The Cold Room

Taylor Jackson, Book 4

By: J. T. Ellison

Narrated by: Joyce Bean

Thriller Award Winner, Best Paperback Original, 2011

Homicide detective Taylor Jackson thinks she's seen it all in Nashville—from the Southern Strangler to the Snow White Killer. But she's never seen anything as perverse as The Conductor. Once his victim is captured, he contains her in a glass coffin, slowly starving her to death. Only then does he give in to his attraction.

When he's finished, he creatively disposes of the body by reenacting scenes from famous paintings. And similar macabre works are being found in Europe. Taylor teams up with her fiancee, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, and New Scotland Yard detective James "Memphis" Highsmythe, a haunted man who has eyes only for Taylor, to put an end to this horror.

Has the killer gone international with his craft? Or are there two "artists," competing to create the ultimate masterpiece?

©2010 J.T. Ellison (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Fusing gritty cop drama with dark psychological thriller, Ellison distinguishes herself with exceptional character development, consistently breakneck pacing and a sense of authenticity throughout." ( Chicago Tribune)

Ok

Will try the next one but the whole pretender thing — it’s stale. Usually I give this author 5 stars. But I’m bored with the same under world villain.

Overall pretty good

Good story, in line with the rest of the series. My only complaint is the narrator's Italian accents sound more like Transylvanian joke voices.

Addictive

I just can’t get enough of this series! Taylor Jackson is so much fun and I love how Ellison writes her. Must listen!

Chilling Spellbinder

What a wild ride this story took me on - I couldn't stop listening and spent many days hurrying through my work so I could resume listening. Loved this book and the narration!

Hooked

Cannot stop listening to this whole series. Excellent writing. This author has truly captured my attention.

Ok Crime Novel...but needs more suspense

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Interesting premise

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Flesh out the killer's side of the story. Lots of opportunity for suspense and confrontation, but there was little. .

Have you listened to any of Joyce Bean’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

The Cold Room

Been a long time since I read the other books, did enjoy this story, so must get the nexr one, to see what happens next!
good narration.

Unusual mystery

This is a bit of mystery, but the type where the listener/reader knows more than the detectives, including the name of the killer—though not necessarily who he is. But the listener/reader doesn't know everything. So the reveals occur in a different way, and the listener/reader gets the perspective of the killer and the detectives concurrently. The murders are not gruesome in the typical bloody way but more eerie and psychologically frightening. Necrophilia plays a part, which I'm adding just as a warning, not to spoil anything. It could be problematic for some listeners/readers. I liked that some of the info was educative too.
The writer does an adequate job in eliciting a bit of pity, and possibly, sympathy for the murderer along with requisite negative feelings and thoughts. There's an interesting racial component to the story which the author handles well, primarily; improvements could be made. But I have read/listened to much worse. And, unfortunately, people of greater cultural understanding and sensibility are too rare to expect in commonplace fiction.
As the book nears its culmination it moves overseas, and we get a sense of Italy, it's language, the sights, smells and tastes. The narrator handles it well, and it adds another layer to the story, albeit, an unnecessary layer.
There's a bit of an established romance between Baldwin, a male FBI agent, and Taylor, a female detective. But there's no explicitness sexually, and the relationship was less than half the focus of the story. As the book is closing, manufactured conflict in the romance comes to a head. So it becomes a bit more of the focus, unnecessarily. The author seemed to be trying to make the book something it wasn't or couldn't be. Here the story was at its worst. Still, Baldwin and Taylor are likeable characters. Taylor was described as 5'9 or 6' and has a scar while also considered stunning. So she wasn't entirely the "typical" beauty and heroine in EVERY way.
The book held my attention until one of the final reveals in the last 2+ hrs.; it was just so cliché. Also, I think the story could've been wrapped up a little sooner. And I was turned off by the compliment to a woman regarding her emotional strength when she was told that she was stronger than 10 men. So even emotional strength is based on a man too?
There's a small thread in the story that references an unrelated case, and that case is dangled as bate to continue with Taylor's story. I'm not interested.

Good Story bit of everything

Good story intriguing, gave main antgonist character a little early for me. ended with an opening for another story. not so keen on the accents however was easy to follow.

Had it's Creepy Moments...

Would you listen to The Cold Room again? Why?

Probably if I had absolutely nothing new to listen to!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The author captured the unusual crime really well and therefore I enjoyed the thrill of the chase.

Have you listened to any of Joyce Bean’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, as she does make the lead character of Taylor her own.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No but it was intriguing in parts.