Just Finished Reading: Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin (FP: 2018) [375pp] 

Texas, Present Day. She was certain it was him. Well, almost certain. At least as certain as anyone could be... Probably. After all, she had done her research. Years of it. Painstakingly reading the trail notes, checking alibies, interviewing the cops. So, pretty certain. But, as always, there was only ONE way to be sure – a confession for preference, with or without a gun to his head. Either way he was going to spill. To tell her what happened to her older sister the day she disappeared, to tell her where her body was buried so that they could grieve for real and then, once she was satisfied, what then? Take him to the police, confession in hand? Or use that gun she had been training with and send him to the Hell he deserved, the Hell that he had put her and her parents through all those years ago. But she had to be sure, so she had to get him away from the facility he was staying in, supposedly suffering from dementia. Then it was road trip time, visiting the sites of his most infamous killings. If that didn’t break him out of his brain ‘fog’ she didn’t know what would. Then she’d be sure... But what if it wasn’t him? What if he wasn’t suffering from dementia? What if he knew exactly what she was doing to play along, to make his escape? What if she was simply giving him his next victim? 

As usual I picked this thriller up because it looked ‘different’, something beyond the normal and something above the usual, and very tired, Serial Killer genre. I was not disappointed. The protagonist, Gail we learn eventually, is the baby sister of an abduction and disappearance victim, rather than the usual hard-boiled cop or PI. That alone makes things interesting. Then there’s the apparent killer himself. Is he the killer she thinks he is? Is he just a different killer? Is he even dangerous or just strange, often very strange? How accurate is the information she’s acquired by hook or by crook? Has her privately funded training made her capable enough for the trip ahead or will something she never thought of knock her on her ass – or worse. LOTS of questions are posed in just under 400 pages (which flew by) and quite a few of them are answered – but not in the way either Gail or I expected. Gail herself is an interesting complex character, but so is the suspected Serial Killer and renowned photographer Carl Feldman. He’s most definitely creepy and ‘off’ but we’re kept guessing as to whether or not he’s a killer. My thoughts on the subject wavered more than once throughout the book, which I liked. 

Over all I thought this was a very clever crime thriller. Not only was it very well constructed (I had a few very minor niggles but nothing of note) with a good flow and some nice unexpected turns, the two main characters were excellently drawn and a fair few of the secondary characters had a strong presence in their scenes too. I was definitely invested in the question of Carl’s guilt from the very beginning but I hardly needed this tugging me along as I was enjoying the narrative throughout. So, if you don’t mind the subject matter too much as well as a bit of blood, some violence and a significantly creepy vibe this is definitely the read for you. Very much recommended to all crime/thriller lovers looking for something a bit different.

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