Just One Bite: A Novel

Timothy Blake is back and if you've read Hangman, you know his tastes run toward the macabre. In fact, this follow up is even more grisly than its predecessor. This one has quite the case for Blake to solve, and things seem to get dangerously close to convoluted for a while. In addition to that, Blake's quick wit and sharp intellect aren't on par with what I found in the first book, which was sorely missed this time around. That said, Heath does bring things together for a crazy, can't catch your breath conclusion that has me hoping Just One Bite is more than a sequel. That aside, we get more of Blake on a personal level as things heat up with Thistle and for me, that's where some of the real fun began. It's not easy to humanize a monster, particularly one like Timothy Blake, but Jack Heath not only managed it, he did it so well that I even found myself feeling sorry for Timothy. Not enough to ever want to be in his vicinity, but sorry for him nonetheless. Having read both Timothy Blake books, I would say that Just One Bite can be read as a standalone, but I would recommend reading Hangman first to get the full picture of this wonderfully twisted character.