Fascinating, thrilling and hard to put down. It doesn't feel like a debut novel at all - looking forward to read the Doll's house ( )

The bad man is everywhere. Can you see him?

What is your first thought when you hear a phrase “criminal psychologist”? Mine was – “Criminal Minds”. The best TV Show about the profilers who catch serial killers. I love watching how they get in criminals' minds and predict their actions. That is why I was very surprised to find out the book where the protagonist – Dr. Kate Pearson - was the criminal psychologist, i.e. profiler.

The body of a missing schoolgirl is found buried in the Dublin Mountains, her hands clasped together in prayer, two red ribbons in her hair. When 24 hours later the body of a second girl is found the hunt for their killer reaches epic proportion. To better understand the killer’s motives, find out his “weak spots” and catch him DI O’Connor from An Garda Síochána (Irish Police) asks Kate Pearson’s help.
The story is told from three different point of views: the police and Kate Pearson’s, the serial killer’s and Ellie Brady who killed her daughter 15 years ago and holds the key to finding the killer.
The story twists and turns and with each plot twist all I can think was “Wow, this was unexpected!”
It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel. It is a well-written psychological thriller with believable characters with whom you do not want to part with. ( )

3.5 Debut novel set in Ireland. A young girl's body is found, her body has been staged, her hair braided and tied with a brilliant red bow. D. I. O'Connell brings Kate, a profiler into the case and she becomes their best hope of catching the murderer. I think I am just getting tired of all these stories told from multiple perspectives, in this one we hear from the D. I., Kate, the murderer himself and a young woman who has been in a psychiatric hospital for fifteen years. Her story was my favorite because for the longest time I couldn't figure out where her story fit.

Well written for sure, the first part I felt maybe a little too, slow, too long but the premise was an interesting one as is the way the connections are made. Kate herself is an interesting character, her marriage difficulties, an event in her past that helps her decode this case, and her doggedness, her intelligence. I did enjoy how all the threads were put together and the ending was very tense, but much of the story was predictable. A good first novel though and I expect this author will get better and better.

ARC from publisher. ( )

AUTHOR Phillips, Louise
TITLE: Red Ribbons
DATE READ: 02/19/2016
RATING 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS Crime Fiction / 2012 / Hachette Books / 405 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE:
CHARACTERS Profiler : Kate Pearson
TIME/PLACE: 2011, Dublin,Ireland
FIRST LINES He could have taken a direct flight from Dublin to Galileo Galilei airport in Pisa.
COMMENTS: Written from 3 major viewpoints: 1) William Cronly -- middle-aged man who has never recovered from an unidentified trauma occurring in Italy when he was a child; 2) Profiler Kate Pearson also a mother of young son & wife to Declan who is not very happy w/ all of Kate's intense focus on job before family and 3) Ellie -- a middle-aged woman who has been institutionalized for the past 15 yrs after her daughter died; Ellie had set the caravan on fire that they lived in. At first I thought this was just going to be "another" story of child abduction/killings etc but there were some unique story points that held my interest. Good read! ( )

I don’t know who recommended this one to me but good call. It’s an interesting psychological thriller with a man who kills two girls and how he’s found out, the story is told from three points of view, the killer, the criminal psychologist and a woman who is in a psychiatric institution who might know more about the murders than others think.

I liked this one, I liked the characters and their flaws and how the killer was actually clever until he slipped up just enough. Worth reading. ( )