The Anniversary Man: A Thriller

By R.J. Ellory

Twenty years ago, John Costello's life as he knew it ended. He and his beautiful girlfriend, Nadia, became victims of the deranged "Hammer of God" killer who terrorized Jersey City throughout the summer of 1984. This murderer went after young courting couples in an attempt to "save their souls." Nadia was killed by the first blow of the hammer. John survived, but was physically and psychologically scarred to an extent that few people could comprehend. He withdrew from society, hid in his apartment, and now only emerges to work as a crime researcher for a major newspaper.

Damaged as he may be, no one in New Jersey knows more about serial killers than John Costello. So, when a new spate of murders starts--all seemingly random and unrelated--John is the only one who can discern the complex pattern that lies behind them. But could this dark knowledge threaten his own life?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Jun 10, 2010
• ISBN: 9781590208045

Reviews for The Anniversary Man

[csdaley-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved most of this book. Hated the ending. I hate when characters suddenly start behaving differently for plot purposes.

[karenduff · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

couldn't put it down. one of those books where i go i'll just read a few more pages and then i'll put the light out but i'm still reading it two hours later.

[johnwbeha · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've graded this 3.5 out of five and have not rounded that up. This was a very good read and was only just short of being a 4 book. It is a police procedural, serial killer thriller with good key characters and a well researched plot base. I cannot talk about my perceptions of its shortfalls without becoming a spoiler. But I don't want to put anyone off reading this book by an excellent author.

[jules72653 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a page turner!

[maneekuhi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"The Anniversary Man" is my 2nd Ellory book, and I've rated it 4 1/2 stars. Its about a man, now working as a crime researcher at a major NYC newspaper, who 20 years earlier survived an attack by a serial killer. Now he is providing support to the police, who are hunting for a killer who is replicating murders committed by various serial killers, and committing them on the anniversary of the original murder. It's a tight, tense well plotted and well told story with themes about who we are interwoven into the story. A relationship develops between the lead cop and the star reporter and has more ups and downs before their second date than a Coney Island roller coaster. Then there's the researcher - what to make of him? On the outside an expert of facts about serial murder cases; on the inside, well what? Ellory doesn't seem to give the neat, tidy, happy ending with which most authors reward their readers, but that's ok. What really stopped me from going the 5 star route was Detective Irving was too whiny, throughout; started to get tired of it halfway through.

[austcrimefiction · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes, not very often granted, a blurb on the front of a book nails it for me. In the case of THE ANNIVERSARY MAN the blurb from Clive Cussler is "The perfect author to read late into the night". I'd definitely advise that you catch up on your sleep before you pick up a book by R.J. Ellory. This is the second of his that I've read now and both of them have kept me up way too late, or found me sneaking out to hide in the chook sheds and grab a little time with the book when I really should have been working. THE ANNIVERSARY MAN is the story of a serial killer, but don't let that put you off. The killer is not the focus of this book, there's none of that "in the head of" stuff going on. Instead, you get a glimpse into the life of a victim who survived and the cop who, many years later, finds himself looking to that victim for guidance on what is driving a current day killer. John Costello is the victim who survived when his girlfriend and he were attacked as teenagers. His killer caught, John was left to recover from his physical injuries and find a way to live his life and deal with the mental trauma of what he had been through. His way of coping is to know serial killers and their victims. To see the patterns, I suppose to try to understand why. Karen Langley is the crime reporter for whom John works as a researcher. She knows little about John's personal life, but she is extremely protective of him. Ray Irving is a cop with his own trauma. A natural loner, the death of his long-term girlfriend has taken away Ray's anchor, left him blindsided in a way that he has no idea how to handle. In a poignant and almost sad way, a series of killings that eventually sync up to be copies of previous serial killer's acts becomes Ray's personal crusade. A desire to stop the Anniversary Killer drives him, his ability to throw himself into the investigation despite barriers, seems to be his need to be relevant, wanted, busy, connected to the world again. Ray and Karen and John somehow have to feel their way into a working relationship, maybe the potential of a personal relationship between Ray and Karen, but somehow these three people have to band together to help find a dangerous, inexplicable serial killer who seems unstoppable.This is a very different serial killing book. The murders that are happening are all as close to identical to the past events as the killer can make them, right down to the dates, methodology, the scenes of the crime. But the Anniversary Killer is emulating more than one past serial killer so part of the investigation must be to solve how this person has such detailed knowledge. There's also the never-ending question of why. More chillingly, what next. And that is where John's particular knowledge becomes something Ray relies on - finding the next anniversary, working out where the killer is likely to strike. The relationship that builds between Ray, Karen and John is beautifully done - the potential of a new romance touching and not at all distracting; Karen's protectiveness towards John nicely balanced; John's life somewhat shadowy, his knowledge completely understandable, and so touching.THE ANNIVERSARY MAN was as close to perfect a reading experience as I've had in quite a while, I really did not want to put this book down. Why? Possibly because the crimes, as confrontational and awful as they are, were used as a catalyst for other people's reactions or actions. The characters in this book aren't perfect, perhaps a little overtly damaged in some cases, but the insight into human behaviour was both illuminating and touching. And there's no Hollywood ending here - it's real, and it hurt and whilst, you may have an inkling of what's coming, there was just enough to make you wonder if Ellory would really go through with it. There is also that something that just works for particular readers - I really believed in Ray. I really wanted him to succeed, solve the crimes, get the girl, become best mates with John and ride off into the sunset to a happy place. And most importantly, I can happily forgive him for anything he didn't quite manage to do.

[eyejaybee · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Very disaapoiinting. I had enjoyed this author's previous book, "A Simple Act of Violence" and, consequently, was surprised at how tedious I found its successor. I could almost feel my hair turning grey as I read this.

[miyurose_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

'For a long time John Costello tried to forget what happened.Perhaps pretended that it had not.The devil came in the form of a man, around him the smell of dogs.'I didn’t find this to be as lyrically beautiful as A Quiet Belief in Angels was, but it was still quite good. Ellory doesn’t write crime novels like you expect them to be written. The book is really more about the people involved than it is about the crime. In this case, you have a triumverate of main characters: Detective Ray Irving, journalist Karen Langley, and John Costello, a researcher who works for Karen who also happens to be the survivor of a serial killer.John has spent his adult life reading about and researching serial crimes, so when there’s a series of seemingly unrelated murders in NYC that happen to mimic earlier serial murders, he is the only one who recognizes what is going on. It’s brought to Ray’s attention via an article that Karen plans to publish, and Ray slowly comes to realize that he can’t solve this crime without their help.With the exception of John, whom Ray refers to as 'the fucking Rainman' at one point, our main characters are refreshingly normal. Ray is a bit lonely (his girlfriend suddenly passed away a few months before), but he doesn’t have any of the gigantic flaws you would expect from our down and out detective. The one thing about the novel that did bug me was that every time Ray thinks of his deceased girlfriend, she is referred to by her full name: Deborah Wiltshire. We only need her last name once. It’s not like there was another Deborah in the book.I think Ellory does a great job of capturing the feel of New York. I’m always impressed when a foreign author is is able to portray the U.S. so well. I think it shows their dedication to the story they write. I was a little surprised by the ending of the book, but it wasn’t completely unexpected. And I thought it was fitting.Overall, this was a book I really enjoyed. Ellory is a master of the character-driven crime novel.

[devenish_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

We begin with young John Costello meeting a girl and falling in love with her. One day,sitting on a park bench together they are approached by a stranger who announces himself as 'The Hammer of God' and who then batters both of them with a hammer,killing the girl and leaving Costello badly injured.Twenty years later a series of killings begins,which becomes known as 'The Anniversary Killings'. Each killing by the 'Anniversary Man' follows exactly a murder committed years ago on the same date.Detective Ray Irving is in charge of the case which seems impossible to solve,and as he becomes more and more involved. Both the present day murders and the old cases seem to give him no clues until he is put in touch with the survivor of the 'Hammer of God' case.This is R.J.Ellory's best book since 'A Quiet Belief in Angels'. Here he has invented a killer who seems omnipotent , and at the same time several sympathetic characters with whom the reader can really care about and who one can only hope survive beyond the end of the book.

[murdermysterymayhem · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ellory is the master of subtle suspense. Hard to believe that subtle is an appropriate word to describe a book with a copycat serial killer running amok in NYC but an eerie foreboding slowly builds until you just can’t put the book down. Did he do it or not? A question that also plagues Detective Ray Irving the cop assigned to investigate the death of a teenage girl in Bryant Park. Oddly, a newspaper reporter has connected this crime to other seemingly random murders and her crime researcher, John Costello, appears to have an unhealthy fascination with death. Costello’s unique experience provides insight into a world Irving needs to quickly understand but is the damaged Costello an asset, a victim, or a killer? For fans of the police procedural, true-crime, and suspense.

[agathanaylor_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Serial killer, copycat. John Costello researcher working for a journalist. Hinself a victim of a serial killer. Well plotted story. Police investigator who is typically flawed and a hard edged female reporter.

[teresa1953_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This author just gets better and better. He paints his characters so well and they are strong and complex personalities. I particularly liked his handling of the autistic/OCD profile of one of the main characters and the reasons for his condition. The story moved at a good pace and kept you guessing right to the end. Many crime novels finish in a hurry, but R J Ellory seems to have the knack tying up loose ends and finishing his novels with a sense of understanding of his main characters. What can I say? Just read it and enjoy!