Freak

Suspense magazine chose Jennifer Hillier’s “truly frightening” debut, Creep, as one of 2011’s best novels, while #1 bestselling author Jeffery Deaver cautioned “you better call in sick—you’re not going anywhere until you finish reading.” Now, Hillier returns to the Pacific Northwest college town where one killer’s stranglehold has ebbed . . . but another sick mind has waited for the perfect moment to pick up where the terror left off.

Sitting alone in a maximum-security prison cell, Abby Maddox is a celebrity. Her claim to fame is the envy of every freak on the outside: she’s the former lover of Ethan Wolfe, the killer who left more than a dozen dead women in his wake and nearly added Puget Sound State professor Sheila Tao to the tally. Now Abby, serving a nine-year sentence for slashing a police officer’s throat in a moment of rage, has little human contact—save for the letters that pour in from demented fans, lunatics, and creeps. But a new wave of murders has given Abby a possible chance for a plea bargain—because this killer has been sending her love letters, and carving a message on the bodies of the victims: Free Abby Maddox.

Jerry Isaac will never forget the attack—or his attacker. The hideous scarring and tortured speech are daily reminders that the one-time Seattle PD officer, now a private investigator, is just lucky to be alive. Abby Maddox deserves to rot in jail—forever, as far as Jerry’s concerned. But she alone may possess crucial evidence—letters from this newest killer—that could crack open the disturbing case. With the help of Professor Sheila Tao, seasoned police detective Mike Torrance, and intuitive criminology student Danny Mercy, Jerry must coax the shattering truth from isolated, dangerous Abby Maddox. Can he put the pieces together before Abby’s number one fan takes another life in the name of a killer’s perverted idea of justice?

"Readers are advised to read Hillier's frightening 2011 debut, Creep, before this so-so sequel, which features many of the same characters. In the previous book, Abby Maddox, the girlfriend of serial killer Ethan Wolfe, went to prison for nearly cutting the throat of PI Jerry Isaac, a former Seattle policeman. In the year since that assault, the authorities have been trying to link Maddox to Wolfe's murders. With both the mental and physical scars still all too fresh, Isaac is horrified to learn of a new horror from his former Seattle PD colleagues. After strangling a young woman with a zip tie, someone carved 'Free Abby Maddox' into her torso. The search for the killer inevitably connects to the previous crimes. Efforts at humor ('There was one simple reason Jerry didn't like cemeteries. They were full of dead people') do little to enhance a familiar serial killer story line. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg." Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Suspense magazine chose Jennifer Hilliers “truly frightening” debut, Creep, as one of 2011s best novels, while #1 bestselling author Jeffery Deaver cautioned “you better call in sick—youre not going anywhere until you finish reading.” Now, Hillier returns to the Pacific Northwest college town where one killers stranglehold has ebbed . . . but another sick mind has waited for the perfect moment to pick up where the terror left off.

Sitting alone in a maximum-security prison cell, Abby Maddox is a celebrity. Her claim to fame is the envy of every freak on the outside: shes the former lover of Ethan Wolfe, the killer who left more than a dozen dead women in his wake and nearly added Puget Sound State professor Sheila Tao to the tally. Now Abby, serving a nine-year sentence for slashing a police officers throat in a moment of rage, has little human contact—save for the letters that pour in from demented fans, lunatics, and creeps. But a new wave of murders has given Abby a possible chance for a plea bargain—because this killer has been sending her love letters, and carving a message on the bodies of the victims: Free Abby Maddox.

Jerry Isaac will never forget the attack—or his attacker. The hideous scarring and tortured speech are daily reminders that the one-time Seattle PD officer, now a private investigator, is just lucky to be alive. Abby Maddox deserves to rot in jail—forever, as far as Jerrys concerned. But she alone may possess crucial evidence—letters from this newest killer—that could crack open the disturbing case. With the help of Professor Sheila Tao, seasoned police detective Mike Torrance, and intuitive criminology student Danny Mercy, Jerry must coax the shattering truth from isolated, dangerous Abby Maddox. Can he put the pieces together before Abbys number one fan takes another life in the name of a killers perverted idea of justice?

From suspense author Jennifer Hillier, whom Jeffery Deaver has praised as “top of the line thriller writing,” comes Freak, a sequel to her debut novel Creep.           

The bodies of naked young women, each carved with letters and numbers, are turning up dead all around Seattle. The letters match the initials of Abby Maddox, a character from Creep, in prison for the attempted murder of a police officer. Maddox is on the verge of being indicted for her involvement in the Tell Tale Heart killings from a year ago. But is she really capable of such violence? At least one fan, apparently obsessed with her innocence, wants the charismatic Maddox freed—and is determined to continue a murder spree until she is….     

     Voted one of the Best Books of 2011 by Suspense magazine, Creep is a “frightening debut...packs a considerable wallop” (Publishers Weekly).

Jennifer Hillier made her fiction debut with Creep. Originally from Canada, she has also lived with her husband in the Pacific Northwest. Visit her on the web at JenniferHillier.org.