Dead End Girl (Violet Darger FBI Mystery Thriller)

Dead End Girl is a tightly woven, fast-paced, tension-laced thrill ride. How do I know? Because it's 496 pages long and it felt like reading a novella. For pretty much two days I did nothing but read this book and wish it would never end. By the end of the first chapter, Violet felt like an old friend; I just wanted to hang out and watch her solve grisly serial murders forever. Because of the serial killer and the FBI trainee with the haunted past chasing him, the obvious comparison is Silence of the Lambs—and don't get me wrong, if you liked Silence of the Lambs, you'll love Dead End Girl. But with the story taking an active interest in Violet Darger's life outside of the case, Dead End Girl—and likely all of the Violet Darger series—will also be a favorite among lovers of J.A. Konrath's Jack Daniels mysteries. At the same time, there's so much attention to detail and organic storytelling that this could easily compete with any of Stephen King's longer works. I found myself completely invested in every character, from the authorities to the killer to the victims themselves. Because blood and gore are great, and tracking down sickos is fun, but the living aren't the only characters who haunt the pages of Dead End Girl—the victims come to life, too. The authors have presented us with people, not Doll Parts, individuals who had names, families, flaws, senses of humor, and dreams before death turned them into front page fodder, clickbait, and short appositives that left more room for sensationalizing their grisly end. At its heart, that's what Dead End Girl is all about—forcing us to reevaluate our own voyeuristic interest in death, as well as the snap judgments about people that we make every day. Dead End Girl is an intriguing and entertaining start to what I hope is a long, long run of Violet Darger novels. If the whole series was available today, I'd buy them all and binge-read them straight through, but since it's not, I'm waiting on the edge of my favorite reading chair for the next one. If you love the serial killer genre, then this is a must-read for you.

Gave it a 4 , should have given it 3.5 Slow start not quite a Jack Anderson page turner. Seems the Publisher told the writer to redo with more long drag out irrelevant information. Author needs to included more realistic background information about the local police and real streets and places that really exists. Seems the author got tired of writing the ending and drag out the female FBI agents fight for ten papers. Overall Needed to be a little more realistic. Author needs to send out manuscript to 50 more people to review. Why is more information needed in order to submit. Why is more information needed to submit included more realistic background information about the local police and real streets and places that really exists. Seems the author got tired of writing the ending and drag out the female FBI agents fight for ten papers. Overall Needed to be a little more realistic. Author needs to send out manuscript to 50 more people to review. Why is more information needed in order to submit. Why is more information needed to submit included more realistic background information about the local police and real streets and places that really exists. Seems the author got tired of writing the ending and drag out the female FBI agents fight for ten papers. Overall Needed to be a little more realistic. Author needs to send out manuscript to 50 more people to review. Why is more information needed in order to submit. Why is more information needed to submit local police and real streets and places that really exists. Seems the author got tired of writing the ending and drag out the female FBI agents fight for ten papers. Overall Needed to be a little more realistic. Author needs to send out manuscript to 50 more people to review. Why is more information needed in order to submit. Why is more information needed to submit bb. local police and real streets and places that really exists. Seems the author got tired of writing the ending and drag out the female FBI agents fight for ten papers. Overall Needed to be a little more realistic. Author needs to send out manuscript to 50 more people to review. Why is more information needed in order to submit. Why is more information needed to submit bb.

It was wonderful ! You always hope to come across a good thriller with a strong female component. Still with a strong story , and this is it. I love Patricia Cromwell, but in saying that,when I need a break from studying history, I have you . So thank you, and don't stop!

The basic story line was good and some of it was exciting. You could definitely tell the different styles of the two writers. There were two chapters about the killer that seemed to meander on and on. In my opinion the book needed further editing.

Five stars! Couldn’t put it down! Kept me on edge and didn’t expect all the twists and turns! Team Darger!

***This Review Contains Spoilers*** I enjoyed this book a lot. Darger's story was a good one, and I really enjoyed Loshak's personality. The story started off a bit slow, but once it picked up, it was pretty smooth and captivating. Midway through the book, I was hooked and would have to fight myself from reading the next chapter (so that I could get at least a decent amount of sleep). The ending was a bit disappointing for me. The build-up was great, but I feel the ending didn't do its justice. I feel like I was left with more questions than answers =/ One of my biggest gripes is how "dramatic" Darger was portrayed. There were a lot of Soap Opera vibe moments from Darger, which got old after the 2nd one. Other than that, I really did enjoy the story and do recommend it! Onto the next one!

Love this series and really hope to be able to continue reading Violet Dagger books for years - many, many years- to come.

Well-written, very good book! I’m hooked. If you’re looking for a thriller that sucks you in, this is it. Enjoy!

Really enjoyed this book. Surprises and twists a brilliant read

The storyline dealt with many lives showing the realistic people at their best and worst. The ending reflected life goes on.

Although I enjoyed reading this first installment of violets stories I could of done without all the time spent with the killer but none the less a very good read with believable characters and story line that kept me turning the pages.