The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker

The FBI are tracking a new serial killer known as the Bride Collector.  FBI Special Agent Brad Raines is partnered with Nikki Holden, a forensic psychologist.  The Collector has killed five women.  He glues the bodies to the wall, then drills into the heel and drains the blood from their body.

The killer has started leaving messages with the fifth victim.  Two things become clear to the investigators.  The first is that more victims are planned by the killer, who believes he is collecting perfect brides for God.  The other is that the killer has a connection to a local mental hospital.  He is highly intelligent but had probably undergone a psychotic break some time in the past.

Brad goes to the Center for Well-Being and Intelligence.  This hospital specializes in those patients who are highly intelligent and works with them for months and sometimes years to help them use that intelligence to cure their mental issues.  After meeting some of the inmates, Raines decides to use the special insights of several.  One is a patient nicknamed Sherlock, whose attention to detail helps him notice items most people overlook.  Andrea is a beautiful woman who also happens to be a savant, and can discern hidden patterns.

Then there is Paradise.  The victim of a horrific family background, she has been a patient for seven years.  She is a sensitive and her lack of emotional filters help her see truths that are hidden from those who block out most stimuli.  It also makes her easy to crush, as she lets in all stimuli and has no protection from brutal images and actions.

With this unusual group of helpers, Brad and Nikki start to track down The Collector.  Time is running short as he collects more victims and shifts his focus to Brad as his main adversary.  This focus means that he wants to hurt Brad by choosing the women closest to Brad as his victims.  Can the killer be brought to justice before more women are sacrificed?

Ted Dekker has created memorable characters and heart-stopping action in this book.  The reader will not soon forget The Bride Collector, or the unusual team that unites to stop him.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers.   A solid hit for Dekker, this book is another suspense masterpiece.