Freak

Suspense magazine chose Jennifer Hillier’s “truly frightening” debut, Creep, as one of 2011’s best novels, while #1 bestselling author Jeffery Deaver cautioned “you better call in sick—you’re not going anywhere until you finish reading.” Now, Hillier returns to the Pacific Northwest college town where one killer’s stranglehold has ebbed . . . but another sick mind has waited for the perfect moment to pick up where the terror left off.
Sitting alone in a maximum-security prison cell, Abby Maddox is a celebrity. Her claim to fame is the envy of every freak on the outside: she’s the former lover of Ethan Wolfe, the killer who left more than a dozen dead women in his wake and nearly added Puget Sound State professor Sheila Tao to the tally. Now Abby, serving a nine-year sentence for slashing a police officer’s throat in a moment of rage, has little human contact—save for the letters that pour in from demented fans, lunatics, and creeps. But a new wave of murders has given Abby a possible chance for a plea bargain—because this killer has been sending her love letters, and carving a message on the bodies of the victims: Free Abby Maddox.
Jerry Isaac will never forget the attack—or his attacker. The hideous scarring and tortured speech are daily reminders that the one-time Seattle PD officer, now a private investigator, is just lucky to be alive. Abby Maddox deserves to rot in jail—forever, as far as Jerry’s concerned. But she alone may possess crucial evidence—letters from this newest killer—that could crack open the disturbing case. With the help of Professor Sheila Tao, seasoned police detective Mike Torrance, and intuitive criminology student Danny Mercy, Jerry must coax the shattering truth from isolated, dangerous Abby Maddox. Can he put the pieces together before Abby’s number one fan takes another life in the name of a killer’s perverted idea of justice?
Review“The second book in this series leaves readers hungry for the next. Taut and fraught with surprise twists, Hillier’s thriller is addictive.”--Kirkus

" This book freaked me out — in a good way. In a word, “frightening.” Jennifer Hillier creates a truly scary killer in Abby Maddox, the female version of Hannibal Lecter — smart, cunning and wickedly evil. I was engrossed on page one, couldn’t put the book down and breathless at the ending.  Be prepared for a late night's reading. Then sleep with the lights on — if you can. This one blew me away."
--Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of Murder One

“Freak is an exhilarating serial killer thriller…fast-paced…a shocking final twist.”--GumShoe Review
“Freak is difficult to put down.” --National Post
*About the AuthorJennifer Hillier made her fiction debut with Creep. Originally from Canada, she has also lived with her husband in the Pacific Northwest. Visit her on the web at JenniferHillier.org.