Review of The Thin Charade

[Alice Glover]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Thin Charade" by Cathy Coburn.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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The Thin Charade by Cathy Coburn is about unmasking a serial killer. In Chapter Two, Barbara Harris tells the reader, “This is my story, my nightmare.” She married her handsome, charming husband over 11 years ago. It seems to be a successful marriage, but as her brother Ray points out, Mitchell Paul Harris is too controlling. He’s always watching her, checking up on her conversations and contacts. He reads her email and answers the phone for her. Barbara then discovers that her construction worker husband has been writing on the side. While searching for an insurance card in his office, Barbara stumbles upon "The Story of Anna" and becomes disturbed upon reading about a psychopath named John, who vividly recounts his horrific attempt to strangle a young girl under a bridge at the age of fifteen.

Her husband tells her he's writing a novel when she confronts him with the pages. He has also written several other stories, he informs her. Could she read them, she asks, or even help him edit them? He agrees; he wants her to read them, but he wants to watch her when she does. Meanwhile, the police have discovered a serial killer’s burial ground near their home in San Tan Valley, Arizona. Some of the information released matches the information in his stories; three bodies were from Apache Junction, where her family had lived when she met Mitchell Paul Harris. One of her husband's chapters, "The Story of the Red-Scarfed Drunk," raises suspicions about the victim with the red scarf. Barbara struggles to balance her love for her husband with her suspicion and fear of him.

When I read Ann Rule’s A Stranger Beside Me, it struck me how normal and everyday Ted Bundy seemed to his friends and family. He worked with the author at a crisis call center, and she thought he was a bright young man and a sympathetic listener. When it began to dawn on her that he might be a serial killer, she strongly resisted the idea. This is Barbara’s dilemma. Could her normal-seeming husband—who loves to watch crime investigation stories on television—be the monster the press called The Cemetery Killer?

The protagonist, Barbara Harris, tells her first-person narrative that alternates with her husband’s horrifying John the serial killer stories. Juxtaposed with his evil and cruelty, Barbara's fear and uncertainty are highly effective in keeping the reader’s interest. The reader dreads the terrible things that could happen to Barbara if her husband were a serial killer.

I rate it 3 out of 5 stars. I dropped a couple of stars because of the book's numerous editing errors; and also, I disliked that The Cemetery Killer murdered at will and was often sloppy, even forgetting that he had dead bodies in the trunk until someone mentioned the smell. I felt that adding a police procedural element would have enhanced the overall strength of the crime story. That’s one of my favorite things about crime books. I love it when the police show up and start asking questions and shake the killer up. That adds to the suspense. Still, I recommend this book to people who like to read about serial killers, crime, or even horror, but also to people who like psychological or domestic thrillers. The tense atmosphere, the dangerous nature of Mitchell Paul Harris, and Barbara's constant proximity will grip readers.

Finally, the striking depiction of two hands over the face on the book cover aligns well with the book's theme of uncovering a serial killer. I give it a big thumbs up.

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The Thin Charade
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[Yasmine Zaki Muhieddine]

I enjoyed reading your review, it is captivating and gripping. It makes me want to read the book, despite the negative aspects mentioned in the review.
It is a nightmare for Barbara, I can imagine the fear and doubts when looking at her husband.

[Umesh Bhatt]

Interesting and honest review. It is difficult for a woman to doubt her husband as a serial killer but when clues start accumulating and pointing in that direction then her dilemma starts. This seems to be a good read for those who have interest in suspense and thrillers.