Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of UNSUB by Men Gardiner that I read and reviewed.
This book was full of twist and turns and had an end that I did not see coming. With this being the first book in a new series I can honestly say it was an interesting start and I can't wait to see where Gardiner takes this series. I can't say much more due to spoilers but it was definitely an great start.
I am giving UNSUB four out of five stars.

Unsub scared me in the best way possible! The Prophet was diabolical, clever and incredibly theatrical while Caitlyn was a strong, smart and capable leading lady. One who is confident in her abilities but also not afraid to ask for help or seek guidance. Gardiner overall did a great job creating nerve-wracking tension that left my nails chewed and heart pumping. This appears to be the first book in a new series and I'm anxious to see who Caitlyn hunts next.

This was my first book by Meg Gardiner and I have to say that I was not disappointed. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to know more. It was really interesting how they incorporated aspects from the infamous Zodiac Killer into this book. I have always been interested in reading and learning about serial killers so this was right up my alley.

I really enjoyed the characters in this. The relationship between Caitlin and her father. I also really liked the dynamic between Caitlin and Sean, they seemed to work really well together. Caitlin was a really strong main character and I liked how real she seemed. Actually, all the characters seemed to be real and authentic. I really appreciate that in a novel, especially one like this where the main characters/detectives are super smart or never get tricked, etc.

If you like mysteries that will keep you in suspense until the very last page then I definitely recommend this one. While it does have its predictable moments, it will keep you hooked from the very beginning and not let go.

Caitlin Hendrix, a narcotics detective, is suddenly approached by homicide detectives when it appears the Zodiac type killer, the Prophet. has reemerged after being in hiding for almost 20 years. Caitlin knows the Prophet killer all too well, this case haunted and destroyed her father former detective Mack Hendrix when she was a child.

Caitlin is drawn into the world of the Prophet and must help catch him, as it seems that she has inherited her father’s ability to crack the Prophet’s strange messages that he provides. Caitlin soon finds herself deeply emerged in the case despite the warnings of her boyfriend, mother and even her father. Caitlin must stop the prophet before his final act can be complete.

This was the first book that I have read by Meg Gardiner and I found myself quickly drawn into the captivating storyline. I had a hard time putting this book down. l could see where some may find the storyline slightly predictable, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The last half of the book kept me up reading well past my bedtime.

The very ending/ epilogue of the book did seem a little choppy to me and seemed like the author just wanted to add a bit more to tease for the next book in the series and to me some of it was not needed, I already wanted to read the next book in the Unsub series before I even finished this one.

Overall this was a good read, and one that I will recommend.

For a while there, it seemed that serial killer novels were being released every other minute – to the point that the power of each new book was diluted. Thankfully that trend seems to have run its course, allowing the occasional title that is released to garner more than a passing glace. One of those worthwhile releases is UNSUB, the new novel from Meg Gardiner.

Inspired by the Zodiac murders, Meg Gardiner crafts a serial killer called The Prophet – a vicious villain who terrorized San Francisco almost two decades ago. The plot of UNSUB deals with the re-emergence of this clever criminal (or a copycat who knows more than the general public about those earlier murders) as he begins to taunt the daughter of the policeman who hunted him all those years ago. Caitlin Hendrix, now a rookie cop herself, working her first homicide case, may prove to be this killer’s fiercest adversary yet.

UNSUB is well structured: starting in the past, before shifting the focus to Caitlin’s investigation of the current crimes. With well-placed flashbacks, Meg Gardiner keeps the tension growing in incremental degrees, to the point that readers will be turning on all the lights and locking every door as they near the climax. In a change of pace for this style of novel, the identity of the killer is revealed two-thirds of the way through UNSUB shifting the action from the point on into classic thriller territory, to great effect.

Readers will be thrilled to know that UNSUB is the start of a series because Caitlin Hendrix is a character with untold facets to be uncovered. Easy to root for, she is also flawed in countless ways. Everything in Caitlin’s life seems to be based on conflict – interactions with family, friends, colleagues, and even the love of her life sit precariously on the edge. The dynamic between Caitlin and her father is particularly complex and Gardiner makes sure to explore its depths without losing the momentum at the core of UNSUB.

No serial killer would be complete without a unique modus operandi and The Prophet is no exception. Marking all of the victims with the astrological sign for mercury – which just happens to resemble a devil – is just the beginning of his craftiness. UNSUB is not for the squeamish; Meg Gardiner pulls no punches in her depictions of these horrendous crime scenes. However, if you are a fan of this type of novel, UNSUB is sure to be a compulsively additive reading experience.

It seems fitting given the cinematic nature of the writing that UNSUB has already been optioned for adaptation to the screen. Caitlin Hendrix and The Prophet surely belong in the hollowed halls once occupied by Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter.

Excellent psychological thriller ! The serial killer The Prophet is back after 20 years of terrorizing the Bay Area . Detective Caitlin Hendrix remembers this killer from her childhood. The Prophet left the ancient sign Mercury etched in the victim's face. All the victims died horrific deaths. He destroyed her family. Her father Detective Mack Hendrix was the detective on the case . He played mind games with the detective, killed his partner and basically caused the detective to have a breakdown from his failure to catch him.
Now he's back and he's after Caitlin, leaving notes and calling her. Loved this thriller! Especially loved the characters! Lots of action and violence with graphic scenes. Highly recommend this book if you like a good thriller. Thanks to Meg Gardiner/PenquinGroupDutton/Net valley for the digital copy
in exchange for my honest review. I was so honored to review this book . Releases June 27 , 2017
Left review on Netgalley, Goodreads, Instagram and Twitter

Meg Gardiner has created a heroine -- and a villain-- for the ages. You'll think about The Prophet for a long time, especially at 3:00am.

Caitlin Hendrix a a police detective as was her father. Her father's mind was broken and his career shattered for failing to catch a serial killer. Caitlin had her life changed too. She struggles to keep her work separate from her life so that she doesn't repeat her father's mistakes. But when the serial killer who eluded her father makes his return, Caitlin finds herself in the middle of the investigation.

The story is filled with danger and excitement. It is also filled with twists and turns as Caitlin and the other investigators try to figure our the killer and stop him before he can kill again. The book ramps up the tension as the story goes along and it starts with high tension. The killer has become more daring and more blatant in this series of killings. He also seems to be performing for Caitlin and making her his target.

I enjoyed Caitlin who was a well-drawn character with strengths and flaws. I liked the cast of characters who surrounded her. This was an engaging thriller that was hard to put down. I needed to know who the killer was and if our heroes could manage to stop him.

Caitlin is determined find the serial killer her father was never able to capture when she was a child. The killer has resurfaced after 20 years and she is determined to solve the case once and for all. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. If you enjoy Criminal Minds and psychological thrillers, this book is for you. I had no idea how or why he was choosing his victims, but it all tied together so well and unexpectedly. Even the very end left me shaking my head. I'm ready for book two already!

This is the first book I have read by Meg Gardiner.
The story a dark and gritty story serial killer story that drove one family member to the point of obsession The female lead Caitlin Hendrix is taking on the same Killer her father once tried to find.
The author has the ability to get into your head and keep you thinking about the story long after you have finished the book.
The author created characters who are real and their past struggles define who they are today. Caitlin Hendrix. cutting herself to get though her fathers disgrace, mother over protective way of trying to help to her relationship and how it helps her work though her cases.
The author is able to paint very vivid imagines that bring the story to life even when the scene can be dark and gruesome.

The story is a serial killer story that I believe was inspired by the zodiac killers in San Francisco.
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance Copy

Right from the very start of the book, Meg Gardiner grabbed a hold of me and didn't let go until the very end. Wow! The book is one of the most brilliantly crafted crime thrillers I have read, and in all modesty, I have read quite a lot of those in my life. Gardiner's characters - main as well as secondary - are realistic, but still interesting. The plot is simply brilliant without being overly clever, which is a very delicate and tricky balance to maintain throughout an entire book.
This was the first book I have read by Gardiner, but I can't wait to read more from her pen.

The ultimate police drama. This story was based on the infamous zodiac killer. Caitlin Hendrix is following in her fathers footsteps as a detective for the San Francisco police department. He was a detective on a major case when she was a child, chasing after a serial killer dubbed The Prophet. The case shaped her childhood, from watching her father's mental state deteriorate to one night when she stumbled into the garage and saw the horrific crime scene photos.

Twenty years later The Prophet returns with a grand plan, and Caitlin is part of it. She is immediately attracted to the case and hopes to solve the riddle her father couldn't, to catch this monster.

Unlike most police procedurals this was quick to take off and grab your interest. Roughly about 1/3 into the book I was entranced and could not put this down. The book places you right in the drama standing with the detectives guns at the ready until the very last sentence.
5⭐️’s

You know a book is in trouble when it’s about a crazy maniac slaughtering people left and right, but you find yourself yawning a lot while reading it.

Back in the 1990s a brutal serial killer known as the Prophet terrorized the San Francisco area, and Detective Mack Hendrix was unable to catch him. Hendrix’s obsession with the case eventually destroyed his career and his family, but his daughter, Caitlin, has grown up to be a cop despite seeing what happened to him. Now the Prophet is back again, and Caitlin is on the team trying to find him despite Mack’s warning that she should stay away from the whole mess.

Familiar is the word that best described this book for me because almost every aspect of it seems drawn from other works. The whole thing about detectives having to think like a madman to catch one at the risk of their own sanity is straight out of Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon. A young lady detective driven by the tragic fate of her cop father to track down a terrifying bad guy is from that other Harris novel Silence of the Lambs which also got turned into a movie you may have heard of. The elaborate ritualistic killings as punishment are pure John Doe in the film Seven including both bad guys having the same source of inspiration. David Fincher comes up again because he also directed the excellent Zodiac based on the real unsolved case, and that was obviously another big element with a killer who terrorized the Bay Area and loved the limelight. (To be fair, the book was drawing from actual events so similarities between this and Fincher’s movie may just be from them both using the same true crime case, but it still seems like the film was a huge influence on it.)

A serial killer story is almost inevitably going to incorporate some tropes just as any other genre work will so it’s not a cardinal sin if you’re reminded of something else while reading one, but unfortunately that’s all this book did for me. It never seemed to have anything new or original to say, and the clichés piled up fast. [When it was revealed that the Prophet was a hacker I sighed and said aloud, “Well, of course he is.” About the only thing I didn’t predict correctly while reading is that the dog didn’t get killed for once. Thank goodness for small favors. (hide spoiler)]

It’s all stuff we’ve read and seen in the works I cited before as well as countless others, and what it boils down to is that it’s just another bland lead character with a troubled past trying to track down a murderous Insane McGenius who is constantly a step ahead of the cops and whose intricate schemes that depend on perfect timing almost always play out exactly as planned. I was also supremely angered by the ending which employs one of my least favorite plot twists. [”OMG!! The Prophet was working with someone else! There’s still a second killer out there! Who could have seen that coming?!?” Ugh. (hide spoiler)]

It’s disappointing because I’ve heard good things about Meg Gardiner, and I had high hopes for this. The writing is decent enough to keep it from being complete trash, but it’s just a generic serial killer thriller that runs over the same old worn ground. Most of her effort seemed to have been centered on coming with all kinds of gruesomely elaborate ways to murder someone, but again, Seven did it first and better.

I'm not surprised to see that it’s been bought by CBS as the basis for a potential TV series because it seems exactly like what their brand is built on in the form of a procedural crime story we’ve all seen a thousand times before.

Wow! Twisty, deep, and sinister. Grips you and drags you down into the depths of hell, literally. At times I had to stop and take a breath even as I wanted to read right through to the end.

Caitlin was a deeply flawed, passionate character who I was surprised by how much I identified with. She was smart and strong but had a deep vulnerability she couldn't quite hide that made her relatable. Instead of the usual hard as nails, almost ruthless lady cop who takes no ones crap, we get to see the nerves, anxiety and bravery Caitlin uses to follow this killer down his crazy rabbit hole.

I liked the twist of a cliffhanger and can't wait to met up with Caitlin again in the next book.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished Unsub and I'm already thinking about the next book in the series. Wondering how long before it's out and who will be in it. 5 star books aren't easy to come by. Thank you Meg Gardiner for this one. The characters, plot, believability, pacing and originality were all on point.

Caitlin made a great MC. Looking for a serial killer named the Prophet that ended her father's career and changed their lives. She was determined to find him. There was something about the Prophet that had me a little scared. Had my heart beating a little fast in a way I love while reading psychological thrillers

Wow...just wow! This is an amazing book. I loved it! It is one of the best books I have ever read!

The Prophet is an unsub whose reign of terror nearly destroyed the life of Caitlin Hendrix's father, the lead investigator of a series of murders in the 1990s. It's now 20 years later, and the Prophet is back and killing again. Caitlin has become a detective and is determined to do what her father could not, stop the carnage. The real question is whether this new series of massacres is the work of the original Prophet or a copycat.

The beginning of the book was slow for me, and I had some trouble developing interest for about the first 25% of the book. The events seemed disjointed, and the story was hard to follow. After getting through that initial background material, it really picked up. I could barely put the book down and couldn't wait to finish it, although I really hated to see it end. It appears that there will be a sequel, and I can't wait for it!

What I found, though, is that as I read the book, there were references to earlier events that I only sort of remembered from the first part of the book. I decided to reread the first 25% that I found to be sluggish, and what a difference it made! There were so many juicy details that I didn't understand when I read them that now made the whole story richer. I'm so glad I reread the beginning because it really enhanced the book overall. So as you are reading, pay particular attention to all the little details.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. If it seems to start slow, hang in there because you are in for a real treat. The book is one of the most complex stories I have ever read, and as Caitlin figures out what the unsub is doing, I was blown away. What a novel!

Great start of what I hope is a new series. Can see these characters going far. Gardiner did a fine job creating both monsters and heroes in "Unsub." Definitely left readers hungry for more.

Twenty years ago, a well-known serial killer - referring to himself as The Prophet - went on a complete killing spree in the Bay Area, leaving cuts and carved Mercury signs on his victims' flesh.
And now, he's back. With newer skills and plans for the city he has once left for good.
Caitlin Hendrix takes on the investigation - the same one that destroyed her father a long time ago- and is determined to solve the case as the killer continues to send her messages that she's compelled to decode, along with mind games The Prophet likes to play.

What was The Prophet doing all these years? Was he just on the run, or was he conspiring for something even more sinister and terrorizing?

This read was with no doubt worth my time, as it was nothing like what I've read before.
UNSUB isn't just another typical crime novel, and The Prophet surely isn't just another fictional serial killer. His precision is sharp, and his endeavors are beyond expectations. With the killings he commits, he proceeds to put on a show for all the world to see on their home televisions - as the crime scene is still in motion when the Detectives arrive.
The author gives us insight on where the serial murderer comes from, and includes his point of view that features his thoughts later on in the book and only through a medium chapter, which is enough to make the reader shiver and look over their shoulder.
The ending was a definite page-turner, as the reader is not only fascinated by the outcome of the final battle between The Prophet and Detective Hendrix, but the shocking realization that is discovered afterwards.

As for Caitlin Hendrix; she's so far one of my favorite fictional Detectives. Cait is easy to like; she's down-to-earth and kind, and the author shows to us how her personality grows and strengthens through the tragedies that come to occur to the ones around her and the killer's mind tricks that almost drive her to complete madness. I'm tremendously eager to read more about her and what's in store for her in the second book.

Fans of Beukes' The Shining Girls or readers who await for Mark Edwards' upcoming book The Lucky Ones, will immensely appreciate this book.

***Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and Netgalley for my copy of UNSUB in exchange for an honest and unbiased review***

This book is about an unsub - for those who don't know, an unsub is an "unknown subject of an investigation" - who is seriously twisted. Det. Mack Hendrix was the primary on the case who is tormented by the fact that he didn't catch him. It now falls to his daughter, Det. Caitlin Hendrix, who has followed in Mack's footsteps after watching his decline and fall from grace, into getting into the mind of a killer and finally trying to catch him.

After a slow start, in which I thought I wouldn't be able to get into this book, it finally picked up pace. The killer is fixated on Caitlin and no-one is safe from this killer as he goes about his sick, twisted fantasy. The characters were likeable and Caitlin herself is a strong female who you find yourself rooting for (especially near the end)!

Go read this book if you're a fan of the psychological serial killer genre. I look forward to reading more by this author.