FLESH OF ALL SORROWS by Jeffrey J. Mariotte (Crystal Lake Publishing, August 28, 2026 release date) Kindle Edition, 397 pages. ASIN # B0HBNRY7CZ
The publisher’s synopsis:
Daniel Mansfield Jr. has spent his life in the shadow of a legend. His father—the celebrated police chief who ended the reign of The Bookbinder, a serial killer who used the flesh of his victims to bind his books—left Daniel a name to live up to and a department to inherit. Now Daniel sits in that same chair, in that same town of Sossaman, Arizona, carrying that same weight.
Then a young woman turns up dead bearing The Bookbinder's unmistakable signature.
The problem is Brian Quintana, the man Daniel's father arrested, has been behind bars for nearly forty years. Which means either an imitator is at work, or Daniel's father put the wrong man away.
As clues pile up and another victim disappears, Daniel must confront the most dangerous question of his career: what if the legacy he has dedicated his life to protecting was built on a lie?
Meanwhile, Johnathan Ottilie is unraveling a secret of his own, one that connects his family directly to The Bookbinder's dark history in ways he never imagined and cannot outrun.
Two families. Two inherited sins. One small Arizona community that will never be the same.
Fast-paced, propulsive, and relentlessly suspenseful, this is a crime thriller for fans of Thomas Harris, Michael Connelly, and Jeffery Deaver, where the hunt for a serial killer forces a son to choose between protecting his father's name and serving the truth that could destroy everything.
The roots of evil run deep. Only blood can tear them out.
MY FOUR-STAR REVIEW on the Goodreads website . . . . .
What makes this book stand out from the pack is what happens beyond the fast-paced police procedural thriller. In addition to a serial killer, there are subplots involving a family legacy, politics, corruption and dissent within a police force, and small town social life.
The story is told in alternating first-person and third-person narration from two main points-of-view. What impressed me the most was the way that two different individuals tried to live up to their family legacy - - - and either succeeded or failed, or managed to do both. One had a famous father; the other an infamous father.
What impressed me the most was Mariotte's story-telling ability and the way he juggles all these elements and brings them together to form a captivating story. The action scenes are seat-of-your-pants, hold-your-breath until it's over. It's easy to empathize with many of theses characters and also not difficult to understand the less savory ones. That's a great writing skill.
