Face of a Killer

by Robin Burcell

Book Overview

Facts lie . . . Two decades after the murder that shattered her world, FBI agent and forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick confronts her father's killer face to face. But the inmate who's scheduled to be executed for the crime is not what she expected. Heightening Sydney's unease, she receives a photograph sent to her by a man just prior to his suicide, causing her to question everything she believed about her father. Now she wants the truth--no matter...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0072AZ4P2
• ISBN13: 9780061122309
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Truth in Advertising

I have to confess! Robin Burcell is my daughter, and she writes one helluva good page turner with plenty of action and suspense. Moreover, she knows her subject. A former California police detective, Robin was trained by the FBI in forensic drawing (and not merely those simplistic manufactured identikits, either; she really can draw. Long deceased victims have been identified because of her actual reconstructive drawings.). Similarly, Robin's main character, Sydney Fitzpatrick, is an attractive, engaging and self-possessed forensic artist with the San Francisco branch of the FBI. Haunted by the murder of her father twenty years previously, Sydney uncovers clue after clue, relentlessly pursuing her leads to Houston, Mexico, and back to San Francisco again. Her pursuit leads her into far deeper waters than she bargained for, however; and her forensic drawings, sketched at the beginning of each chapter, gradually reveal the "face of a killer" (Do try to resist the temptation to peek at her finished drawing before you reach the end!). But don't merely take the word of a proud mother that Robin Burcell's "Face of A Killer" is a smashing detective yarn that you will want to keep on reading. Purchase a copy and discover it for yourself!

I Confess!

Robin Burcell is my daughter, and she writes one helluva good page turner with plenty of action and suspense. Moreover, she knows her subject. A former California police detective, Robin was trained by the FBI in forensic drawing (and not merely those simplistic manufactured identikits, either; she really can draw. Long deceased victims have been identified because of her actual reconstructive drawings.). Similarly, Robin's main character, Sydney Fitzpatrick, is an attractive, engaging and self-possessed forensic artist with the San Francisco branch of the FBI. Haunted by the murder of her father twenty years previously, Sydney uncovers clue after clue, relentlessly pursuing her leads to Houston, Mexico, and back to San Francisco again. Her pursuit leads her into far deeper waters than she bargained for, however; and her forensic drawings, sketched at the beginning of each chapter, gradually reveal the "face of a killer" (Do try to resist the temptation to peek at her finished drawing before you reach the end!). But don't merely take the word of a proud mother that Robin Burcell's "Face of A Killer" is a smashing detective yarn that you will want to keep on reading. Purchase a copy and discover it for yourself!

Mystery and Action Abound in Face of a Killer

Sydney Fitzpatrick is a FBI agent and a forensic artist, she helps where others cannot. She draws the faces of kidnappers, rapists, and murderers. She helps victims which are beyond the help of the police and medicine, she reconstructs the dead. She's 33 years old, but has lived a life time. Her one quest in life is to find out what happened to her father twenty years ago, when his pizza pallor was robbed and burned to the ground with him inside. Sydney's mother wants nothing more than for her to drop the whole issue. Syd wants to go to San Quentin to face the man who killed her father. When she does, one mystery leads to another, each more perplexing than the last. Johnnie Walker swears he's not the killer, but he saw the man who is. Scotty, Syd's one time boyfriend, wants her to leave the case alone. But as Sydney is drawn into her father's case, she comes to realize that Walker may not be the killer and the killer is out there waiting for her and her family including little sister, Angie--an FBI agent in training at age 12. As things go from bad to worse, Syd comes to face the facts that a long time family friend may be responsible for all of her suffering. If only she can prove it before Walker is executed. Face of a Killer is the first book in the Sydney Fitzpatrick series published in 2008. It is a turbulent ride from start to finish. As you step on board the roller coaster that is Sydney's life, you go from one misadventure to another. Fighting bad guys in the streets of San Francisco to Baja California to little San Arleta, the action never quits. Again Ms. Burcell gives us a wonderful ride into the life of criminal activity. It is a worthy read with 5 stars.

Provocative Read!

Sydney Fitzpatric, FBI forensic artist, is having a hard time fitting in at her new assignment, and it doesn't help that she suspects her ex-boyfriend is keeping tabs on her. Throw in a reluctant (at least at first) partner, the normal angst of her relationship with her mother and step father, a precocious 13-year-old sister, and a self-serving, political-insider 'uncle' who is seeking reelection, and the characters alone offer a treasure-trove of tension as a backdrop to a provocative plot. It is the anniversary of Sid's father's murder, and she visits the man convicted. During this visit, the first seeds of doubt creep into her thoughts as to the man's guilt. So begins a journey where the Pollyanna of the FBI office travels into the gray area between right and wrong with the help of Carillo, her partner and an agent who is much more flexible about the rules. Sid discovers much about her father and his associates and about the man who has languished in jail for 20 years awaiting execution for her father's murder. But most-importantly, she learns a lot about herself in the process. The story starts out a bit slowly, but once things get moving, watch out. Sydney is a sympathetic and compelling woman, and her quest for the truth is one you hope, until the very end, won't destroy her and her family. I highly recommend Robin Burcell's 'Face of a Killer.'

Magnificent and thorough storytelling

The Face of a Killer Robin Burcell Poisoned Pen Press (2008) ISBN 9781590583746 Reviewed by Gina Holland for RebeccaReads (5/08) "The Face of a Killer" -- Where do I begin? FBI agent and forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick is strong-willed, very intelligent and a one of a kind. When Sydney was a young girl, her father was murdered. The police find evidence which points straight to Johnnie Wheeler, the accused. One of Sydney's current cases involves a woman named Tara Brown, who was brutally raped and left for dead. Tara is very afraid to describe her captor, however, once Sydney talks to her and makes her feel safe, she begins to remember certain pieces of the man's features. As Sydney begins to draw the sketch of the man from Tara's description, it triggers a far-flung memory. Sydney was convinced all along that the man in prison was definitely the one who killed her father, but the sketch of this man looks exactly like Johnnie Wheeler, the man awaiting execution for her father's murder. On the anniversary of her father's death, Sydney decides there is something she needs to do. She wants to visit Johnnie Wheeler in prison and ask him why. Why did he kill her father? Sydney knows that if she goes to the prison, her mother and stepfather will object. Her mother is furious when Sydney tells her of her plan, but Sydney decides she has to go anyway. Sydney visits Wheeler in prison and so the doubts continue. Was it really Wheeler who killed her father? Or could it be someone else?; someone who has been torturing and hurting other women besides Tara Brown. As we follow Sydney's story, we laugh and we cry with her. We also fear for her. She has a reluctant partner in Carillo, but when these two put their heads together, they do some great work in uncovering the truth of her father's murder. When Sydney discovers her family is in danger, she pushes herself to break the case. This is a great thriller. Robin Burcell has brought us into her real world as a Forensic Artist. She was both magnificent and thorough in her storytelling. I read this book in less than two days; it was so interesting, I could not put it down. I thank Ms. Burcell for bringing "The Face of a Killer" to us and I look forward to her next.