of serial killers of the past. Because all these killers were executed or are currently imprisoned, the story suggests a copycat killer is at large. How did reporter Karen Langley develop this theory? With aid from research assistant John Costello, who now obsessively compiles information about serial killers. Langley points out to Irving that the present-day killings occur on the anniversaries of the earlier murders. Aided by Langley and Costello, Irving digs through a massive haystack of serial-murder cases to find a needleanother case the killer will recreate. After several dead-ends, the three face off with the Anniversary Man in a tense scene in Madison Park.Ellory's prose is rather colorless, the plot lacks pace and momentum and Irving, at the center of it, is lackluster.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* This is one of those police-procedural gems that come along once in a blue moon. The book is entirely free of the tired formulas that drive way too many procedurals and that often seem more oriented toward securing movie rights than telling a story. And what a story this is! NYPD Detective Ray Irving overworked, underpaid, and absolutely dedicated to his job risks his code of ethics and, ultimately, his life to track down a serial killer who is imitating the crimes of some of the worst monsters our society has spawned. An increasing number of leads begin flowing in from newspaper researcher John Costello, a psychologically damaged survivor of the Hammer of God killer. Two decades after that traumatic event, Costello now seems to have garnered an uncannily encyclopedic knowledge of serial murderers. Costello's almost prescient information soon makes him Irving's number-one resource as well as his number-one suspect. Although Ellory is widely acclaimed in his native Britain, his books have not yet received widespread distribution in the U.S. Following A Quiet Belief in Angels (2009), this could be the one to put his name in lights in this country. Expect his name to be on every crime-fiction fan's lips in short order.--Swanson, Elliott Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Det. Ray Irving of New York's Fourth Precinct is a typical procedural hero-a man who has suffered loss and now has a rather solitary existence. He is investigating the murder of a teenage girl, but despite able forensic support he has virtually no leads. In the meantime, reporter Karen Langley has drafted an article linking Irving's case to other murders that have occurred around the city, all replicating crimes of past serial killers on the anniversaries of the gruesome deeds. Her research was conducted by John Costello, a survivor of a serial killer. Irving gains Costello's aid but remains uncertain whether his knowledge comes simply from prior study or has a more sinister explanation. Meanwhile, Irving and Langley begin a tentative relationship, which adds a positive element to this otherwise grim story. Verdict Despite the (to this reviewer) disappointing conclusion, Ellory's (A Quiet Belief in Angels) gripping thriller should appeal to lovers of procedurals and may also draw readers of true crime, as it deals with many actual serial killings.-Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
