As you can see from the synopsis, this is the latest in Jeffrey Deaver’s ‘Kathryn Dance’ series and what could be a fairly straightforward tale of celebrity stalking is differentiated from the standard fare by Deaver’s ratcheting up of the sense of peril and tension that he is so accomplished at. As the story plays out, the reader is wrong-footed at every turn as the body count mounts and the killer remains undetected. This is all well and good and typical of Deaver as he adds the layers of kinesic science through Dance, and by a guest appearance by Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, the forensic detail, but what really struck me, and what I was most impressed by, was how Deaver’s personal enjoyment and passion for music comes- excuse the pun- singing throughout the book. Whether he is adding detail about specific instruments, the performance arenas with the best acoustics or simply name-checking the luminaries of the Country and Western hall of fame, it makes you feel really involved with the story on a different level. Obviously he uses Dance with her mission to capture the traditional music of the California Fresno region for her down time music web site as an additional foil to indulge this love of music, as she sets about recording the music of Mexican migrants in between thwarting the evil aims of the seemingly psychopathic stalker. At the back of the book are the lyrics (composed by Deaver) to Kayleigh Towne’s greatest hits and by moseying onto his web site these songs have been recorded and are available to download. The lyrics are also very carefully constructed to add clues to how the main story will play out and give hints to the murders before they occur so again lets the reader play detective to some degree. Again, we have the convoluted and troubled personal relationships of the main characters at the forefront of the book demonstrated by Dance’s increasingly complicated romantic attachments and her initially spiky relationship with the detectives at the local sheriff’s office. We also bear witness to the difficult relationship of Kayleigh with her ex-Country and Western superstar father and how her fame has led to some heartbreaking decisions under his influence. All this is nicely counterbalanced by the wonderfully understated personal and professional relationship of Lincoln and Amelia which is always a joy to behold. Another great read from Deaver with the added bonus of a musical accompaniment which I will certainly be downloading...

XO by Jeffrey Deaver is a gripping mystery thriller, and I picked it up as part of my alphabet reading challenge because of the title starting with “X.” At first, the book was a bit slow for my taste, and with so many characters, I ended up making a “who’s who” list to keep track of everyone. That said, once the story picked up, it became much more engaging, with twists and turns that kept me reading. Some parts were predictable, while others genuinely surprised me. I particularly enjoyed the police procedural and forensic elements, which added depth to the investigation. Lincoln Rhyme, with his sharp eye for detail and grumpy charm, quickly became one of my favourite characters alongside the main protagonist. Overall, XO is a satisfying read for fans of mystery thrillers and police procedurals. While it took a little time to settle in, the clever plotting, forensic detail, and intriguing characters make it well worth the read.

Not his best! I can't really add much more than the other reviewer. It felt too much like I was reading an instruction manual on how to read people. A shame as I've enjoyed the previous Kathryn Dance novels immensely.

I did enjoy the previous Kathryn Dance thrillers but have felt seriously let down by other recent Deaver books. This series has also gone the same way. I felt like I was being instructed rather than entertained. The characters almost seem incidental to what is very obviously the 'theme' of the book - the music industry and Stalkers. Yes, I enjoy learning new facts and information from reading non-fiction - history, historical characters and other countries - but this author's books have just become so dull. I really don't need to be told of the history of musical media and politics and the different types of stalkers just leaves me cold. It's got the usual plot twists that you can't see coming but I just skim read the last half of the book. Sorry, but think that's me done with Deaver.