Mortal Fear | 
|  | | | Title: | Mortal Fear | | Author: | Greg Iles | | Publisher: | Signet | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 01 February, 1998 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0451180410 / 9780451180414 | | List Price: | $7.99 | | Amazon Price: | $7.99 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Amazon.com
Raymond Chandler once proclaimed that the first-person narrator should never turn out to be the villain in a good mystery or thriller. Luckily, the excellent writer Greg Iles has seemingly ignored Chandler's advice. Iles has created a character--Harper Cole, a futures trader and online pornographer--who could very well be the person killing off subscribers to his Internet sex service. Or is it Miles Turner, Cole's very odd colleague? If you thought that stalking a killer on the Internet had been done to death in books and bad movies, this one will have you pushing the reload button on your browser. Other Iles books in paperback include Black Cross and Spandau Phoenix.
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Customer Reviews:
• Iles Delivers Again 23 June, 2008
When I started this book, I almost put it down when I learned that this was about an on-line erotic website and I expected maybe this was just going to be one sex scene after another, but it turned out not to be. This was a very exciting thriller that I found difficult to put down. The plot involved a doctor and his wife/concubine who were working on some twisted scientific theory, gathering specimins for their experiments. Well, there's more to it than that of course, but in comes the main character, Harper Cole who works as a SYSOP for this website. Harper has some secrets that come into play and eventually lead the killers to his doorstep. Harper was certainly a flawed character who was attempting to do the 'right' thing. Harper is married to Drewe, a local doctor. Drewe is the sister of Erin, who is the mother of Holly. Unknown to Drewe, her husband is the father of her sister's daughter.
Oh-oh, that could be trouble. Drewe was probably the most likable character in the book and she turned out to be a lot stronger than I or her husband expected. Anyway, this book has plenty of action and plenty of great subplots going on dealing with the family situation and in the end they all tie in together. This is the second book I've read by Greg Iles and the second one that was over 600 pages and definately did not seem that long. This is a quick read and and easy recommend. Not a boring moment in it. Even the discussions of computereze were made interesting although some time I had no idea what they were talking about, being technologically challenged as I am.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1Q1V4F9610DB5
• Loved, Loved, Loved This Book 11 May, 2008
I originally bought this book because of Greg Iles' connection to Ole Miss (my daughter just graduated from Ole Miss).
But, I have to say what a surprise find this was. I loved this book. There were always twists and turns that kept you pulled into the book. I love his style of writing. He gives lots of details but he makes those details interesting. You don't want to skim through those filler details like most books. It makes the books I have read in the last year or so pale in comparison. I have subsquently bought 8 more of his books and have them stacked to read.
As a Mississippian, I think his books are ten times better than John Grisham (another Ole Miss alumni).
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3NTBJSK3UI4E9
• Not The Best Of Greg Iles 19 March, 2008
I really enjoy Greg Iles work. As I have said in other reviews, he is simply the best in the mystery thriller area. But this is not his best. It is too long, too lurid in some respects. And his characters don't have the depth of some of his other characters as in Blood Memory. But this is still a good read. I wish the publisher could have found a better print method of showing us what was being written on line when the characters were logged onto EROS as contrasted with the basic story line. But maybe they used the best method possible. I just found the bold type in a different font distracting. And I wanted more of the "bad guy." I wanted more interaction with him, more insight. I admit I am not sure how Iles could have given us that since we were learning about the bad guy from the good guy. But the glimpses we were given made me want to know more about how his personality developed. I definitely recommend this book if you enjoy this kind of mystery. But don't expect Iles at his best.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AQ2YWRGJEJNZM
• Noir For The 21st Century 03 April, 2008
Mortal Fear is a truly chilling story. Harper Cole is a futures trader, he is also a key employee in an online erotic website whose primary patrons are wealthy women. Cole is the first to realize that some of his clients are being killed off in in bizzarre, violent ways. The M.O.'s don't match, but one thing does: each of these women has had their pinneal glands removed and Harper Cole is the FBI's number one suspect. Cole has no choice but to be his own advocate and so begins a cat and mouse game between himself disguised as his own sister-in-law and a brilliant serial killer.
Author Greg Iles uses the fact that the anonymous nature of the internet breeds both brutal honesty and the ability to be as deceptive as we like. This anonymity is an illusion that is only a click away for a skilled computer hacker and therein lies the really frightening atmosphere that is created. The most chilling parts of the book take place between the disguised Cole and the Killer nicknamed "Brahma" by the FBI. We learn the secret past of this killer and also the secret darkness that Harper Cole has hidden deeply within. What makes this so chilling is the readers realization of his/her own darkness; the things that we keep tightly within ourselves for fear that the masks that we wear will be torn away revealing a demon beneath.
Mortal Fear is a frighteningly pleasureable read that hits at the core of what it means to be three dimensional beings that contain within all the worlds darkness and all the worlds light.
A must read for fans of subtle horror.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A15MHXG5FZYSD
• Creepy Suspense 27 March, 2008
One thing I love about Greg Iles is that he isn't a "template" writer and every one of his books is so different and fascinating in their own way. I thought this was one of his creepiest stories since it involves an internet porn site where the killer selects his victims. The psychological twists and turns that this novel takes will keep you hooked throughout the book.
I did think the book was a little too long and could have been pared down without destroying the story. The character development is exceptional and it is very hard to tell who the "bad guy" really is.....there are several possibilities to keep the reader guessing.
One part that was not very believable was when Drewe, Harper's wife, reveals herself to the killer towards the end. Drewe is a physician and a reserved and "proper" Southern woman. She is disgusted by the porn industry and wants no part of it. Her sudden transformation in the midst of terror-filled moments when she becomes the object of the killer's obssession, was a huge stretch by any means of the imagination. One could possibly assume she was avenging her sister's untimely death, but the whole scene was still a stretch.
This is a very creepy psychological thriller and well worth the time it takes to read it.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2RR8QVUX94T73
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