***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Delving into the mind of a serial killer is always fascinating. This book does that and keeps the action and suspense up the entire book.

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for granting me early access to "Highwayman".

I'm currently in the middle of a major move, but I will definitely come back at a later time and write out a full review and rating. Thank you so much!

The book is startling, original, and enthralling. It's the perfect point at which to expand upon your fascination with true crime or serial killer stories.

Glance into the mind of serial killer, Lance Belanger, but beware, you will find a unsympathetic and psychopathic madman.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this series takes us from here.

All I can say is WOW! Although I could not put this book down, I had to a few times because of the terror I felt reading about the horrific actions of serial killer, Lance Belanger aka The Highwayman. Lance Belanger has one goal and that is to become a notorious serial killer just like his inspiration, Ted Bundy. However, Lance, or the Highwayman, doesn’t want to just kill people. He feeds the monster inside of him by capturing and immobilizing his victims, engaging with them a bit, and then slowly chopping their bodies up into six sections; The FBI labels this “starfished”. The main reason the FBI cannot catch The Highwayman is because he does not leave a trace of DNA. However, that is short lived once Lance takes on his new “partner”, Norris, aka the Regulator, who suffers from necrophilia. As much as Lance tries to control the monster inside of him, the urge to kill cannot be contained and Norris cannot suppress the urge to pleasure himself to another one of The Highwayman’s “masterpiece’s”. The Highwayman has truly stumped the FBI and law enforcement, but it will not be long until he has the urge to kill again. The author, MJ Preston takes you in to the mind of serial killer Lance and how he lives with this monster inside of him. An amazing read! I can only hope this turns into a TV series or movie!

Free copy from NETGALLEY for review

It's a serial killer and he is detestable.

If you like that you will like this.

I was given a free advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I think everyone has a fascination with serial killers. We may claim otherwise but we are amazed by how they think and what makes them become the monsters they are.

Highwayman is a book which aims at that fascination, bringing the reader into the mind of a serial killer. The star of this book is known as the Highwayman. His real name is Lance Belanger and he is instantly detestable. The author, MJ Preston, mentioned in his afterword that he did not want this serial killer to be likable. He did not want people to feel any positive emotions for him at all and he was successful. Lance has a monster inside and the only way to feed it is by killing. He tweaks his method until he is untraceable with his body count rising higher and higher. During the spree, he hooks up with a necrophiliac, Norris Connelly and starts using him as an assistant paying him with gruesome entertainment. However, Norris soon becomes a liability and I found myself feeling sorry for him because in the crime world, there is only one way to get rid of a liability. The FBI, meanwhile, is hot on their trail with Lewis Ash, who is in charge of the case, determined to catch them.

This book started off with a bang and I found myself immediately caught up in the story. From the jump, I disliked Lance. He was arrogant, narcissistic and clearly psychopathic. He treated all living beings, animals or humans, as disposable test subjects. He was also incredibly rich so he was able to hide his depravity from the rest of the world while enlisting likewise minded individuals to help him carry out his deeds.

I felt sorry for Norris throughout the book. He was what is known as a follower. His background was troubled and he was a bit slow. Pair that with a physical deformity and an overbearing mother and he was ripe for the picking, the perfect candidate to play Renfield to Lance's Dracula. However, because of the combination of his mental issues along with his overwhelming desires, he quickly became a liability.

The FBI involvement in the beginning was interesting. There was a lot of background work going on and I found the chase quite fascinating. However, in the end, I felt like the book was bogged down by way too much bureaucracy, the pace slowed down quite a bit and I found myself getting a bit bored and distracted. The book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. Normally when this happens I find myself excited to see what happens in the sequel but honestly I am not too sure I would actually be willing to continue this series based on how it was going towards the end.

I never thought I'd find myself feeling sorry for a killer (Norris), but I did. Lance Belanger has no boundaries.

There is never a dull moment in this book which makes it difficult to discuss the story without spoilers.

I highly recommend this book. It is an excellent read.

I love MJ Preston's writing. He is not afraid to put it out there.

I don't often give books five stars, but this one deserved them all. I love a book that keeps surprising you.

The trailer for the book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q4bjXJiMh0&list=FLPMjVgbwvL5RkYULyw2pyVQ

#Highwayman #NetGalley

It took me a long time to get through this book. It wasn’t that the writing wasn’t to my liking I just found it tough at parts. It didn’t flow in a way that I could get caught up in the book and not put it down. The whole premise for the book, the evolution of Lance Belanger as a serial killer is an intriguing storyline and the story itself is great, I just can’t totally put my finger on what it was lacking for me. I really enjoyed reading the parts involving the FBI agents I felt they flowed much better than the other more intimate “Lance” parts. The book as a whole didn’t evoke much emotion from me which in turn hindered that connection with characters and such. 2 stars.

Thank you Neggalley for the opportunity to preview HIGHWAYMAN by MJ Preston. I am not usually a fan of serial killer plot novels - but this one was frightenly good.
A young man sits at a bar flirting with a pretty bartender - he looks normal, he's cute, and they engage in conversation. She takes him home to her small cottage that she shares with her 4 year old son. That was her final mistake.
When this cottage is suddenly on fire, the police realize this is not a normal fire - there are two bodies inside - a young woman and her son. What's baffles them is that the young child is missing his head.
The police soon realize as the bodies pile up, that they are searching for a serial killer. And the bodies are piling up all over the US. Over the course of several years, a seasoned FBI agent struggles with his quest to get this killer off the streets, but time is running out and the dead bodies continue to be found. But the killer's MO is changing and no one is safe.
This book was scary good - well written and a real page turner. My favorite book this summer (so far)....
Recommend - 5 stars.

Highwayman had a great premise,but it just didn't work for me. Too many characters and the last half of the book was tedious.

The first 2/3 of this book are very interesting. The characters are realistic, dialogue interesting. The problem is that towards the last quarter the story gets bogged down with too many characters. FBI profilers, etc. it gets very hard keeping track of who is who. So many characters I feel are unnecessary and just creates a complicated mess. Then you get a very unsatisfying ending leading to another book. So many of these around. Sometimes I just want a wrap up and not a cliffhanger. Wont be buying the second installment.