Top Ten

"Top Ten" by Ryne Douglas Pearson, published by Schmuck & Underwood. There's only room for one at the top...''An interesting twist on the serial-killer thriller'' Publishers Weekly praise for 'Top Ten'Knowing screenwriter Ryne Douglas Pearson takes the reader on a relentless journey into madness and murder in his thriller Top Ten.His plan...kill his way to the top. Her orders...stop him. At all costs.A killer who believes himself an artist of unmatched talent is incensed when he is placed last on the FBI's most wanted list, and begins killing off those fugitives above him, each in a twisted manner that serves his creative vision.But his horrific climb to the top, which leaves both guilty and innocent dead in its wake, must be stopped by FBI Special Agent Ariel Grace, who is given an almost impossible and equally inexplicable task -- save number five on the list.Or die trying.From its shocking opening to its pulse-pounding conclusion, Top Ten grabs the reader and never lets go.This electrifying thriller is now available in the 'Author's Cut' version, with scenes returned that were edited from the original hardcover release for being 'too intense'.This is the version of Top Ten as it was written, and as it was meant to be read.Praise for Ryne Douglas Pearson's novels...''...a plot that is all too believable'' New York Times for 'Capitol Punishment'''Interesting premise...interesting killer'' St. Petersburg Times for 'Top Ten'''A must... A gripping blend of techno-thriller and detective story... The suspense runs at a high pitch'' Publishers Weekly for 'Cloudburst'''Mind-boggling... A hyperreal whiz-bang novel by a gifted high-tech specialist'' Kirkus Reviews for 'Cloudburst'''Suspenseful and filled with precise descriptions of weaponry; will appeal to Tom Clancy's readers'' Booklist for 'October's Ghost'''Pearson delivers another riveting technothriller... Highly recommended'' Library Journal for 'October's Ghost'''...chillingly prescient..down-to-the-wire suspense'' Publishers Weekly for 'Capitol Punishment'''Action-packed and fast-paced... Keeps the reader flipping pages frantically'' Library Journal for 'Simple Simon'''Excellent entertainment from first page to last'' Booklist for 'Simple Simon'''Aerodynamic prose and superb pacing... A one-sitting book that will make the hours fly by'' Publishers Weekly for 'Simple Simon'From Kirkus ReviewsBetween Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris has a lot to answer for, having invented the serial-killer monster who specializes in ultragory, agonizing deaths. This latest from Pearson (Simple Simon, 1996, filmed as Bruce Willis's Mercury Rising) is a pale copy of Harris's method and characters, without a syllable of his stylishness. The Jodie Foster character here is FBI agent Ariel Grace, 29, whos working on Task Force Five when she's reassigned to Task Force Ten. Ariel considers this a terrible drop in prestige, but it happens because she got too close to unmasking the FBI's fifth most wanted killer on its list of the Top Ten. Number five is Mills DeVane (Teddy Donovan), an agent working undercover as a serial killer to help nab narcotics traffickers. Number ten on the list is Michaelangelo, a madman who prides himself as an artist at murder and sends descriptions of his work to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Who is this well-spoken villain? About halfway through, we discover that Michaelangelo is Mickey Strange, the victim of a drunken doctor who missed with his snippers when he went for the umbilical cord. Mickey's million-dollar award for his departed penis has grown to $11 million and will thus support his artistic endeavors, although he can't get over the childhood pain of being called Mickey Dickless and now likes to cut off, cut up, and creatively re-member his victims: one female postal worker's bloody parts, for instance, become a Calder mobile in her post office. And thats maybe the one death we can tell you about without getting laughably grotesque. You see, Mickey has set out to murder everyone on the Top Ten list, so he can be top serial killer, as opposed to number ten. Not without storytelling energy. Sold to Warner Brothers, with a nod from the book clubs, and with foreign rights going like hotcakes. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.Review''An interesting twist on the serial-killer thriller.'' --Publishers Weekly''Interesting premise...interesting killer.'' --St. Petersburg Times Book details: published 2011. Order now on BookShops.in with fast, reliable delivery across India.