Deadly by Ker Dukey

Deadly by Ker Dukey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Were you ears burning Ms. Dukey? Because I pretty much cussed you out – out loud much to my dog’s dismay – when I got to certain point in the book. It wasn’t nice either. I used words I don’t tend to use unless I’m really angry or upset and you made me both. I know you know what point in the book I’m referring to. You made me cry and the worst part about it was that I didn’t know who I was crying for. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I absolutely loved this book. Then again I have been fascinated by all of the books in the series because the author creates characters whose insanity is horrifically realistic.

There’s not much I can say about the book itself for fear of revealing spoilers, but I’ll do my best not to let the cat out of the bag. Deadly takes place three years after Vacant and we learn that Ryan is still trying to get Cereus to accept who she is by owning her actions. There are parts of Deadly that are confusing, but they’re meant to be. The book is written from the points of view of Ryan, Cereus, and Blake and only one of those three is actually sane … maybe. We learned in Vacant that Cereus was not only sociopathic like Ryan, but she was also hallucinating – seeing and talking to people who weren’t there. Needless to say, her chapters are those that will make you question what the heck is going on, what’s real, and what is not. Don’t be afraid to reread passages to make sure you grasp what’s going on – remember, crazy people are narrating. Adding to the confusion is that the story begins in the present and jumps to the past so that you can see the events unfold that lead to Cereus and Ryan being where they are – pay attention to chapter and section headers because they will help reduce timeline confusion … maybe. Again, crazy people narrating. As for me, just when I thought I had it figured out, the story took a turn and I was wrong. Boy was I wrong and I was so very glad to be wrong.

I enjoyed getting to catch up with Mel and Blake, even if it wasn’t under the best circumstances. Mel’s visceral reaction to Blake’s betrayal was only surpassed by his reaction to her refusal to keep him in her life. If you have read the previous books in the Empathy series, then you won’t be shocked by the violence in this installment. If you haven’t read them, don’t start with Deadly because none of the books in the series are stand-alone reads. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, romantic suspense, and sociopaths and serial killers, then I strongly recommend this series. Deadly is an excellent addition to it and I love that it ends in such a way that it serves as a conclusion, or an opening for another book. Yet again Ms. Dukey, I am impressed with your mastery of the sociopathic mind.

I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
Check out the Deadly by Ker Dukey is Now Available & Reviewed post on Wicked Reads.


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