The Collector by Fiona Cummins contains the perfect blend of ingredients to make it a creepy, compelling thriller. Creepy is the operative word here. Cummins brings together a disparate group of people, their paths crisscrossing in unexpected and often shocking ways.
Etta Fitzroy is a young detective with a secret and a reputation for doing things her own way. She finds herself in the thick of a reopened case: a convicted serial killer named Brian Howley, known as "the bone collector," has escaped. Racing against the clock, Fitzroy must rescue a young girl before she becomes Howley's next victim.
Determined to outwit her and continue his macabre pastime of collecting unusual skeletons, Howley leads Fitzroy on a dangerous chase that could cost her everything. The action takes place on the Essex coast in southeast England, where long stretches of windy beaches, isolated farms and bad weather provide the perfect backdrop for his evil plans.
The Collector is a sequel to Cummins's debut, Rattle, but it can easily be enjoyed as a standalone thriller. Cummins is meticulous in setting the scene so that readers who are new to her work will have no trouble picking up where Rattle left off. The Collector packs a powerful punch. In the spirit of the best types of spine-chillers, this one will stay with you long after you go to bed. --Shahina Piyarali, writer and reviewer