Tolog Review: The Christopher Killer

The Christopher Killer
by Alane Ferguson
reviewed by Mercedes De La Torre

Alane Ferguson’s The Christopher Killer explores the dark side of forensics in relation to murder mysteries. Cammie is a seventeen-year-old girl who is growing up without her mother and follows in her father’s footsteps. Silverton, Colorado’s finest coroner, who happens to be Cammie’s father, gives her the position as his newest assistant. As Cammie, who aspires to be a forensic pathologist, learns much from her father while avoiding becoming “the Christopher killer’s” next target. 

This book was filled with suspense, gore, romance and mystery. I originally chose this book because I love watching Law and Order SVU but as the book progressed I realized it wasn’t as similar as I had hoped. It went into many details about the forensics, which was both cool and at times was a bit boring. Ferguson was quite impeccable at describing but sometimes when she described the dead corpses it was too gory. I also felt as though the characters did not have enough depth to them, which at times made really getting into the book difficult. I felt as though there were many facts given about the characters but never really any explanation as to why. I thought that this book would mainly focus on mystery but to my surprise there was also a romance escalating throughout the book. The romance occurred between Cammie and the town’s newest Deputy, Justin. Her father was not very fond of him at first and she felt that she should agree with his instincts but eventually she couldn’t resist. This was definitely one thing that made me keep reading past all the in depth science facts. Above all else I was never able to predict what would happen next. There was a huge lack of foreshadowing which I liked because I don’t like when stories are too predictable. For example, when Cammie received her second murder case she recognized the corpse as her friend and co-worker Rachel. This was also the first time that I felt Cammie showed real emotion. It made her more determined to find out who the killer was and help put him away for good. Another twist in the story I enjoyed was when the reason Cammie’s father disliked the deputy was revealed. Justin was friends with Cammie’s mom who we later find out abandoned her and her father when she was young. Everything really began to come together when Cammie read the letter from her mother at the end of the book explaining that she had left because she just couldn’t take the pain of Cammie’s twin sister’s death.

Of all of Ferguson’s many literary skills her way of adding all of these twists and turns into the story, is what kept me reading the book. Overall I am satisfied with this book but would only recommend it to people who enjoy both mystery and science because the details of forensics can sometimes be a bit overpowering.