Gun Machine

I read Gun Machine, because my husband gave it a strong recommendation and insisted that I would love it. He has fantastic taste in books, an generally if he says I’ll love something he’s bang on. Gun Machine was absolutely no exception.

When a shootout claims the life of Detective John Tallow’s partner, he chases the suspect through a building and accidentally stumbles across an apartment filled with guns, each of which was used in an unsolved murder. No one is very happy about the prospect of opening up hundreds of old murder cases and Tallow, mourning the death of his partner, is left to work directly with forensics to find the common thread that runs through these cases. What he discovers is that he has accidentally stumbled on the trail of the most prolific and terrifying killer in New York history, and that this previously-invisible hunter would soon target the man who stumbled so haphazardly into the apartment on Pearl Street.

I’ve never read a thriller like this before. The writing was beautiful and sometimes even poetic. The character development was strong, and I loved the chapters from the perspective of the killer about as much as I loved the strangeness of the forensic team. I can’t say too much more without giving away things that are best discovered by diving into the book. I would highly recommend this book to just about anyone, and am planning to read more of Ellis’s work soon.