The Strawberry Picker

The Strawberry Picker
by Monika Feth

Three girls room together in a small city in the German countryside. While the hunt is on for a serial killer moving through their area, two of the girls begin to worry about the "secret" boyfriend their roommate has been hiding. When she is murdered, suspicion is immediately cast upon the unknown boyfriend. As the girls investigate, and one finds a new boyfriend...who likes to be unknown...will they discover that he's the killer before it's too late?

To be honest, I am not a fan of serial killer books since they are usually kind of gory. It's only recently that I've been able to start watching shows like "Criminal Minds," without getting nightmares and having to check the locks about a thousand times. That being said...

This book was just like watching an episode of "Criminal Minds." You know from the beginning that the strawberry picker is the serial killer but you have to wait until the main characters come to the same conclusion. It was also fairly cinematic in that the chapters alternated between the killer, the girls, the police, and the writer...all of whom are involved in the mystery in some important way. You get to see all facets of the issue and how they connect.

Even as a book I wouldn't normally pick up, it was well written and suspenseful. If you like murder mysteries, thrillers, and especially books where you get to see the killer's perspective, you should try this novel. Definitely geared for upper high school into college age readers.