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Denver serial killer Quinton Gauld thinks he’s on a mission for God: to find the most beautiful women and send them to heaven as the Bride of God. He pretties them up, glues them to a wall, drills holes in the bottom of their feet, then lets the blood drain from their bodies. He also leaves a bridal veil at each crime scene.
FBI Special Agent Brad Raines is having a hard time cracking the Bride Collector case. But when the killer targets a beautiful forensic psychologist who works with Raines, it becomes even more imperative that he find Gauld before he adds one more “bride” to his collection.
Growing desperate, Raines turns to an unusual place for help: the Center for Well-Being and Intelligence. The center houses the mentally ill who also have incredible gifts and high IQs. Paradise—a patient who can sometimes see a person’s last moments before death—may be the only hope Raines has to catch Gauld.
One thing that stands out in The Bride Collector is its emotionally flawed characters—but Dekker somehow manages to make it work without either leaving the reader feeling irritated or making the characters unlikable. Brad Raines has some serious emotional problems, brought on by a past tragedy, yet I found myself wanting to reach out and help him, so he could pull himself together and find Quinton Gauld.
The patients at the Center for Well-Being and Intelligence are so peculiar and fun that I found myself wanting to check in and stay with them for a spell. Dekker masters the mind of Paradise, a woman fraught with agoraphobia (fear of leaving your house), schizophrenia, and bipolar depression. Her courage will touch your heart and cause you to fall madly in love with her.
The Bride Collector also features an unusual love story between Raines and Paradise—which borders on the edge of inappropriate, though it doesn’t feel inappropriate. You’ll desperately want these two to defeat their inner demons and fall in love.
Filled with heartrending characters, edge-of-your-seat psychological thrills, and a deeply moving plot, The Bride Collector is a must-read. No one writes suspense thrillers quite like Ted Dekker, so if you haven’t checked him out, now’s a good time. Pick up a copy of The Bride Collector. Trust me; it’ll leave you frantic for more.
