Macmillan | January 2017 | 496 pgs
Source: Library

Rattle is a book which is neither easy to read nor write after turning that last page. It was hard to articulate my thoughts and put them into words as aside from the horror of the crimes, it also features a medical condition of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (Stone Man Syndrome); a rare debilitating disease that causes sufferers to grow a second skeleton which literally traps them in a prison of bone (this definition was extracted from the author's note. For more info please click above link.)

And on top of it all was a terrifying serial killer, named the Bone Collector, is a psychopath who leads two lives - an ordinary man who's like anyone else and a caretaker of his family's macabre museum in another. Aside from abducting little children who seem to have some skeletal deformities, his other modus operandi is leaving rabbit skeletons around either as a clue or as a taunt, nobody knows but Detective Sergeant Etta Fitzroy is adamant to trace him down and to see that the children are returned safely back to their parents.

But that is not all, two sets of parents (with their children missing) face some marital problems; most of which is one parent is not attentive enough to their family and even DS Etta Fitzroy doesn't escape from her own woes - a stillborn baby and an older broker husband who doesn't really want children. However, Fitzroy's characteristic shine in her devotion to her work amid her personal life.

As for our antagonist the Bone Collector, he remains as a shadow and readers know very little of him until the last quarter of the book; and by then the intensity was full-blown and readers would be caught up by the cat-and-mouse race. Overall, Rattle was quite an unsettling read with a creepy psychopath and his evil deeds and while it was a thrilling read to me, I wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending. Perhaps there is a sequel to it? I hope so.

8 Responses
  1. jenclair Says:

    Wow, this one does sound unsettling! I haven't read anything by this author, but Rattle does sound interesting--creepy, but interesting!

  2. Lark Says:

    Creepy and unsettling...just what you want in a horror/thriller. I'm putting this one on my list even though you weren't entirely satisfied with the ending. :)

  3. Melody Says:

    Jenclair - Yes, it was an interesting read and I don't think I've ever heard of that medical term until reading this book.

  4. Melody Says:

    Lark - It sounds like a horror, isn't it? Yet the medical condition was real and that makes it even scarier. I'll be curious to hear what you'll think of this book, Lark. :)

  5. Iliana Says:

    This sounds super creepy but I want to read it! I'll just have to keep the lights on :)

  6. I agree with the others, this sounds really creepy. I am not sure about this one, to be honest. It's too scary. LOL

  7. Melody Says:

    Iliana - It wasn't creepy like a horror but yet it felt like one with the psychopath. Yes, make sure you've the lights on when reading this. ;)

  8. Melody Says:

    Wendy - This wasn't scary like a horror; but what the victims gone through and the deeds the psychopath done all made this a terrifying read.

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