Mind Over Murder – Cary Allen Stone

(Reviewed by Cathy Carey)

“Blood saturated every square inch of the carpeting in the mansions master bedroom, from one distant gilded wall to the others. Unless you slept there, you would have no idea the original color of the carpet was soft beige. The once white satin sheets on the king-size bed were also blood soaked, with the only difference being, they had a glossier sheen to them than the carpet. The only objects left without any color in the scene were the drained, frozen -in -death, blanched bodies lying on the bed. Their expressions indicate they did not experience their death. Too serene, not chiseled and contorted from being mercilessly murdered.“

Ever wonder how the coroner determines time of death? It is by the insect larvae deposited in the victim eyes. This is just one of the many things you will learn about crime scene investigations while reading the next installment of Jake Roberts detective murder mysteries.

Mind Over Murder begins a few years after Detective Jake Roberts had found out that the woman he was falling in love with was the serial killer, Lori Powers. After her last kill, she flew to Europe and lived off the radar until one fatal mistake was found by Detective Roberts.

She was arrested in Europe and returned to the United States as a fugitive with quite a media frenzy surrounding her return. A week before her return, a mega New York Times best seller was released about her.  Many people were captivated by her. One person in particular wanted to emulate her. He wanted to feel the rush of taking another person’s life.

Jared Hamilton was the son of a very wealthy uber rich businessman who lived with his parents in a secluded castle-size mansion overlooking the city of Atlanta.

Jared had an off-the-charts IQ. His parents enlisted scholars to home-school their gifted child. He had everything he ever wanted. He had the intelligence and resources to be whatever he wanted in life. He mastered every video game there was and unfortunately it left him craving the concept of violence.

Now his MO is very similar to his idol , Lori Powers; his goal being to kill five people, the last one being Jake Roberts.

Jake needs to enlist former FBI agent , first love, and forever friend Mika Scott as well as the fugitive Lori Powers to find Jared before he kills him.

This book leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering if anyone can catch this serial killer. Is Lori working with this man?

The pace of this book had me staying up reading until I just couldn’t see the letters anymore. The author does a good job at introducing such a repugnant character while keeping you emotionally attached to the main characters.

Readers who enjoy a fast-paced murder mystery about serial killers (and who can stomach a character like Hamilton) will enjoy Mind Over Murder. I must warn you this if not for the faint of heart due to the graphic nature of the crime scenes. The author leaves no stone unturned!

(Editor’s note: Look for Cathy’s reviews of the next two in the series. More surprises to come!)