Michael Marshall's Killer Move Is A Chilling Thriller

Killer Move is a novel about a Florida Realtor named Bill Moore. He’s doing well enough selling condos in the Florida Keys despite never reaching the level of success he always dreamed of achieving. Most people would be happy enough.

He's married to a beautiful wife. He has a large home in a tony gated community. He sees himself as upwardly mobile. His only failing is that the super success he plotted out on this five-year plan hasn't come to fruition. But Bill won't be deterred.

He's decided to put plans on the fast track by connecting with the “right” people. Unfortunately for Bill, falling in with the right people means falling away from any semblance of life as he knows it. His life will never be the same and neither will the lives of anyone around him.

The card waiting for him at the office one day says it all. "Modified."

Bill doesn't know what it means so he doesn't give it a second thought. In fact, Bill doesn't give much a second thought; he isn’t completely aware of the things happening around him until it hits him full force.

That someone who blew off a meeting with him has disappeared. An older woman he recently met with turns up dead. Bill’s wife discovers racy photos of his female co-worker on his laptop — photos he didn’t take and didn’t put there. And then his wife goes missing. Bill's life is being modified.

Killer Move is peopled with average folks and extraordinary individuals with secret lives and secret pasts.

It’s the story of an unremarkable man who finds himself running for his life to save what he can as it slips from his grasp. There are twists, turns, and mostly unpredictable plot shifts.

The cumulation of them gives the novel a nice element of suspense and even terror. And while there is the requisite violence, it isn’t gratuitous. Where Michael Marshall succeeds with the work is that readers share a roller coaster ride with Bill as his life begins to unravel.

The looming question throughout the book seems simple on the surface. Who is it who wants to destroy Bill's life? And of all people on the planet, why is he the one being targeted? Maybe he is not the only one.

Author Michael Marshall will keep you guessing until the bitter end.

Marshall is a London-based who author grew up in the United States, South Africa, and Australia. While he is an award-winning writer of best sellers, Killer Move proves he is only getting better with age.

Although best known for writing a trio of books: The Straw Men (an international best seller that has also been made into a comic series), The Upright Man, and Blood Angels, he also has several other titles that have won over fans. They include The Servants, The Intruders, and Bad Things.

As if that isn't enough, he also writes under the names Michael Marshall Smith, M. M. Smith, and is an accomplished screenwriter. In his spare time, Marshall and his wife own and manage a natural health and beauty store in London.

Killer Move Is Modified At 5.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Publishers Weekly has called Killer Moves a “subtle and unnerving story of the little things that can tip the balance of one’s life and send it spiraling into chaos.” While I wouldn't say the modification is subtle, the rest is a very apt assessment. While it's not a morality tale, it does remind you that the best things in life are barely noticeable until they aren't there anymore.

Killer Move is to be released on June 28, 2011. You can preorder a copy of Killer Move: A Novel from Amazon. Barnes & Noble is also accepting order reservations for Killer Move. Both offers include steep discounts.

This review is based on an uncorrected advance proof we received from William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.