Review: Chris Carter - An Evil Mind

Let me start with a huge thank you, to Jamie Groves at Simon & Schuster, who was so kind to provide me with a sample of the English version of ”An Evil Mind”. This review is for Jamie. The Danish edition will be on the blog as soon as the book is published in Danish :)

And then he did it again… wrote an absolute top class crime novel! An Evil Mind, was published in English on July 29.th and already 3 days later, it went straight to number 5 on the Sunday Times bestseller list!

I had been looking SO much forward to this book, but at the same time, I was quite nervous on getting started. Chris Carter had mentioned several times, that An Evil Mind was a lot different and without the same pace as his previous books. I actually think, that he’s been sounding more down than optimistic about it, when he has talked about how the readers might react to the book. He didn’t have to worry!

This time Robert Hunter is working with the FBI. They caught a man who refuses to talk to anyone but Hunter. The man turns out to be Lucien Folter – Hunters roommate from psychology study. They used to be best friends and Hunter agrees to talk to him, since he’s convinced there’s gotta be some kind of mistake.

A big part of the book goes with interviewing a serial killer so cruel and evil, as they are rarely seen. A serial killer who knows the psychology behind the crimes and also the psychology, the agents are using on him.  He admits to have a huge line of human lives on his conscious. The bodies are extremely well hidden and he refuses to reveal where they are, unless Hunter and the FBI is cooperating with him on his demands. He is holding all the cards!!

Although this book is different than the previous ones in the series, I definitely won’t say that it doesn’t have a pace. Almost the opposite. I kept holding my breath and grabbing the book so hard, that my hands hurt. An Evil Mind is not only exciting and extremely gruesome, it’s also heartbreakingly sad and it finally reveals why Hunter is the loner he is.

An Evil Mind is the first one of Chris Carters books to be released on the American market. I know that he’s been having some agonies about it, since he didn’t feel that this was the right book for them to start with. I sort of agree with him. Not because the book is having a slower pace or that it is different than the others - only because I think that everyone who hasn’t read Chris Carter yet, should start from the beginning with book 1. With that said, I think An Evil Mind can easily stand alone.

This book is yet another extremely intelligent and well written crime novel that’s characterizing Chris Carter. In my opinion, this is one of his best books so far.

I give it 5 crime beads :)