Product Description

By the author of the bestselling The Pardon, this fast-paced novel teams a resourceful FBI agent and an embattled journalist in a hunt for two men -- a serial killer and his elusive informant.

When an informer chooses Miami Tribune crime reporter Michael Posten as his conduit, giving him information about murders that haven't yet taken place, investigators speculate on whether the killer and informer are the same person. As the newspaper continues to deposit larger sums into the killer's account, FBI agent Victoria Santos and the reluctant journalist join forces to prevent the next gruesome murder. But then dues stop and the murders continue... until a psychopath makes one mistake too many. This gripping, unpredictable story of revenge will not be soon forgotten.

"James Grippando writes with the authenticity of an insider....The Informant is a thoroughly convincing, edge-of-your seat thriller, clearly on a par with The Silence of the Lambs."

-- John Douglas, former chief of the FBI's Investigative Support Unit

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #199261 in Books
• Published on: 1997-08-01
• Released on: 1997-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 464 pages

Amazon.com Review
If you thought The Silence of the Lambs was the last word on how the FBI tracks serial killers, think again. Grippando -- the Miami lawyer who scored with The Pardon -- manages to reveal even more inside information as agent Victoria Santos goes after a particularly nasty murderer/mutilator. Helping in the chase is reporter Mike Posten, getting repeated tips from somebody who reveals the kind of details only the actual killer could know. There's also an exciting, ultra-violent conclusion on a cruise ship just begging for Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.

From Publishers Weekly
The title character of attorney Grippando's second thriller (after The Pardon) is the anonymous man who contacts Miami Tribune reporter Mike Posten and claims that he can predict the next victim of a serial killer who has eluded the FBI's Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit. The informant wants to be paid in cash for what he says he knows. After a brief debate, Posten and his paper pony up for a series of exclusives. Posten also talks to the FBI, in the form of agent Victoria Santos, who is alone in believing that the informant and the killer are different people. It's an unusually cerebral and low-key beginning to a serial-killer thriller, emphasizing procedure, forensics and professional ethics rather than shock or even suspense; the killings that occur during this set-up take place off page. Soon enough, however, the informer/killer question is resolved and Grippando moves his story into more familiar territory, telling an absorbing tale with cool competence. The murders are given a plausible motive and the climax, which takes place on a hijacked cruise ship, surges with tension; even Posten's marital problems are tied neatly to the plot line. Former FBI agent and veteran serial-killer-stalker John Douglas (Mind Hunter) has blurbed this novel as authentic and "thoroughly convincing"; true?and it's a nail-biter to boot. $60,000 ad/promo; simultaneous HarperAudio release.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Grippando's (The Pardon, LJ 8/94) second novel is a taut page-turner with class, reminiscent of the work of Michael Connelly (The Concrete Blond, Little, Brown, 1994) and Patricia Cornwell (Cause of Death, LJ 3/1/96). A diabolical serial killer is traversing the country slicing out the tongues of his seemingly random victims. In a stunning twist on the otherwise tired serial killer theme, reporter Mike Posten of the Miami Tribune is contacted by a man claiming to know the killer's patterns intimately. As the "informant" extorts more and more outrageous sums for his uncannily accurate predictions, Posten and FBI agent Victoria Santos forge an uneasy alliance. While FBI brass are convinced that they are dealing with one man, Victoria remains loyal to her gut instincts. Ultimately, she must acquiesce to using Mike as a lure in a stand-off with the killer aboard a cruise ship. Public libraries will want several copies of this potential best seller.
-?Susan A. Zappia, Maricopa Cty. Lib. Dist., Phoenix
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

One of the Best Books I've ever read!
Overall I think it was a great book, it was very realistic and really held my interest. It was never boring, and it kept a fast pace, the tension keeps getting higher and higher. The book is about a serial killer that murders people all over the US. In the book you follow FBI agent Victoria Santos who teams up with Mike Posten, reporter for the Tribune. Mike Posten is getting calls from a person who says he is an informant. This informant says he can predict the murders before they happen. It is a good book and I recommend it to anybody who like fast paced thrillers.Overall I think it was a great book, it was very realistic and really held my interest. It was never boring, and it kept a fast pace, the tension keeps getting higher and higher. The book is about a serial killer that murders people all over the US. In the book you follow FBI agent Victoria Santos who teams up with Mike Posten, reporter for the Tribune. Mike Posten is getting calls from a person who says he is an informant. This informant says he can predict the murders before they happen. It is a good book and I recommend it to anybody who like fast paced thrillers.

A Gripping Tale of Forensics & Criminal Profiling
On the trail of a serial killer, FBI special agent Victoria Santos eventually teams up with Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Mike Posten when he begins receiving anonymous messages from a caller who claims to be able to predict the name of the next victim BEFORE they're murdered. As the pair reach the crime scenes they discover that the murders appear to be linked by certain physical evidence. Following the trail of victims, they must determine whether the caller is the real killer or an informant. The story follows the action from victim # 1 to the end with interesting sub-plots that add intensity to the overall story. The suspense is nonstop; a thrilling page-turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

My first book by James Grippando....
and it was a winner!

Grippando has given an intricate portrait of the tracking of a serial killer, and increased the believability by having the two main characters, FBI Agent Victoria Santos and reporter Mike Posten, work together in a credible way, and without the seemingly obligatory affair or companion story about them falling in love.

The identity of The Informant is a little too easy to guess, and a little farfetched, but other than that, the book succeeds on many levels. It's action-packed, with interesting characterization, and compels the reader to finish the tale as fast as possible. Grippando keeps the plot twists somewhat bizarre, so its difficult to know which way the story is going next....all of which adds up to a very satisfying read!