Vigilante, by Claude Bouchard

A serial killer is stalking Montreal during the summer of 1996.  But most people show little concern for stopping him.  The reason is, this killer only kills the bad guys.  Criminals, deadbeat, pimps, punks, rapists, drug dealers, that is who this vigilante killer is after.  And while at times the police force feel these lowlifes get justice, they must find the person responsible for these killings.  When the cops team up with a high tech computer security firm, several interesting suspects are brought to light.

I have to say, this is probably the best mystery/thriller book I have ever read, and I am now hungry for more books in this series!  First off, I will say the character development was superb.  There are several main characters involved in the storyline, and each one is developed in their own time and pacing, as is relevant to the story.  I felt like I really knew the characters well, and was certain I had the mystery solved.

The mystery aspect of the plot is so incredibly well written.  There are, like any good mystery, some red herrings thrown in, and done so skillfully that I was completely duped, thinking I was so smart for figuring out so early into the story who the killer actually was.  The ending, and the reveal of the killer's identity hit me like a ton of bricks, as I never expected it.  The last sentence of the book made me shiver with delight.

If more mysteries were this well written, I could become a full time mystery reader.  Absolutely fabulous story, one that had me up in the middle of the night reading, just to find out if my hunch was true.


I received a review copy of this book from the author.