Product Description

Criminal profiler Ivy Dunlap is an expert at unraveling the psyches of the most dangerous men alive. She understands the killer instinct. But even Ivy has her limits. And the Madonna Murderer will test them...

"A deeply engrossing read, Hush delivers a creepy villain, a chilling plot, and two remarkable investigators." (Lisa Gardner)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #479001 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-01
• Released on: 2002-05-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Few serial killers penned by suspense writers today are as warped or as fully realized as the Madonna Murderer, who preys on newborn baby boys and their unwed mothers. As if the crime itself isn't bad enough, the killer leaves a musical snow globe that plays "Hush, Little Baby" in the infant's crib as his calling card. It has been nearly two decades since Ivy Dunlap and her infant son were victimized by the Madonna Murderer. Unbeknownst to the killer, Ivy survived the assault. Her baby didn't. Now a respected criminal psychologist, Ivy is called into service by the Chicago P.D. when the killer resurfaces after 16 years of dormancy. Her personal interest in the case takes on a sharper edge when she learns that her partner, Detective Max Irving, has a son named Ethan who is the same age her child would have been had he survived. When Ivy tries to rattle the Madonna Murderer by publishing a "dead-baby letter" in the newspaper, the killer becomes more daring; he befriends Ethan, sends Ivy a chunk of his skin bearing a tattoo and expands his profile of victims. Although some readers may be turned off by the novel's graphic nature, a wealth of procedural detail, a heart-thumping finale and two scarred but indelible protagonists make this a first-rate debut.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
...a wealth of procedural detail, a heart-thumping finale and two scarred but indelible protagonists make this a first-rate debut. -- Publishers Weekly, April 15, 2002

Customer Reviews

Amazing debut
A few months ago I was browsing Amazon.com in search of some new thrillers to read. I was particularly interested in reading debut novels, picking along the way Danielle Girard's "Savage Art" and Bruce Elliot's "Still Life". I was recommended HUSH and after seeing what it was about and reading one or two reviews I decided to give it a shot.

Am I glad I did.

I must say I didn't have much hopes, with the typical storyline of the serial killer on one side and the tough detective aided by the out-of-town female profiler who hides her horrible past. First thing that comes to my mind with novels like these is that the lead characters are going to be living a secret affair by the middle of the novel (this has happened, for example, in Tami Hoag's "Night Sins" and at least two of the books in Kay Hooper's "Shadows" trillogy). Then the suspense is sometimes just opaqued by the romantic element.

Big surprise, that does not happen, and that's just one of the things that make this a great read. Despite of course there ARE some traces of interest between Max and Ivy the novel always keeps the focus on the case and -this being another winner in this novel- on the characters' personal conflicts.

Thus Ivy, Max and the Madonna Murderer are skillfully portrayed, though the best are Max, with the love for a son who doesn't love him back, and the killer, with remarkable glances at his twisted mind.

Other interesting characters are Abraham Sinclair who appears briefly but who I feel I know so much about and Ethan with his teenage conflict with life and the way he feels alone in the world. Yes, Ethan sometimes appears as a selfish brat, but who can deny most teenagers behave like that?

Now, I am not saying this is the best thriller I've ever read. I really haven't thought about which one it is to begin with. But I can undoubtely say it's one of the best I've read this year (along with Jeffery Deaver's "The Bone Collector"). The book in my opinion has a few flaws but the work as a whole more than makes up for them.

I strongly recommend it.

Glad I found this author
I read my first Lisa Gardner book because of a little blurb on the cover saying that Tess Gerritsen said something good about it. I picked up Hush by Anne Frasier because of a quote on the cover by Lisa Gardner. If it's good enough for Lisa, it's good enough for me. I certainly wasn't disapointed. This was a great book with a truly twisted, sicko bad guy. Other reviewers mentioned that there was no wrap up to the book. I went and re- read the ending thinking I had missed something, because it seemed to me that all the loose ends had been taken care of. It seemed pretty clear what the futures of the main characters held. Anyway, this is the first Anne Frasier book I have read and it will not be the last. I loved it. Borders on being 5 star worthy. I'm kind of hoping we get to see Max Irving and Ivy Dunlap together again to solve another crime. Good job, Anne Frasier.

A book to curl up in front of the fireplace with
18 years ago, a killer ravaged Chicago killing unwed mothers and their infant sons. A total of 13 women and babies were killed in the rampage, and the killer was never caught. The Chicagp PD named the killer the Madonna Murder, after the Virgin Mary. But unknown to the killer, one of the women survived. And 18 years when the crimes resurface, a woman with a different name and no past returns to find the man who ended the life of her son. With the help of Detective Max Irving, Ivy Dunlap gets on the case. But the search to find the killer will take her to places she never thought she could go.

With a damaged heroine, an original and terrifying villan, HUSH is a fantastic freshman effort which covers new ground with the serial killer plot. An entirely absorbing plot, HUSH is required reading for the thriller buff. One might want to settle down in front of the fire just to read it in one sitting to get all the clues together.