Roland March is on the hunt for a killer. Soon, March faces the possibility that he may be dealing with a serial killer– who he sent to jail years ago. Is this a copycat murderer or did March put the wrong man behind bars?
In the sequel to his critically acclaimed novel Back on Murder, author J. Mark Bertrand takes us on a ride of frightening suspense as series protagonist Detective Roland March tracks the killer of a beautiful young woman. Mark brings all the crime solving and mystery that we were treated to in the previous book. I must say that I liked Pattern of Wounds better than Back on Murder. Perhaps it was because I started the book knowing March, aware of his traits, etc., but main reason was that there was a sense that something could happen to the characters any minute with a killer on the loose. There was no knowing what was going to happen. Also, there was much more mystery to this novel than its predecessor. While we had a pretty good idea who was responsible for what happened in Back on Murder 2/3 into the book, in Pattern of Wounds we are left with red herrings and suspicious characters all around, letting us guess who the villain was.
Mark’s strength is writing in the first person point of view of Roland March. This exposes us to March’s inner struggles, his logic, and more. Instead of March jumping off of the page, we are pulled into the book, as if we were following him as he dealt with his case, his colleagues, and his wife.
With this said, I can tell you that I will be waiting anxiously for the next installment of the series, Nothing to Hide which releases July of next year.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
Evan W.S. Morgan 