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Rating: 
Summary: This could be the start of something big
Review: Six weeks ago I had never heard of Bernard J. Taylor and now I'm addicted. My last major addiction was Patricia Cornwell, with James Patterson as a stopgap when there was nothing new by her. Both write absorbing page turners, but in the end I became frustrated by the lack of depth in their characterization - particularly with their bad guys, whose minds we never really get into. (With Patterson, even Alex Cross remains a very vague character, and some of his plot devices are so ridiculous that they rob his work of all credibility). This writer offers some great characters, along with the page-turning readability of Patterson and Cornwell's attention to procedural detail (although not so much that you want to skip over it, as I often do with Cornwell's autopsies). He gets right inside the mind of the killers, and in this one you get to meet a truly original and very plausible killer. This is a good introduction to Terrell Newman and the other regular characters. I particularly like the women characters in his books - women who stand up for themselves without compromising their femininity. If only there were more characters like this in the world.
Rating:
Summary: This could be the start of something big
Review: Six weeks ago I had never heard of Bernard J. Taylor and now I'm addicted. My last major addiction was Patricia Cornwell, with James Patterson as a stopgap when there was nothing new by her. Both write absorbing page turners, but in the end I became frustrated by the lack of depth in their characterization - particularly with their bad guys, whose minds we never really get into. (With Patterson, even Alex Cross remains a very vague character, and some of his plot devices are so ridiculous that they rob his work of all credibility). This writer offers some great characters, along with the page-turning readability of Patterson and Cornwell's attention to procedural detail (although not so much that you want to skip over it, as I often do with Cornwell's autopsies). He gets right inside the mind of the killers, and in this one you get to meet a truly original and very plausible killer. This is a good introduction to Terrell Newman and the other regular characters. I particularly like the women characters in his books - women who stand up for themselves without compromising their femininity. If only there were more characters like this in the world.
Rating:
Summary: a fresh talent
Review: the author is a fresh talent with a fresh eye for the foibles of humanity and a wonderful way with plots, character and dialogue. I was hooked from the start by the strange serial killer Robert Stanton, and I was kept in suspense through the whole story, even though the reader knows right away who the killer is. The psychological depth of the characters and situations is exceptionally rich and very credible.
Rating:
Summary: great read
Review: The Deliverer is a great read and an excellent introduction to the character of detective Terrell Newman. I agree with the other reviewers in all aspects.
Rating:
Summary: Crime fiction at its best
Review: This is a great introduction to the Terrell Newman series. As in Taylor's other Newman novels, all the characters - even the minor ones - are vivid and well realized without a stereotype in sight. The character of Robert Stanton, the "deliverer", is particularly well realized and you almost feel sympathy for him as he goes about his killings. There were also a number of amusing moments to lighten the darkness of the piece. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Stanton is looking through the personal ads and adding his comments.
It is rare that I can empathize with a serial killer, but I was touched and also amused on occasions by him. While the theme is dark - in the mould of Hannibal Lecter - there are some very entertaining and amusing moments and the dialogue is terrific, helping to bring the characters to life in a way that a lot of novelists fail to do. Having read two of the other Terrell Newman novels before this one, it confirms my impression that Bernard J. Taylor is a major new name in crime fiction - and literature in general. The writing is excellent.
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