Review of The Artist

[Stephanie Cameron]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Artist" by Andy Stone.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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James Madison is a famous artist who lives on an island in Northern Florida called Glen Cove. He is known worldwide for his seductive, like-like sculptures of young women. But James Madison has a dark side when creating his masterpieces. He falls in love with beautiful women and welcomes them into his family. Except no one ever leaves his family.

Summer Wynn and Ricky Davis start working undercover for the FBI as a psychiatrist and a lawyer in Glen Cove. Their task is to collect information on this community to catch a serial killer. But when Senator Bryce Barlow's daughter, Caroline, goes missing, Summer and Ricky kick their investigation into overdrive. Will they find Caroline in time, or will evidence point them in the wrong direction? Find out in Andy Stone's The Artist.

I enjoyed Stone's concept of a famous artist being a serial killer. The author was very knowledgeable when explaining all the artistry and the different terms and procedures used by law enforcement. Stone did a great job incorporating shocking plot twists throughout the story. The introduction of Adrian was my favorite twist. I liked how many characters had their own secrets to hide, like Summer and the Senator having a secret love child. Never knowing what was happening next added exciting suspense and mystery while reading.

I did get confused with the timeline of the events that unraveled in the story. At one point, James was reminiscing about the suicide of his sister when he was a teen. James is in his seventies, but Summer and Ricky investigated the suicide like it had just happened, and they would have been children when James was that young. I was also unsure who Jimmy was. At first, I thought he was just another character, but then it came across like Jimmy and James were the same person. More details and background information on certain characters would have helped me understand better. I feel like James having a butcher and doctor at his beck and call seemed unrealistic. How did James know them? What exactly did the butcher do? Why would a doctor hand out hardcore prescription drugs with no questions asked? I think it would have been more believable if the author had explained the history between these characters.

I noticed a lot of errors throughout the book, which leads me to suggest that more editing is needed. For this reason and because of my confusion, I rate this book a 3 out of 5.

This book is a twisted fantasy horror story. I would recommend it to readers that enjoy dark and demented crime novels. It includes gruesome topics about rape, necrophilia, and murder. I believe this book should be directed toward mature readers.

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The Artist
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[NetMassimo]

A novel about an artist who's also a serial killer is intriguing but this one seems in need for more editing to make the timeline and some other bits clearer and have proper proofreading. Thank you for your great review!