''The Bride Collector'' is a 2010, thriller, and

suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

written by

Ted Dekker Ted Dekker (born October 24, 1962) is an American author of Christian fiction, Christian Mystery fiction, mystery, Thriller (genre), thriller, and fantasy novels including ''Thr3e'', ''Obsessed (novel), Obsessed'', and the ''Circle Series''. B ...

and published by Center Street. This marked

's eighth thriller novel.

Plot summary

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

has killed four beautiful young women and leaves a

bridal veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent i ...

at each crime scene. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellness and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals who have extraordinary gifts. It's there that he meets Paradise. Diagnosed with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body. In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most 'sane people' sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls...or inside. As the Bride Collector picks up the pace-and volume-of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector's next target. The FBI believes that the killer plans to murder seven women. Paradise may be the key to help solve the case with Brad before it's too late. ''The Bride Collector'' will haunt the reader with a new way of looking at beauty, love, and the world in which we live.

Reviews

''The Bride Collector'' currently holds a four out of five star rating on

Amazon.com, Inc. Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econom ...

Examiner.com says: "Absolutely the best beach read of the summer, the best late night read of the fall." It holds a #43 spot in the

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's top fifty thrillers of all time.

External links

*http://www.teddekker.com/ *http://www.amazon.com/The-Bride-Collector-Ted-Dekker/dp/B0058M5WKS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353890269&sr=8-1&keywords=the+bride+collector+ted

References

*http://www.npr.org/2011/06/13/128718927/audience-picks-top-100-killer-thrillers *http://www.barnesandnoble.com/sample/read/9781599953724 Novels by Ted Dekker 2010 American novels Novels about serial killers Center Street (publisher) books {{2010s-thriller-novel-stub