The Girls He Adored, Jonathan Nasaw
The Girls He Adored, Jonathan Nasaw
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The Girls He Adored

Author: Jonathan Nasaw

Narrator: Lee Sellars

Abridged: 4 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/01/2001


Synopsis

For ten years, the charmingly disheveled veteran FBI Special Agent E.L. Pender has been investigating the apparently random disappearances of a dozen women across the country. The only detail the cases have in common is the strawberry blond color of the victims' hair, and the presence of a mystery man with whom they were last seen.

Then, in Monterey, California, a routine traffic stop erupts into a scene of horrific violence. The local police are stunned by a disemboweled strawberry blond victim and an ingenious killer with multiple alternating personalities. Pender is convinced he has found his man, but before he can prove it, the suspect stages a cunning jailbreak and abducts his court-appointed psychiatrist, Irene Cogan.

In a house on a secluded ridge in Oregon, Irene must navigate through the minefield of her captor's various egos -- male and female, brilliant and nave, murderous and passive -- all of whom are dominated by Max, a seductive killer who views her as both his prisoner and his salvation. Irene knows that to survive she must play along with Max's game of sexual perversion. Only then will she be able to strip back the layers to discover a chilling story of a shattered young boy -- and all the girls he adored.

A sexually charged thriller of extraordinary originality and page-turning suspense, The Girls He Adored moves furiously from the inner recesses of the psyche to its final, startling climax. Jonathan Nasaw brilliantly portrays two equally intense characters -- a deviant killer and the expert who can unlock his darkest secrets -- and introduces one of the most likable sleuths in recent fiction.

About Jonathan Nasaw

Jonathan Nasaw is the acclaimed author of Fear Itself and The Girls He Adored, both Literary Guild Selections. He lives in Pacific Grove, California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Shaun on November 27, 2018

This started off as a four, by halfway had devolved into a three, and by the end had plummeted to a two. While the writing is competent enough, a story with tons of promise is ruined by plain silliness.(view spoiler)[I could buy into the DID diagnosis, the genius/savant angle (I've actually read a number of non-fic (hide spoiler)]......more

Goodreads review by Maicie on January 11, 2011

Ed Pender, a frumpish special agent, is a bit of a joke at the FBI. He's spent years searching for a serial killer who favors strawberry blonds. Unfortunately, no bodies have ever been recovered and no one takes the agent seriously. During a routine traffic stop, a deputy pulls over a man sitting ne......more

Goodreads review by Christie (The Ludic Reader) on February 02, 2011

Years ago I read the Dean Koontz book, Intensity. It was freakin’ terrifying. I generally find Koontz to be a pretty reliable writer- delivering fast-paced and exciting suspense, sometimes with a dash of the supernatural. (Of late I find him a little wordy, but never mind that.) I was hoping Nasaw’s......more

Goodreads review by Barbara on February 28, 2021

Oh this was good. An old one that I reread and I was totally drawn into the story. The fact that it's old didn't matter. It worked!......more

Goodreads review by Katherine on August 03, 2018

This is often mentioned in best-of-subgenre lists, and there’s a reason why. I first read it when it came out years ago. On a whim I tracked it down to see if it was as good as I remembered. It very much is. As far as I’m concerned if you want a good Hunting Serial Killers novel, you either pick Tho......more