The Breathtaker - Alice Blanchard

**** When nature takes your breath away

A nice thriller caught by chance from my collection of ebooks. The story is set in a small town in Oklahoma that is periodically affected by tornados. After one of them that was particularly strong, the sheriff finds a whole family died at their home, apparently killed by debris thrown by the strong gusts of wind. But something is not right.

And so begins a story about a fearless serial killer who kills during the tornados, taking advantage of the power of nature to leave no trace.

The novel is a sort of crossover between a classic crime thriller and a techno-thriller à la Crichton ("Twister" comes to mind). Suspense, murder and investigations join a detailed scientific explanation of weather phenomena and the way in which they are studied, which made my reading of the book particularly interesting.

The only drawback is a certain predictability about the identity of the murderer. In fact, Blanchard would also have played her cards right, but her homework is too perfect. An experienced reader of thriller has no difficulty in identifying the only character who fits the profile of a serial killer, who remains a bit on the sidelines and on whom we have never suspected. So you can get there by exclusion.

For what concerns me, moreover, I did not feel overly involved by the characters, but this may be due to reasons of my personal liking and not a defect of the novel.

The final scenes are really exciting and here the author makes amends. At one point, when all the cards are dealt, the protagonists are facing the greatest enemy that they can have: nature. And, even if I expected that everything would be okay, I have to admit that I could almost feel the wind blowing in my hair.

The Breathtaker on Amazon.com.