Review: Fear Collector by Gregg Olsen

Fear Collector
by Gregg Olsen
Publisher: Kensington
Publication date: December 24, 2012
Genre: Crime Thriller/Suspense/Mystery
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

"YOU'LL SLEEP WITH THE LIGHTS ON AFTER READING GREGG OLSEN." --Allison Brennan  Ted Bundy. America's most notorious serial killer. For two women, he is the ultimate obsession. One is a cop whose sister may have been one of Bundy's victims. The other is a deranged groupie who corresponded with Bundy in prison--and raised her son to finish what Bundy started. To charm and seduce innocent girls. To kidnap and brutalize more women than any serial killer in history. And to lure one obsessed cop into a trap as sick and demented as Bundy himself. . .

Fear Collector delivered a suspenseful thriller about the ripple effect of Ted Bundy a notorious serial killer. Olsen takes us up close and personal into the lives of police detective Grace Alexander, her mother and an obsessed woman who loved Ted and thinks she is raising his son.

Grace was born after her sister’s murder. Her mom believes Ted Bundy murdered Tricia but her body was never recovered and he denied any involvement. Grace grew up completely in Tricia's shadow and entered law enforcement in search of answers. Peggy loved Bundy, she obsessed about him and raised her son to be just like his daddy. When girls start showing up dead, and the bones of a female wash up along the river; Grace and her partner Paul Bateman search for clues. The tale that unfolds was suspenseful as Olsen gave us multiple perspectives from the killer, Bundy, a kidnapped girl, Peggy and Grace.

Olsen did a great job of taking us into the psyche of all of the characters. While I understood Grace’s mother, I also mourned for the loss of Grace’s childhood. The killer’s perspective and Peggy’s was deliciously creepy and kept me reading late into the night. Bundy and his letters sent chills down my spine. I found it interesting that I was able to identify with each character good or evil. The characters were well fleshed out making the tale seem all too real.

The world building was excellent as Olsen weaved this suspenseful tale. He brought all of the key players to life. Even secondary characters help build the suspense and added believability to the case. I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives and even the letters between Bundy, and the victim’s parents. The tale weaved back and forth with the different characters, but always in a forward motion, slowly allowing the reader to recreate events, draws conclusions and watch the depth of the characters unfold. The conclusion while not a surprise did have a little clever twist. The author provided an update on all of the characters after the tale ended and I enjoyed reading about what became of each of them and felt it added to the realism.

I recommend Fear Collector to fans of crime thrillers and suspenseful mysteries. This was the first book I have read by Olsen but I can assure you it will not be my last. You can find a complete list of his works here.

I want to thank Kensington for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Four cups of high-test coffee out of five