Warning: animals and humans are tortured in this book. But that's not why I rated it "poor." It's because I figured out, almost from the beginning, who was behind it all and after that, I really didn't care. There were red herrings trying to divert suspicion, chapters that took you into the killer's mind, a massive government conspiracy, a romance for the protagonist, and I still didn't care. In fact, I ended up skimming through most of the book. I've enjoyed other books by Hecht, but just can't recommend this one.