The Tarot Killer

This was an interesting story, well written, with just enough suspense to keep me hooked without gratuitously stringing me along. I especially appreciated several moments of subtlety, for lack of a better way to describe it at my disposal, where the author offered enough of her own vision of a character, a scene, a feeling, an observation to be her artfully rendered ideas coming alive in my head as the reader but allowing my own imagination or intelligence to do its work. I paused a few times just to love that and offer gratitude for being trusted to catch a detail or two. I think that quality in the writing, along with the first person story-telling, facilitated my sense of identification with the main character. Despite the fact that the story revolves around experiences with and connections to tragedy and brutality, reading it was pleasant for me and left me smiling with appreciation for the time well spent.

Absolutely fabulous engaging book that drew me in from the start. I could not put it down. My 90 year old mother who does not read much anymore, and said she did not want to read because about a killer, read it. She read it in one day and asked when the next book by Mary Bracht was coming out. This book is worth every penny and can't wait for the next one.

The Tarot Killer opens with the brilliant line from Sigmund Freud, "The Goal of All Life is Death." That, as must as any quote would, describes the baddie and his motivation within the storyline and stands as a testament to the course of the novel. To open with that quote set a tone for me that the story, on its surface, met.The Tarot Killer is a thriller but leans toward a cozy in some elements. The investigating officers, both New York and London, defer to Dr. Barrie though she is a subject in the investigation and not the investigating officer. She is throughout an active part of the investigation and visits crime scenes and has access to case paperwork. A luxury few characters being threatened by a killer would be permitted. The idea of going from New York to London, where she has also practiced and has former patients, seemed a bit thin as well. Her argument within the story-line was that it was so long ago and that the killer wouldn't have access to those files seemed weak. She doesn't know at what point the killer entered her life.Bracht throws us some credible red herrings as to the identity of the killer but in the end provides us with the killer that would have seemed the obvious choice and a clear explanation of why he is killed women who look like Skye and why he'd want to kill her as well. What she doesn't explain is the logistics but then, as we're not in the mind of the killer, we don't need to know his every travel plan just that he's insane and he's killing folks and staging those bodies to mirror images on a tarot card.There's nothing wrong with The Tarot Killer. It's credibly written and plotted. It's a solid cozy murder mystery that your Grandma could read. The violence is more "off-screen" and there isn't any sex to muddy the water and misdirect from the story-line though a reader could not be faulted for getting the impression that there's more going on between a New York Detective and the woman he's advising than we're seeing on the page. Bracht choses to focus on the mystery rather than diluting the waters with complications between Skye and her fellow characters.If you're a fan of cozy mystery or shows like "Castle" and "Bones," this is the novel for you. The Tarot Killer registers at a very short 144 pages and is story-line focused. A good read for people who like to read on their phone or e-reader device.

An interesting novel, slow in parts, but all in all not bad. If you like books about serial killers, you would enjoy this.

This book was awesome! I couldn't put it down and finished it in one day! This book kept me on my toes every second of the way. I absolutely love the author's style and can't wait to see more from her. Definitely read this, you won't be able to put it down and the author's style is fitting for every taste.

Chanced upon this and found it to be a very suspenseful and engaging read! Start to finish, I couldn't put the book down!