Pure Instinct

Instinct Thriller Series

By: Robert W. Walker

Narrated by: Ted Brooks

A new horror is stalking New Orleans. He is the "Queen of Hearts" killer, removing the hearts of his young male victims. He is savage. He is unstoppable. And the New Orleans Police commissioner has requested - by name - the aid of Dr. Jessica Coran.

But another horror is stalking Jessica. The man known as "The Vampire Killer" has escaped from prison, leaving a trail of blood-drained bodies in his wake. No one knows where he is - but they do know that he's coming for Jessica, the woman that put him behind bars.

Now Jessica faces double jeopardy. And not even a new - and unlikely - partner from the FBI's experimental "psychic" program can protect her from two killers....

©2010 Robert W. Walker (P)2014 Robert W. Walker

Great Premise, Badly Written

I loved the premise of this novel: serial killers, psychic investigators, forensics. As a fan of detective fiction, murder mysteries and a bit of the paranormal, I was so looking forward to reading this, especially since it was the first in a series. I really wanted to like it.

I found Walker's writing very hard to stomach. He head-hops in mid-scene (switches from the POV of one character to another), which is disorienting enough in text form and almost vertiginous in audiobook form.

There are incredibly long passages of diegetic (telling) narrative in which we are told rather than shown the story. I'm not opposed to 'telling' and enjoy stories with a certain amount of interior dialogue and reflection to add an emotional dimension to the story, but this goes on and on, making the story feel sluggish, claustrophobic and boring.

I was also not terribly crazy about Ted Brooks' narration. He's fine when he's not trying to do women's voices. But when he does, they sound so much like a man trying to sound like a women, it becomes comedic and distracting.

Series Takes a Nose Dive!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Anyone that likes this narrator will like it. I didn't like the narrator. I'm two hours into the story and I've stopped it twice to read other books.

What could Robert W. Walker have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

He should try to keep the same narrator throughout the series. For a man to read as a woman he has to be careful to not make the girl sound too girly. Jessica is a tough woman and I don't like how he reads her. Also, two hours in the Jessica still hasn't been brought into the crime investigation in New Orleans, its just dragging! The other issue which is no fault of this book is book 3 is not available on audible therefore I now have a gap in the storyline.

Would you be willing to try another one of Ted Brooks’s performances?

I will and I will try to finish this book. I would really like book 3 on audible.

What character would you cut from Pure Instinct?

cut the narrator