The Crucifixion Experiments

By: Gord Rollo

Narrated by: Lou del Bianco

Jake Mercer’s life is spiraling out of control. As a criminal profiler and one of the senior homicide investigators in the Oakland Police Department, he’s spent the last twenty-five years getting inside the heads of killers and trying to understand the way they think. He’s the best at what he does, but constantly playing in the minds of madmen carries a heavy price, leaving Jake an out of shape, alcoholic loner suspended from active duty.

THE MURDERS HAVE STARTED…

Another serial killer is prowling the streets now, a violent lunatic who’s making a game of nailing retired Catholic priests to trees and bridges and hydro poles around the city. Torture and murder isn’t enough, the predator experimenting with the bodies of his victims to further whatever diabolical plan only they seem to know.

THE EXPERIMENTS HAVE BEGUN…

Broken down or not, Lieutenant Mercer just might be the only man who can catch this killer before the frightened citizens of Oakland start to panic. Reinstated back onto the force and trying his best to stay out of the bottle, Jake finds himself teamed up with two rookie detectives in what will be his most difficult case ever—and quite possibly his last.

©2021 Gord Rollo (P)2024 Fright Night Audio

Great story

“The Crucifixion Experiments” is an excellent thriller that follows Lt Jake Mercer and his rookie partners as they try to stop a series of serial murders involving members of the Catholic Church in Oakland, CA. The plot is well-constructed and the pacing is excellent, leaving the reader guessing as they progress through the story up to the very end.

Mercer is a great protagonist: a cantankerous, flawed smartass who sees the demons in others even as he wrestles with his own. He’s an excellent student of human nature and his insights are invaluable to the reader. His partners, Riley and Bello, are good foils for him and I hope if there are more stories featuring Mercer that they get more time to stand out.

The narrator brings a perfect blend of world-weariness, resignation, and hope to Mercer. He also does a great job differentiating the various characters that Mercer encounters in the story. All in all, a great story and highly recommended!

I received the audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

Crime Thriller!

I have read a few of Rollo’s books, so I thought I had an idea where the book would go, but I was wrong on this one. What a surprise! It’s more thriller, less horror (although the acts committed by the perp are certainly horrific). It’s a gritty detective drama with excellent narration. I could definitely see this one becoming a movie some day. Lou’s voice lends itself to painting a descriptive picture, which certainly adds to the experience of the book.

pretty good

While Gord Rollo is not a new name in the horror scene, The Crucifixion Experiments is my first encounter with his work. It is also very different from his more popular titles, like Jigsaw Man. You may find The Crucifixion Experiments in the horror section of Audible, but it is definitely more of a thriller or serial killer detective type story. Which is fine, I like those.

Let’s talk about the audiobook for a moment. Lou del Bianco is a new to me narrator. Seems I’ve encountered a lot of new narrators lately! This narrator was perfect for this book. He is exactly what I imagine Jake Mercer sounds like. I found myself making comparisons to Will Patton’s narration of Stephen King’s Bill Hodges trilogy, which I thought was fantastic. Lou del Bianco does a great job of bringing out the essence of Jake Mercer.

Jake Mercer is the best at what he does. There’s just one problem, his methods have left him a broken man. He’s spent so many years solving murder cases by getting in the mindset of murderers and it’s taken its toll, leaving him to self-medicate with alcohol. His alcoholism leads to a suspension from the force. Jake is at the lowest point in his life, fairly drunk in a bar in the middle of the day when two rookie detectives walk in and solicit his help with a case. He is reluctant to go back to the job that broke him, but part of him knows the department would not have reached out to him if they didn’t think he was the best man for the job. His methods threaten to break him again and plunge him further into the alcoholism abyss, but now he is not alone. He has to set an example for his two proteges, who give him a nudge when he’s slipping.

There isn’t anything groundbreaking happening here, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It follows the crime thriller formula with very few surprises. There’s comfort in that formula though. There’s a reason crime dramas are so popular. There’s a reason there are so many CSI spinoffs. We love to feel like we are solving the mystery and finding the killer in a medium tension low stakes kind of way. I love solving crimes, but I don’t want to do it in the real world. The story takes you through several possible solutions and gives you just enough details to make you second guess yourself. There is a level of predictability, but I think that’s part of the fun of a crime thriller.

Another part of the fun is finding a rabbit hole to dive into. In this case, that rabbit hole is right in the title. The Crucifixion Experiments not only describes the plot, it refers to a series of tests performed on cadavers to settle debates about the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. Is it physically possible for a body to be nailed to a cross in the way it’s always been portrayed? Such experiments have been conducted several times over the course of the last 200 years. These experiments, and this book, explore that idea. While my googling isn’t technically part of the book, it is part of my enjoyment of reading the book.

I was gifted an Audible code from Fright Night Audio. All views expressed here are my own. I think if you’re the type of reader who likes to google the morbid things referenced in books, you’ll have a good time with this one. I know I did.

Not to be missed!

Jack Mercer is a homicide detective about two steps from being fired. Drunk, alone, and barely hanging on to his sanity he is pulled full force into a serial killers deranged cat and mouse game. With two new partners, Riley and Bello, they must race against the clock as they find body after body. What’s the connection, the reason, and the end hold?

Holy. Crapt. (Pun intended, obviously.) I have a few disclaimers to make first: 1) I have never read a Gord Rollo story before and I’m so glad I started with this one and 2) I don’t typical like police procedural novels as they are all the same… boring. But friends, this is ANYTHING by boring.

What I loved most about Rollo’s writing is it’s some of the tightest I have seen. No word is filler on any page. It’s precise, sharp, and deadly. Add to that the vivid imagery, religious zealots, and the world building, it’s a Top Ten for this year for sure.

Narrated by Lou del Bianco, holy Toledo. He pulls you in and doesn’t let go with that gritty, no nonsense cop voice. This isn’t one to miss, friends.

A DOUBLE HIGHLY RECOMMEND 10/5.

Crime with an edge 

A gritty police procedural that utilizes the formula very well.
With crime scenes, described in gruesome detail, and a rarely taken on subject matter this was perfect if you prefer your crime on the darker side
Lou did a fantastic job with the narration
The authors afterward, hints at more from Jake and crew, and I am definitely on board highly recommended 5stars

Serial Killer on the Loose

A serial killer is at work in Oakland and Police Detective Jake Mercer has been tasked to find them and bring them to justice. One big problem: Jake is an alcoholic and on suspension after insulting the Mayor. But, since he has the ability to get inside the killer's mind, he is the best one for the job.

Jake, along with two rookie detectives, find themselves chasing the mad man (or men) who seems to be crucifying outcast priests. But, the closer they get to discovering who is behind the madness, the stranger things get.

This was a fast read, full of great (and greatly flawed) characters and an action filled story. Part police procedural, part religious madness, the reader is in for an entertaining read with this one. The narrator was perfect for the book and added a lot to my listening enjoyment.

I hope that the author decides to write more books featuring Jake because I would definitely read them.

Great book

In my opinion, The Crucifixion Experiments is a solid thriller with some horror elements sprinkled in.

Mercer is your run of the mill Detective, he is basically a walking stereotype (alcoholic and foul mouthed), but I appreciate it none the less. I am a sucker for the trope. Lou Del Bianco narrates this perfectly. Seriously, he IS Mercer as far as I am concerned. His voice was spot on for this book!

I enjoyed this book a lot. I think it's a great blend of genres and can be appreciated by thriller and horror lovers alike. There isn't a lot of gore (although the murders themselves are quite intriguing). I am definitely interested in reading more from Rollo and listening to more narration from Bianco as well.

So much squandered potential

This is a straight procedural drama. No element of this should be considered horror. It has the makings of a movie like Seven, but glossed over anything really horrific.