When the body of a young woman is discovered in a derelict cottage in the middle of Los Angeles National Forest, Homicide Detective Robert Hunter finds himself entering a horrific and recurring nightmare. Naked, strung from two wooden posts, the victim was sadistically tortured before meeting an excruciatingly painful death. All the skin has been ripped from her face - while she was still alive. On the nape of her neck has been carved a strange double-cross: the signature of a psychopath known as the Crucifix Killer.
But that's impossible. Because two years ago, the Crucifix Killer was caught and executed. Could this, therefore, be a copycat killer? Or could the unthinkable be true? Is the real killer still out there? 

This review has zero story details so as not to spoil anything and is more just the general thoughts I was left with at the end. 

This was my first book by this author and the first book in their Robert Hunter series. This book was first published in 2009, and I could feel that. I found out after reading that it was the authors debut novel and whilst reading I did wonder if that was the case as at times the writing felt clunky and underdeveloped but not to the point I wanted to dnf. I just had a feeling this was their first book, and I was right. 

The beginning hooked me, I was intrigued by Roberts character and how the story was going to unfold, majority of the characters and how certain things were written did feel/come across clichéd and I'm hoping that boils down to inexperience with this being a debut novel. The whodunit of it all didn't surprise or shock me. I had figured that out quite early on... my brain just picks up on stuff and it's very rare for a book like this to surprise me and it's one of the reasons I stopped reading thrillers etc for a while because never having the rug pulled from under me was tedious. Overall, I liked this, and I'm interested in reading the next in this series to see if/how the authors writing changes and if he is able to surprise me with the ending. 

Wow! I felt like I was watching an episode of Criminal Minds. It contained gruesome murders, plenty of action, and lots of banter. I loved every minute of this book and can't wait to continue the series.