Review: The Killings Begin by Bradley Pay

Genre ~ fiction

Featuring ~ fake relationship x3, age gap (30 & 18), closed door steamage, serial killer, murder (not graphic), drug use, cliffhanger~ish (not everything in wrapped up with a neat little bow)

POV ~ multiple 3rd person

Series ~ Spectrum Series ~ book 1

Release date ~ June 25, 2022

Page count ~ 334

My rating ~ 3.5⭐

My review:

Our main characters are: Tracey ~ serial killer, Gia ~ 18 years old on her own for the first time, Sal ~ realtor, Raul~ pediatrician, Joseph ~ stockbroker

The story begins in April 1998 with Tracey and ends in 2011 with Tracey, but the majority of the story is not about him at all. It took an awfully long time to see how the dual plots would intertwine with each other. As the story progresses you can see how everything will eventually align though.

Jaime’s Taberna in Madrid is where Gia first meets best friends Sal, Raul and Joseph. As they get acquainted with each other Gia proposes a fake relationship with all 3. They agree and draw up terms for a four month contract, which turns into years of friendship and fun along the way.

Years after the 4th killing a reporter puts 2 and 2 together and starts thinking that there’s a possible serial killer in Raleigh, NC and the honorable Judge Tracey starts to panic. What a fun idea to put the actual newspaper clipping of the article into the text.

I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book with so much inner monologue and talking to oneself, and honestly I’m not sure I liked it. I did appreciate the differing font to help me get used to the writing style.

Overall, a good start to a new series and I’m interested to read what will happen next with all of the remaining characters and the new ones we’ll meet. Based on the title I was expecting way more murder and I hope there is much more in the next one.

*Thanks to Bradley Pay and Novel Content for my copy to read. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

⬇Purchase link⬇

Amazon

Book blurb:

Immerse yourself in complex romance and suspenseful serial-killer psychology that bend and break all expectations. Weaving together two innovative plots and completely unforgettable characters, The Killings Begin stands out as one of the most creative takes on storytelling in the last century. Don’t miss this thrilling debut to the Spectrum Series!

Gia Delgado flips her life upside down when she escapes from her arranged marriage and moves to Madrid. Finally, she can live the life she wants… if only it were that easy. When she realizes the lifestyle she craves is just out of reach, she enters into a contract with three complicated men. In exchange for an apartment and stipend, she’ll pretend to be their “no strings” wife, whether they want to display her in public or lead her to the bedroom. There are vital rules, though: They are all bound to secrecy, and no one is allowed to fall in love.

If you think you know what comes next, excuse me… you’re wrong.

Gia doesn’t know it yet, but someone sinister is destined to tear her life to shreds. From the outside, Tracey Lauch looks like the adopted son of a perfect high-society family. Who wouldn’t trust him? He works in the justice system, sits on his family’s art museum board, and even establishes a foster home to keep siblings together. These appearances mean nothing. As he tries to cope with his abandonment trauma, a reconnection to his past triggers him, and he loses control with deadly consequences. Now a serial killer, Tracey panics. Fleeing to Europe, he hopes that a change of venue will quell his murderous desires. Can he heal his past, or will his anger and pain enslave him forever?

Dive into an unpredictable world of secrets, murder, and psychological thrills unlike any other.

The Killings Begin was previously published as Murder in Zaporozhye.

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