It Takes a Special Kind of Team to Hunt a Special Kind of Killer

Time is about to run out for Joseph Miller. The ex-marine is being stalked in his retirement by a twisted serial killer with a flair for the theatrical: The Holy Ghost. When the spectre strikes again, Miller becomes the sixth in a chain of grisly murders going back decades.

Detective Tom McHale is brought in to lead the investigation, having already put away a multiple murderer. His reputation is on the rise, and an autoimmune disease and self-medication don’t dull his edge.

To hunt The Holy Ghost, McHale enlists the help of a Native American FBI agent, a Jesuit priest, and a powerful supercomputer named Mother. Together, they form a formidable alliance that will stop at nothing to track down the killer and bring him to justice. But time waits for no-one, and as the hour approaches, the seventh victim could be closer than they think.

August the first is a very bad day, well for some anyway. Every year on this date The Holy Ghost strikes, not the one from religion but a serial killer who stalks his victims, kills them, and poses them on this date. Victim number six has just been found.

So far the police have been at a loss as to who the serial killer is so they enlist the help of Detective Tom McHale who has form for catching the worst of the worst. McHale brings in his own team including an FBI agent, a Jesuit priest, and a supercomputer. Can they solve the case before a seventh victim is found?

A Time For Dying is a dark and unpredictable thriller that combines a likeable detective with a very unlikeable serial killer. The plot is exciting and the pages seem to just fly by as I lost track of time, invested in the action.

Part conventional detective cat-and-mouse story and part unorthodox this edge-of-your-seat thriller will captivate its readers. It is fast-paced and has short chapters. I loved the dynamics between the characters and their differences which when brought together made for a formidable team, plus, their sarcasm and off-the-cuff humour too.

A Time for Dying isn’t for the faint-hearted but it is one hell of a thriller.

I’m an ancient Scottish writer with with an eternal love of words. I’m older than I’d like to be and younger than I should be at my age. I’m happily married with two grown-up sons who are better looking, more intelligent, and taller than I was at their age…or any age.
My wife is the author Denise M. Main. Her talent puts mine to shame. One son is a personal trainer and nutritionist, the other is a sculptor. We have an adopted cat. I play a little chess. The cat doesn’t, although she likes to watch.