"A doorway in the cellar of the house led down eleven feet to a main hub from which the tunnels fed off. The walls were packed dirt and an electrical cord ran along the ceiling with pigtail fixtures attached every few feet.
"We were standing in the hub which was fifteen and a quarter feet wide and arched out to a depth of seven and half feet. The tunnels were only about three feet wide, and the height clearance was about the same as here, six and a half feet. The bulbs dangled down from the fixtures another eight inches...“It’s believed each victim had the same cuts inflicted,” Royster said. “Although most of the remains are skeletal so it’s not as easy to know for sure, but based on burial method this guy obviously had a ritual. The most recent victim is only a few years old and was preserved by the soil. The oldest remains are estimated to date back twenty-five to thirty years. Bingham moved in twenty-six years ago...”
~~~
Eleven
By Carolyn Arnold
This novel is the type that makes me choose to make a writer a favorite author... It's got suspense, a great mystery, something new to learn about...and makes me totally involved until the last page! Check it out soon if you haven't already read it. Check out my review of my first book for her, Ties That Bind as well!
 |
| He held out his hands as if to say he wouldn’t light up inside the burial chamber. His craving was getting desperate, though, which meant he’d be getting cranky. He said, “Continue, Zachery, by all means. The kid wants to hear.” “By combining both the number eleven and the circle, it makes me think of the coinherence symbol. Even the way the victims are laid out.” “Elaborate,” Jack directed. “It’s a circle which combines a total of eleven inner points to complete it. As eleven means purity so the coinherence symbol is related to religious traditions— at minimum thirteen. But some people can discern more, and each symbol is understood in different ways. The circle itself stands for completion and can symbolize eternity.” I cocked my head to the side. Zachery noticed. “We have a skeptic here, Jack.” Jack faced me and spoke with the unlit cigarette perched back in his lips. “What do you make of it?” Was this a trap? “You want to know what I think?” “By all means, Slingshot.” And there it was, the other dreaded nickname, no doubt his way of reminding me that I didn’t score perfectly on handguns at the academy. “Makes me think of the medical symbol. Maybe our guy has a background in medicine. It could explain the incisions being deep enough to inflict pain but not deep enough to cause them to bleed out. It would explain how he managed to take out their intestines.” Was this what I signed up for? “Hmm.” Jack mumbled. Zachery remained silent. ~~~ |
Brandon Fisher, I think, is much more self-confident. He doesn't hold back from communicating--asking questions, stating his opinion and, in general, avidly participating. Still, from team members, he gets called Pending, Kid and Slingshot, none of which he appreciated!
From the other team member, he once got much more...
And that's what got him selected...as the Eleven...
But how, I still wonder, did they know!?
Bodies had been found...but the man who owned the property under which they had been buried, was already in jail...for assault and killing cows...he was not even in maximum security for those offenses...
But it didn't take long for Jack Harper, team leader of the Behavioral Analysis unit, to know they had their man. Only problem was that some timing issues showed that he had already been jailed when some of the events happened. Soon they knew somebody else, and even maybe more than one, had to be followers of the man who called himself, "The Redeemer"...
I enjoy learning more about behavioral analysis theory through novels. One of the team, Zachery, I think, will also remind you a little of a TV program agent, but Zachery seems much more arrogant in manner...LOL...just my opinion, of course... In any event, he is the speed-reader, intelligent agent who shares a lot about the coinherence symbol which the author has beautifully used in the cover and inside graphics (I love little touches that show a lot of care in the creation of books!)
Obviously there is much routine investigation, but soon that investigation leads to the discovery that another set of eleven graves had been found in Florida! They had to ensure anybody involved in these serial killings was stopped!
And when they find that some are within law enforcement, it gets even more complicated and twisted...
While this is all going on, Brandon has begun to have problems between he and his wife, especially because Jack does not allow personal calls on the job...and this case has become a 24-7 demand that his wife sees as her last straw...
I love all the main characters on this team, although in this first book there are questions about their pasts that stick in your mind to make you wonder, especially for Jack, who I think is my favorite as of now...
Arnold has excellent skills in keeping the narrative taut, tense and edgy! I loved this one and if it sounds like your kind of book...then I think you'll be thoroughly impressed as well...
GABixlerReviews
Received as Review Request
 |
| http://unurthed.com/2007/07/22/corlesss-coinherence-symbol/ |
"Five more paces, and we entered an offshoot from the main tunnel. According to Royster, three burial chambers came off this tunnel. He described these as branches on a tree. Each branch came off the main trunk for the length of about ten feet and ended in a circular space of about eleven feet in diameter. The idea of more space seemed welcoming until we reached it.
"A circular grave took up most of the space and was a couple of feet deep. Chicken wire rimmed the grave to help retain its shape. With her wrists and feet tied to metal stakes, her arms and legs formed the human equivalence of a star. As her body had dried from decomposition, the constraints had kept her positioned in the manner the killer had intended.
“And what made them dig?” Jack asked the CSI. Jack was searching for specifics. We knew Bingham had entrusted his financials to his sister, but when she passed away a year ago, the back taxes built up to the point the county had come to reclaim the property.
"Royster answered, “X marked the spot.” Neither Jack nor I displayed any amusement..."
~~~
She has been an aspiring writer since her teen years when she began writing short romance novels. But as life has a way of doing, it can mute your dreams into the background and it wasn’t until 2007 when she was reunited with her love of the written word. Her drive to complete one novel, turned into several.
Thank you, Glenda, for taking the time to read and review ELEVEN. I also appreciate your sharing your thoughts on it with your followers.
ReplyDelete