I sometimes feel for authors who love writing murder mysteries, since these perennially suffer from the inability to hold their readers’ interest, particularly when the cases meld into one another and they stop standing out, even with excellent writing and atmosphere-creation. Throw some romantic suspense in it and the whole story becomes electrified, but that problem of keeping things fresh remains.  

Cynthia Eden’s ‘Killer Instinct’ series is strangely one that keeps going under the radar for me, though it really deserves more than a second look. Perhaps this is a strange observation but I think for most of the books in this series, the characters and plots tended to blur into an interchangeable ball of mystery, murder and gore for me. 

‘Into the Night’ did feel a tad bit too similar to the point where I couldn’t really distinguish each protagonist from another because all of them had their own secrets, worked for the FBI and turned dirty-talking alphas or wanting, sex-starved women in bed. Yet I did like Bowen and Macey, as I did the other couples (though they weren’t memorable enough to leave their own indelible stamp on me) so that was some conflict for me right there as a RS addict. 

Thankfully Eden does deliver her twists, knowing full well that a murder mystery isn’t just a straight path leading to the whodunnit moment and that kept me entertained throughout, as did the surprisingly fast switch of relationship between Bowen and Macey. The mystery branches out into something more complex as the story goes on and with a few cases of the hunter getting hunted type of revelations, I got more and more invested as the pages kept turning. There are some parts where disbelief must clearly be suspended—it did get loopy when it was revealed—but by and large, there were hints that made it not too surprising at the end. 

‘Into the Night’ isn’t a bad read and I’m going to say this up front. But it’s fatigue that’s setting in on my part, and I’m going with the been there, done that and read that line because it’s true. Like someone with a need of another, bigger and craftier fix, I think I’m jaded when it comes to Eden’s brand of RS (especially the serial killer cases because I've read so many of Eden's books) unless there’s something revolutionary in the works to come.

This is Cynthia Eden at her best.. A total page turner with a killer that stayed many steps ahead as he not only profiled his victims but also the team hunting him.

Interesting twist that a vigilante serial killer was killing serial killers. Definitely got your fill of twisted through out this book. And even though some things were obvious there were twist a plenty that kept you on your toes at guessing what was going on.

One of the things I've liked about all of these books is finding out how each of the profilers lives were touched by a serial killer in their pasts – which was a requirement to be on the special FBI team. Samantha Dark's history held the top spot until this book. Macey's was pretty twisted and how that carried over into present day was another thing that kept you turning the pages..

Rowan and Macey also tied with Blake and Samantha as being my favorite couple in the series. Rowan was so dark and broody and alpha with his own past with a killer that still haunts him today.

Another great book by Cynthia Eden. Wonderful mystery and I really like the characters.

This is the third book in the Killer Instinct series so far, and it is the best yet in my honest opinion. The main duo, Macey and Bowen, had chemistry when they interacted in the previous books so I was very excited to see they were getting their own story. Action packed from the beginning, Macey and Bowen are hunting a serial killer who hunts serial killers. While it may sound confusing, it never was. The killer was hard to figure out, with all the twists and turns the story took, which is how I like my suspense stories. This book was so good I really was disappointed to see it end. Well done.

A serial killer is something most of us will never encounter - thank goodness. But those who do are permanently changed as is elegantly described by Cynthia Eden in this series. The FBI presence is well represented and an interesting assortment of characters. The twists in this book will keep you on the edge of your seat. Macey and Bowen are engaging characters.