Stale Book Review #11 - Roadside Crosses

Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver

Cost: $6.98US

Page Count: 397

Roadside Crosses is one of the many Kathryn Dance novels that Deaver has created.  Unlike his Lincoln Rhyme, Dance is not a quadriplegic.  Nope, she's bipedal but she's also agent in the California Bureau of Investigation (which does exist...I looked it up).  These Dance novels may not be as fun as the Rhyme novels, but they are still pretty good.  Call me sexist, but I don't normally gravitate towards fiction with a female protagonist.  I usually can't relate as well with the chicks, ya know?

Anyway, in Roadside Crosses, Dance and her team are on the hunt for a killer that is leaving roadside memorials for people who he is going to kill.  Normally, these roadside memorials are left AFTER someone crashes their car and loses their life.  No, this killer is clever.  Leaving them for people who are GOING to die.  Pretty cool concept, I thought.

Meanwhile, during the investigation this fella is writing on his blog about the killings and the killer and the like.  Dance is pissed with his (the name is Chilton) involvement and feels there should be some sort of accountability on his part.  Look at Deaver, being all...current events, and such.  

The investigation leads to a kid named Travis.  Travis is a big online game player...first person shooters (there ain't nothin' wrong with those!) and had some sick hero worship thing going on for the Columbine shooters.  So, Dance and her team focus their efforts on bringing Travis down.  But guess what?  It ain't him!  Sorry for that spoiler.  The reveal of the real killer is still pretty good.

So, Roadside Crosses isn't on par with Sense and Sensibility or David Copperfield or The Old Man and The Sea but it's still a good read.  Deaver does a good job with creating likable and relatable characters.  This guy feels that is the key to a good novel.  Deaver does what Steve Berry could never do.  

That is all.  Buy the book.  It'll take you a nice long weekend to start and then finish.