PREY OF DESIRE by J. C. GATLIN

In the Prologue of this scary novel we are witness to an accidental death and a horrific murder that gives me the creeps just to remember it.  Obviously the murderer in this story is obsessed with something and not real attached to reality.

The tale continues more than 20 years later with another killing that seems totally unrelated except for the way it's done.  A young man is the victim, killed while using a pay phone to talk to the girlfriend he regrets breaking up with.  He of course doesn't show up to see her but she refuses to believe he has run off.  Her best friend, a beautiful neighbor who cares more about sexy clothes and expensive gifts than her friend's missing boyfriend, tries to talk her into dating a shrink but he keeps standing her up.  She isn't interested anyway.  

Throughout the book I was relieved that the main character has a Doberman named Zeus who is of course protective of her.  Most of the time she doesn't believe she's in danger and I kept talking to her (out loud) about her lack of brains.  She's a college student and yet she acts too bubble-headed to be real to me.  

There are several candidates for the title of creepy bad guy here and actually I dismissed him as fairly harmless but the big clue was staring me right in the face.  Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to call someone else bubble-headed, eh?

I have a hard time coming to a decision about Prey of Desire.  I suppose the modus operandi here is clever for a mystery writer but I struggled with it, still do actually.  I've already mentioned my difficulty with the main character too but on the other hand if she hadn't acted as she did, there wouldn't be much of a story to tell.

Recommended with caveat about method of murders
Source:  Partners in Crime Book Tours