Bernard SchafferRezensionen

It is a great story.Very suspenseful. Very well written in my humble opinion.
It keeps you turning the pages.I would have given it 5 stars as I have the other 2/books,
However I thought the description of the crimes and crime scenes were a bit to gory and over the
Top.

I thought this book was suspenseful and written in a way you could feel the characters.
Read this book you will not be sorry.I can’t wait to read the follow up. An Unsettled grave”.I am new to this site I am happy to have found it.it started a little slow but you will
Turn the pages quickly.

I'm really torn on this book. Really torn.

First the good stuff. I enjoyed the gritty, dark tone throughout the book. There were tiny bits of humor here and there but, for the most part, it was dark like you'd expect a book about serial killers to be. I also liked the author's voice and writing style. There were some more technical things that held me up but I'll get to that next.

The not-so-good stuff got to me more and more as the book went on. One of my big pet-peeves is head hopping. And this book has it in spades. Putting that out there and moving on... I think my biggest problem with this book, though, is Carrie Santero. Her personality didn't seem consistent. She was sometimes portrayed as very naive and at others a tough woman who's been around the block a few times. Her knowledge and experience as a cop feels much more like a brand-new rookie but she's been on the force for four years. And she seems totally unaware of some concepts and common sense things that I would think anyone would know. Just one example is her having to be told that real police don't have the same types of resources/technologies as TV shows. I wouldn't think someone who's been a police officer for four years would need to be told that. One more quick thing - Carrie didn't feel genuinely female to me. And her interactions with her best friend didn't feel genuine either. I know this book was written by a man but I would have been able to tell even if I went into it blindly. That's important to me. I think I would have liked her better had she been a young male cop.

There were plot issues that didn't really feel right either, like a homeless ex-cop/ex-felon who works this case for free to assuage his guilty feelings. And he's working it with the rookie/not-rookie who has a strong family-like bond with two of the latest victims who was assigned as the lead investigator (and only investigator) on the case. The ex-cop states repeatedly that the chief shouldn't have assigned her to the case but there's no valid explanation to justify the assignment. I just don't get it.

So, why the three stars instead of fewer? Because even with all the problems I had while reading, I still wanted to see how it ended up. I sort of grew to care about Rein and wanted to see him experience something positive.

The biggest reason for the higher rating is because of the way the serial killer's motive was handled. I thought this was interesting and I wanted to know a lot more about him. More than what we were given because of the focus on the two cops but I loved what I got of that aspect of the book.

Will I read the sequel? Yeah, I sure will. I want to see if Santero matures into a better cop. I want to see what happens with the survivor from the previous book, and I want to see if Rein is reinstated or just continues to tag along, brooding, and not getting paid. And I also got an ARC from the author which started my whole interest in this series. He's a cold-case solving cop who also seems really nice.

If you don't mind POV changes mid-scene and enjoy dark, sometimes bloody serial killer/cop books, give this one a shot!

Police officer Frank O'Ryan is back at work after nearly recovering from being shot. Where he now works with Detective Ajax investigating 'real crimes'.
Gritty, 'enjoyable' not sure but would like to read more.

Blood Angel by Bernard Schaffer
A Santero and Rein Thriller #3

This is one crime fighting duo I do not want to say goodbye to BUT it seems this is the final installment of the Santero and Rein thriller series. I have to say that once I began reading, I could not put this book down. The introduction was intense and then the next section began fifteen years later with a suicide case that tied into that first mention of one crazy dude that was not gone or forgotten. How Rein would be brought into the case and what his part would be in the story intrigued me as I also wondered if he and Santero might have more than a working relationship eventually. This gripping story held my interest till the very end, and I have to say I am eager to read whatever Mr. Schaffer decides to write next.

What I liked:
* The plot, pace, and writing
* Santero: a strong intelligent detective dedicated to her job
* Rein: an intense man who hunts evil men and seems to understand them better than most
* The twists and turns throughout the story
* The dark, intense, gritty, and gripping way the story was presented
* Feeling I was there and wanting to shout out “beware” more than once in the story
* That I could feel the evil within The Master
* That evil did not win
* The relationship between the main characters
* That if felt “real” and believable

What I did not like:
* Knowing that there are sadists, murderers, psychopaths, and others in the world that enjoy killing
* Saying goodbye to Santero and Rein

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Definitely!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

In this second book in this series by Bernard Schaffer, Carrie Santero is a full-fledged detective after solving an incredibly vile case. Carrie then worked with a former detective, Jacob Rein, who remains her mentor, even though he is highly disillusioned and really down on his luck.

The case Carrie is working on is a cold one. A foot was found, and it looks like it might belong to a young girl who went missing thirty years ago. At first Carrie approaches Jacob for help, and then realizes she must head to a small town. In so doing, Jacob's past is unearthed. Carrie learns all about a young boy, J.D. Rein, and discovers the connection the little girl lost so many years ago.

Carrie leaves no stone unturned, and reveals some disturbing and shattering evidence. Discovering a connection between Jacob and the formerly missing girl raised a lot of questions. However, Carrie showed remarkable integrity and ingenuity in solving this case.

Even though An Unsettled Grave is the second book in a series, it does remarkably well as a standalone. However, I did read the first book, The Thief of All Light, first as I wanted to become familiar with the primary characters. I generally read books in one sitting, including both of these, back-to-back. I was thoroughly entertained, even with the often gritty delivery as things played out.

I admire the writing style of Bernard Schaffer. His brilliance and honesty in the sometimes less-than-perfect police force shines. Another effective thing in this book was the determination showed by Carrie. I like how her character is written, and also how her past shaped her into the person she is now. I look forward to following this series in the future.

Many thanks to Kensington Publishing and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

A story about detectives written by a detective. In this thrilling start to a new series by Bernard Schaffer, Carrie Santero is a rookie cop who has managed to become a detective in the small town of Pennsylvania where she lives. Carrie has always had a fascination with the criminal mind. When she was a teenager, she wrote a letter to Charles Manson. Now, she faces a killer that is much too much like Manson.

Carrie is facing a child murderer. She is training and has the help of a former detective Jacob Rein. He has had some very dark cases over his career, and although he is no longer a cop, proves to be invaluable with Carrie's first murder case. Carrie's boss, Chief Bill Waylon, is tough but dedicated. When they realize the murderer they are after embodies the worst criminal minds wrapped up in one, Jacob proves to be invaluable to them.

Reading books written by cops are hit or miss for me. In some cases they are far too gruesome. While this book was incredibly intense, with some scenes that will take me a while to forget, there is no doubt that Schaffer's experience shines brightly in his writing. I was definitely captured by the intelligent writing, the case, the mind of the psychopathic killer and the teamwork involved when it came to taking down a brutal killer.

I have the second book in this series, An Unsettled Grave, for review, so I felt impelled to read this title, The Thief of All Light, first. I wanted to get to know Carrie and Jacob Rein. It was good to see how such a young woman could become a detective. It was also good to see how strong and intelligent she is. I have already read the second book and will definitely be following this series.

An Unsettled Grave by Bernard Schaffer
Santero and Rein #2

Carrie Santero, recently promoted to detective is still not considered “equal” by the men she works with. Many assume she is not really capable and has achieved her promotion based on something other than her competency. In this book we learn more about Carie, the little girl in her life and how she goes about solving cases. We also see Jacob Rein again a few times both in the present and in a story line that takes us back thirty years to when he was twelve and living in a very dysfunctional family situation.

There are two criminal cases to be solved by Carrie in this book. One has to do with a rapist pulling women to the side of the road then violating them and the other crime is a missing person cold case that she picks up when the foot bones of a young girl are found in the forest. It is assumed the girl is Hope Pugh, missing thirty years, but then there is the mystery of how she died and what happened to her.

Jacob Rein is a mysterious character that seems able to get into the minds of criminals in order to catch them. He has spent time in jail for something I have a feeling he has probably not done. In this book we learn more about his childhood, some of his childhood friends, a young girl that disappeared and of his father and uncle and their part in his life. At around forty-two years of age Jacob has a lot of years left to accomplish much so I am hoping he will get his life back on track so he can officially assist in finding more bad guys in the future.

I was definitely taken back in time by mention of the Vietnam War in which Jacob’s father and uncle both served. That the two men came out so different at the end of their time in the service probably has to do with the jobs they held. I believe the two men cared for one another more than either told the other. Their part in this book was...very interesting.

I came away from this book satisfied that the bad guys were eventually caught but still wanting to know more about Santero and Rein and that means I am eager to read more by this author as soon as a new book is available. I found myself thinking about how a person can be bigger than life to people in theirr community and yet in reality they are not heroes at all. This was a thought provoking book. It made me think of the cop that pulled me over and hinted at taking me on a date and of another story...one in which my sister-in-law was pulled over by a policeman on her way to Wyoming...on a stretch where women were going missing...and when my brother woke in the back seat the policeman who pulled her over let them drive on. I know there will soon be another crime for Carrie and Jacob to work on and look forward to finding out what it will be. I am also eager to find out more about the backstories of both characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Wow! A true masterful storyteller of criminal acts. Once you get past the shocking first few pages you are engaged in heart pounding, nail-biting, page turning til the very end. This is the second book I have read from this author , I really like the characters Carrie and Reid , I look forward to more crime solving from these two.

Buckle your seatbelts , your about to go on a Highly Anticipated Thrilling Ride! Looking for a Cunning Serial Killer you wont soon forget!

Carrie Santero and Jacob Rein are back in the second book of this wicked good series. A cold case from Jacob’s hometown leads Carrie into his past of small town dysfunction, a missing girl and two dead cops. This is a fast paced, heart pounding, keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time you’re reading kind of book. While it is book two, don’t be afraid to read it as a stand alone. But why would you? The Thief of all Light is also an amazing read.

Take one small town rookie cop with some outstanding personal baggage, add in another seasoned cop, a damaged former detective and top it all off with a serial killer who idolizes the worst of the worst predecessor serial killers. Bernard Schaffer takes us on a journey into police work, from procedural to personal perspectives. Without overwhelming the details, allowing us to understand the case and yet not get bogged down in facts. The writing was amazing, story flowed with my heart pounding, chills ran down my spine, left me turning the pages madly until I reached the perfect ending. BUY. THIS. BOOK!!

It's a wonderful book! It draws you in right from the beginning! It is a page turner. I couldn't put it down! I can't wait for the next one!

This was a great book to read! Full of great characters and suspense- I couldn't put it down! Look forward to reading more in this series, especially about Jacob Rein!

Review of advance reader eBook

Carrie Santero, a detective with the District Attorney’s office, is used to receiving phone calls at all hours. Sent to investigate a savage rape, she soon finds herself caught up in a cold case involving a young girl missing for some thirty years, a police officer’s murder, and a police chief’s suicide. Will her investigation finally uncover the hidden truth?

Readers are likely to find this dark and gritty follow-up to “The Thief of All Light” difficult to set aside before turning the final page. Chapters set in the past tell Jacob Rein’s backstory and provide insight for readers while chapters in the present focus on Carrie’s investigation. The plot is complex, with secrets and lies woven into the tapestry of the narrative; unexpected revelations take the story in unexpected directions.

Well-crafted and populated with believable characters [although several are unlikable], readers who enjoyed the earlier “The Thief of All Light” will recognize some returning characters in this Santero and Rein thriller. The intricately-layered story keeps the reader guessing as the story unfolds; unfortunately, a much-overused and offensive expletive mars an otherwise intriguing, spot-on narrative.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Kensington Books and NetGalley
#AnUnsettledGrave #Net Galley

Review of advance reader eBook

Carrie Santero, a detective with the District Attorney’s office, is used to receiving phone calls at all hours. Sent to investigate a savage rape, she soon finds herself caught up in a cold case involving a young girl missing for some thirty years, a police officer’s murder, and a police chief’s suicide. Will her investigation finally uncover the hidden truth?

Readers are likely to find this dark and gritty follow-up to “The Thief of All Light” difficult to set aside before turning the final page. Chapters set in the past tell Jacob Rein’s backstory and provide insight for readers while chapters in the present focus on Carrie’s investigation. The plot is complex, with secrets and lies woven into the tapestry of the narrative; unexpected revelations take the story in unexpected directions.

Well-crafted and populated with believable characters [although several are unlikable], readers who enjoyed the earlier “The Thief of All Light” will recognize some returning characters in this Santero and Rein thriller. The intricately-layered story keeps the reader guessing as the story unfolds; unfortunately, a much-overused and offensive expletive mars an otherwise intriguing, spot-on narrative.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Kensington Books and NetGalley
#AnUnsettledGrave #Net Galley

If you're reading this book because you love Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson, don't! You'll be utterly disappointed. The characterization is off, and it falls in every single bad cliché born in the 100 years of pastiches. The Ripper story, though is quite decent, and the writing adequated, so I guess it depends on what are you looking for in the book.

Rookie, wannabe-detective Carrie Santero teams up with veteran cops Bill Waylon and Jacob Rein to stop a copycat serial killer.

This edgy police procedural builds suspense through its rush to apprehend a serial killer before he strikes again. There’s no mystery about who’s who and who did what, but the tension builds as the police race to find a missing woman and child who may well be in the hands of a deranged killer who’s trying on different serial killer personas. At times, however, scenes are excessively graphic and filled with both cruelty and depravity.

Complex, well-developed characters populate the narrative, although there are times readers may cringe at the characters’ choices and actions. The author’s law enforcement experience is evident throughout the narrative and provides a particular authenticity to the police work. But the rough, vulgar language is certainly not the ordinary language of all police officers and its over-use here is likely to be off-putting for many readers.

The Thief of All Light by Bernard Schaffer
Santero and Rein #1

Murder mysteries with serial killers are not uncommon but this one is uncommonly good. After starting to read I could not put it down. The Santero – Rein team had the rookie wannabe detective eventually teaming up with an older scarred detective no longer on the police force and the two together was one that I “got” and enjoyed watching. The serial killer was devoid of humanity and if there was anything that I might have liked to see more of it would have been his backstory but…sometimes it doesn’t really matter what the backstory is as no matter what it was it would not justify the deeds perpetrated.

The idea that evil is dark, might have a face, is alive, can see and pull on a person and that doors are involved to let it in or keep it out…not really personification…but the way it was presented here resonated with me. The fact that good people may have to access that evil to find and put away evil people and the impact it can have on the ones that capture such evil was also interesting and resonated.

Carrie Santero is relatively new on the job and her boss often sees her more as a daughter than a rookie cop. Her boss, Bill Waylon, is strong and fair and a great person to act as her leader. They get along well and seem to see eye to eye though sometimes he is more friend than boss. There are a few more interesting characters in the detective section that no doubt will appear again in future books…as will perhaps Thome – son of Rein who calls Waylon “uncle”. And then, there is Jacob Rein. Rein and Waylon were once partners who put away a heinous serial killer. Rein has dropped off the radar for a number of years but is pulled in again when a serial killer appears that takes Carries best friend Molly and Molly’s daughter captive. From that point on there is a race to the finish that may or may not be what the reader hopes for.

Did I like this book? Definitely
Would I like to read more in this series? Of course
Is this a new-to-me author I will read again? Without a doubt

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Amazon Description: Frank is Back and He Wants Revenge

At the end of Superbia 1, Detective Frank O'Ryan was faced with the loss of his partner and the promotion of the cruel, power-hungry, Chief Erinnyes. Now, he's driven with the desire to take revenge and somehow avoid the same soul-crushing destruction that ruined Vic Cojo.
Superbia 2 continues the scariest, funniest, most subversive, police series ever written.
Just pray to God some of it isn't true.

I just had to read book 2 as soon as finished the first. Some is not too funny, some is sad. But I thoroughly enjoyed.

Sometimes funny, sometimes sad but all times interesting.

Frank Miller's Sherlock Holmes

which is, in itself, not a bad thing. However, I did get the feeling that the plot/characters were not as written as strongly as they could have been, had they not been propped up with massive amounts of sex and gore. Now, massive amounts of sex and gore isn't a bad thing, but visceral horror is a slippery thing to wield.

But I do have an appreciation for "transformative" over "affirmative" fanwork (generally), and I like seeing Holmes in something different. I'll take Holmes in a horror novel over a cozy mystery any day.

My original WAY OF THE WARRIOR audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

🏆🎧 ABR Reviewer's Choice Award Winner

The book The Way of the Warrior: The Philosophy of Law Enforcement by Bernard Schaffer is a teaching biography. It’s an articulate no-nonsense account of one’s journey into the police fraternity and advice on what that can and in Schaffer’s opinion should mean. I want to make clear I have no personal ties to law enforcement, the military, or any profession that might have ever used a gun. However, I have a deep appreciation for an honest story, well told and this is definitely one of those. While James Patrick Cronin was an excellent choice to voice this book, I immediately thought of The Way of the Warrior as the combination of 1) excellent and expert instruction from the bestseller What Every BODY Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People. I also heard in The Way of the Warrior, 2) the often brutally honest storytelling and vivid descriptions from The Bitter Taste of Dying: A Memoir by Jason Smith, a man working very hard to get away from the law. Expert knowledge and excellent story.

Schaffer doesn’t waste time reminiscing about his childhood but includes enough backstory to give us perspective. With over twenty years of experience and a father with another 30 years, the author is more than expert in what it is to be part of a police organization. If someone were to ask, “can someone explain what is happening with the police recently,” it’s Bernard Schaffer.

While some of the reviews and blurbs mark it as required reading for police training programs, this wisdom reaches much further and to a general audience. Whether someone is starting in any career, it’s important to keep out of politics and to focus on finding the mentors you need while enjoying becoming exceptional in a specialty. The “Warrior” title leads to an easy misconception that being a warrior is about fighting, but this book is about keeping the peace in oneself, in one’s department, and keeping one’s honor to the profession through pride in one’s craft.

The police dramas on television do the profession a disservice because they make it seem like each day is one filled with the excitement that keeps an officer prepared at all times. However, there is often tedium that might make an officer leave their bulletproof vest off their body. The routine might lead to forgoing regular practice for when a situation comes that makes clear the officer has not readied for it. Schaffer provides two excellent examples with the illogic of keeping one’s knife on the same side as the holster and another with actually trying to pull a trigger with bulky gloves. “Adapt. Improvise. Overcome,” he writes.

The book made me remember every instance I met a police officer, good and bad, but I want to share one. In a traffic class I was in for going through a stop sign at least a decade ago, I remember the instructor’s words vividly. “Do you know those people who go through red lights, cut you off without a blinker, and speed through school zones?” “Yes, we said” “Doesn’t that annoy you?” “Yes, absolutely.” “Well, you are those people.” Who knows, maybe Bernard Schaffer was that instructor? Few books get it right like this one did. It’s honest in the writing voice with a depth of know-how that makes it a definite must listen. Don’t be put off by the word “philosophy” in the title, it’s not Plato or Aristotle giving some difficult to understand lecture. It’s a really, really smart guy putting in plain English that sometimes people do dumb things and sometimes officers do as well, but here’s why all that happens. It’s street wisdom for the masses.

About the narrator:

James Patrick Cronin is a veteran narrator who has over 200 books on Audible alone. If I hadn’t known that he was narrating, I would have simply said, “wow, this cop’s got a really good voice, he should do voice work.” While I credit Cronin for his reading, he had a really well-written book to read from.

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I feel that the writer is top notch. There is plenty of gore here, but it's Jack the Ripper we are talking about. I enjoyed the imagining of the characters in the book as captured by the author. It's funny, though, that in my mind Holmes will always be Basil Rathbone and Watson is Nigel Bruce. And so those were the images I had as I read the book (although, I did have to imagine a younger Nigel Bruce).

I download a lot of free books and this is one I am so glad I found. I wish the author had written more than one book to constitute a Holmes/Watson series. Believe me, compared to the dreck I've read from other free downloads, this book is literary gold!

This is undoubtedly the worst Sherlock Holmes spin-off novel I have read. As its title suggests, it concerns the Ripper murders, which is fair enough, if an unoriginal real life mystery for the Great Detective to unravel. However, it is poorly written and focuses excessively on the bodily mutilation/slash horror dimension to the murders, at the expense of building up an atmosphere of tension and drama through good writing; rather it built up in me an atmosphere of revulsion. Even worse though, the depictions of Holmes, Watson and Lestrade bear almost no resemblance to the characters created by Conan Doyle, with their dialogue sounding generically modern; Lestrade is no longer a mostly competent but uninspired officer, but instead a brutal thug who beats suspects bloody when it suits him, swears constantly, and has sex with prostitutes to get information out of them. All this combined to make me stop reading between a quarter and a third of the way through. One to be avoided by anyone who cares about these iconic characters.