You Can’t Stop Me-Max Allan Collins and Matthew Clemens

You Can’t Stop Me
Max Allan Collins and Matthew Clemens
Pinnacle, Mar 1 2010, $6.99
ISBN: 9780786021345

Field agent and criminologist for the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, John Christian Harrow is at the Iowa State Fair helping protect the president of the United States. He sees a suspicious looking male with a hand in his pocket and reacts instantly. He becomes a hero for preventing an assassination of the President. However, he comes home to find his wife and son murdered; blood everywhere.

Six years later Harrow works for UBC’s reality show Crime Seen! that has led to the capture of more than a dozen dangerous felons. An ambitious P.A. sees on the internet a crime where the victim’s finger was cut off (Harrow’s wife had her ring removed) a grain of corn grass found in the Heartland, but the crime took place in Florida.

Harrow gathers a team to track down a killer who is waiting to tell his story and killing will get the attention he wants from the cops and the media. He is killing certain targets and the TV coverage is being used by The Messenger who wants Harrow and the public to find him. Harrow wants this violent guy who has killed wives and children all over the country because his M.O. is identical to what happened to his loved ones and other families..

This is a terrific cat and mouse thriller in which readers anticipate the High Noon showdown even if the plot has been used numerous times before though reality TV refreshes it as ratings supersede justice. Whereas UBC counts viewers, Harrow and his team want to prevent more homicides by bringing the message of justice to the killer. Filled with shockers and twists throughout, fans will enjoy this fast-paced tale with the biggest stunner being pity for the psychopath.

Harriet Klausner