4 out of 4 stars
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The Embalmer: A Steve Jobz Thriller is the first installment of the would-be series, A Steve Jobz Thriller, by Vincent Zandri. The story is told from the view of Steve Jobz. This Jobz, however, is not the popular famous and rich Jobs we may all know. Steve, a famous police officer at the Albany Police Department, now works for the New York’s Unemployment Insurance Fraud Investigation. He did not leave his previous job willingly but was fired after shooting a boy of color in a robbery event. Steve tried to defend his case but it was presumed that he did the killing on a racial background.
This has really affected Steve’s social life, making him ignore her mother’s phone calls. Her mother also resorted to seclusion amid the mysterious death of her husband. Steve had been contemplating how his new office job is boring compared to the police work. He even goes on saying that his life is uninteresting when detective Nick Miller comes to ask for his help in identifying and capturing a psychopath killer who is on the loose. The killer captures and kills women by embalming them while they are still alive. He even goes further raping their dead bodies, dressing them and putting them in public places for people to see. Will Steve and detective Nick Miller be able to finally get the best of this unknown murderer or will they also fall prey of him? Well, you’ll have to find out more by flipping all pages of this mystery novel.
The story is fast-paced and written in the first person narration enabling us to familiarize ourselves with the protagonist quickly. First person narration also personalizes the story to the extent that you are able to share all the humor, suspense, terror, and anger that Steve experiences. Suspense is introduced right from the start of the book and it is what will keep you glued to the book as you try to figure out who the embalmer really is. The writer also eases tension by featuring the embalmer in a humorous way as he tries to justify his own killings. The characters are also comprehensively developed allowing them to be easily identified. The conversations in the story were also perfectly laid down and I was even forced to laugh out loud in various occasions.
The main theme in the story is murder and the reader is also educated on the embalming concept. Gruesomeness is observed quite a lot in the story as it is filled with bloody, gory and gross scenes. Sex explicit scenes are also there making this read unfit for young readers. Despite being filled with intense suspense, I was a little bit worried about knowing the murderer halfway the story, but this did not minimize the story’s excitement. This is a short book that can be read in one sitting and will leave you yearning for more. However, I am grateful since the author has promised us more in subsequent installments of the series.
There were a few grammatical errors that I came across while reading this book. I, therefore, give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to people who love well-written action-packed, suspenseful crime mystery and thrilling stories.
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The Embalmer
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