Ed Gaffney, Diary of a Serial Killer

Diary of a Serial Killer

Ed Gaffney

Dell, Mar 2007, $6.99

ISBN: 0440243734

Twenty years ago Alan Lombardo, accountant to the mob boss George Heinrich, was convicted of killing nine people. He swore he was innocent, but nobody believed him. Now after two decades in jail, he hires law partners Zack Wilson and Terry Tallach to find a loophole that will get him a new trial. They reluctantly take the case. They think they have found an opening when they learn who originally defended the convicted CPA; as Zach's father was on two payrolls with Alan and Heinrich both paying him. His father, now a respected judge, could get disbarred if his conflict of interest goes public.

Complicating their ethics dilemma is that the attorneys begin to believe their client is innocent even before a serial killer begins a series of murdering using the same MO as the Springfield Shooter did. The pinky of each victim is cut off and the phrase "Welcome to my World" is left with each victim. That information was never made public. Back then the police barely looked at author Malcolm Ayers as their serial killer because Lombardo fit so perfectly; however evidence points towards him being the "Eternally Yours" killer except lead detective Vera Demopoulos has doubts as everything is too simply perfect, making her wonder about a frame, but proving it without dying is quite a task.

DIARY OF A SERIAL KILLER is appropriately titled because it was Lombardo's journal that ultimately convicted him. Readers will feel sorry for the mild-mannered obsessive-compulsive convict who does not come across as a psychopath. The cat-and-mouse game between the cop and the killer will fascinate the audience who will obsess over deciphering clues from the present. Ed Gaffney has a hit series with this fine thriller as an indication. It is the perfect thriller.

Harriet Klausner