Notes on an Execution

I love a serial killer book, especially one that can bring something different and original to the table. This book was exactly that.

The book does not tell the story of Ansel Packer, a serial killer due to die on death row; it focuses on the lives of the women around him. Of Saffy, the detective trying to track him down; Hazel, twin sister of his wife; and Lavender, his mother. The tragedy of this tale is shown through their eyes and the shock waves he leaves in his wake.

Beautifully written, poignant, and heart-rendering; I adored this book.

This is the story of a serial killer and his victims, one living and one dead. The idea is that there is a ripple effect to any crime, especially murder.

The ticking clock timeline is masterful at building and sustaining tension. The author takes that suspense and flavors it with empathy and a whole new portrait of the American serial killer.

Notes on an Execution gutted me as a reader. I became the sociopath on death row with only 12 hours to live.

I listened to the women in my life talk about me, from my mother who didn’t understand why I brought her dead animals instead of flowers to my wife who trusted me beyond reason to my brother’s family in whom I had finally found a home until that detective snatched it away from me, leaving me with nothing.

If you want to get into the mind of someone wired differently, this book will take you there until the… show more.