Review - Rubble and the Wreckage by Rodd Clark

Kindly note: An electronic review copy of this book was supplied by the author.

Aspiring author Christian is on to something. He has been researching a string of unsolved and seemingly unconnected murders across the country, and he believes they’re the work of one man. Not even the FBI has figured out what Chris has seen in the randomness of the crimes. He becomes almost obsessive in his quest to research the killings, and maybe even track down the murderer so he can write his story.

But the perpetrator, Gabriel Church, beats Christian to the punch by casually introducing himself to the writer in a coffee shop one day. The killer isn’t what Chris expected. Yes, he’s a cold blooded murder who believes his victims are chosen for him, but he’s also charming and possesses a strong animal magnetism. It isn’t long before Gabriel has Chris thinking things he hasn’t allowed himself to consider before.

“Rubble and the Wreckage” is not the kind of book you may be accustomed to seeing reviewed on this site, but it’s good to stretch out and try new things, or so they say. In this case, at least, there are no regrets. While the book may make you uncomfortable at times, as any good thriller should, it’s still a very interesting read. The story does a good job of drawing you in, with prose that at times has an almost lyrical cadence that belies the brutal scenes being described.

As the full title suggests, this is the first in a planned series of books following the serial murderer Gabriel Church. Naturally, that means things don’t get tied up with a neat little bow at then end of this book. However, things do get resolved to the point where you probably won’t be too disappointed at the way things end, for now. That isn’t to say you won’t be left guessing until the very end how things will work out and who, aside from the killer, gets to stay alive for the next book.

The characters seem believable. For the reader, as well as the character of Christian, Church will remain something of an enigma. He’s not a raving lunatic. He has a troubled past, and he knows that society at large considers what he does very wrong, but he doesn’t seem insane. Christian sees, indeed seems to bring out, another side of Gabriel. One that even the killer didn’t know he had. The inner power struggle between the killer and the lover is what provides the real drama to this story.

Thrillers probably still aren’t my cup of tea, but I’ll still probably be curious enough to know where this goes to read the next book in the series, sooner or later. “Rubble and the Wreckage” is available from Amazon.