Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2013 March 15 • Friday

William Thayer's Peregrine won the Edgar Award for Best Novel of 1981.

The first line is "She didn't know where she was going, didn't care".

A freakishly large peregrine falcon is killing women in Manhattan, women of a certain type: young, brown-haired, slender and vulnerable in one way or another. The bird is much larger than normal, freakishly large. From above the skyscrapers she dives at her victims, building speed until she's moving lightning fast. She stuns her prey by smashing into their heads, then attacks their throats with her talons.

No wild falcon would ever do this. The bird has been trained and is being controlled by somebody, a deranged falconer, a most unusual serial killer. Reporter Pam Barrett happens to be on the scene for the first killing and the sensational story makes her star, turning around a career that was about to fizzle out. In fact, Pam was almost the first victim. She's the right type. But the falconer sees something special in her, a potential to fulfill his most desired dream. And she feels the fascination and finds herself drawn almost willingly into his trap.

Peregrine is a slick thriller that I didn't want to put down. I read the first half in one sitting. All of the characters are interesting and individual, including Pam, her boss, her ex-husband, her boyfriend, three different falcon experts and the police detective working the falcon case.The atmosphere of New York City, a character itself, is also very well done.

Bayer reveals the identity of the falconer pretty early on, a move that heightens the suspense, allowing readers to see the villain from inside and out. The plot is a bit similar to the plot of Delacorta's Luna (1979). (At least I think it is, from what I've heard about Luna.)