⚡️⚡️⚡️Review: Killer In The Hills By Stephen Carpenter ⚡️⚡️⚡️

Killer In The Hills by Stephen Carpenter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For those of you who don’t know, Killer in the Hills is part 2 of 3 in the Jack Rhodes Mystery series. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve listened to the first in the series, Killer, where the author first establishes the character Jack Rhodes as a prolific mystery writer with the proverbial monkey on his back and a deadly accusation that he is determined to outrun.

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In part 2, we’re reintroduced to Jack Rhodes in somewhat of another world, though no less mysterious: Hollywood. In this book, we delve further into Rhodes’ past when his actress ex-wife turns up murdered and her fifteen-year-old daughter, Karen, becomes a suspect.

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What I liked:

There were so many things that I liked about this book. One thing was that Mr. Carpenter brought back my favorites from Killer, particularly Melvin Beauchamp and Attorney Nikki Feldman. Melvin “Cowboy” Beauchamp was my favorite character in Killer and then again in Killer in the Hills. The FBI agent is deeply human and very hilarious but when the time comes to do his job and save a life, he does it without question and cares nothing for the recognition that comes as a result. It was nice to see that their friendship hadn’t fallen by the wayside after the events of Killer.


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I also enjoyed the dynamic between Jack and his maybe-daughter Karen. With all of Jack’s demonstrated flaws, he is quick to take responsibility for her. He immediately took on the role of father without even having the full confirmation of her parentage. That aspect revealed great deal about his person and showed that despite some of his destructive tendencies— some of them of his own making—he’s not a bad guy and he certainly isn’t selfish. Most people wouldn’t do what he did for her.

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Finally, concerning the story itself, it had all the twists and turns of the first book and then some. Just when you expect that one thing will happen, something totally different takes place and knocks your socks off. And Carpenter does so with writing that is less flowery and more real and rhythmic. 

For instance, he writes this about Jack seeing Penelope, his ex, dead, “No part of her is moving, not even her heart, because although she is very pretty, she is also very dead, and dead trumps pretty much everything.”

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Just that line is so matter-of-fact, but it evokes the tense imagery and feelings one would likely have after seeing the body of person they were once close to.


What I didn’t like?

I can’t say there was anything I didn’t like about Killer in the Hills. It was written well, the pacing was spectacular, and the characters were highly-developed, relateable, and interesting. I’m ready to read “Pentimento” to see what comes next. My only upset is that this series ends after the next book. It was perfect.

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