The Bride Collector

By: Ted Dekker

Narrated by: John Glover

Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

FBI Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he's picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: Residents of the Center for Wellness and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted.

It's there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: The ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body.

In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most "sane people" sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls...or inside.

As the Bride Collector picks up the pace-and volume-of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector's next target. The FBI believes that the killer plans to murder seven women. Can Paradise help before it's too late?

©2010 Ted Dekker (P)2010 Hachette

Annoying antagonist

The story had potential, and I liked the supporting characters for the protagonist, but I found the antagonist to be unconvincing. He was full of mixed metaphors and generally inconsistent; since the book spends a lot of time with him, it was quite annoying.

interesting book

At first I was struggling to get into the book because I wasn't familiar with this narrator. through half of the book it was just being read and then he started to get more into doing different voices. that's when I was like ok now I can tell the different characters apart. once I got passed that, the story really came alive to me. I was able to envision what the characters were like.

I found the book very interesting with different twists and turns throughout. i liked getting to know the killer and there reason he thinks he was chosen to pick God's perfect bride. there were unexpected events that took place and the outcome was surprising but great. The love that eventually formed was an awesome twist in the book and I'm glad it turned out the way it did. you won't regret this listen

Superior suspense thriller!

Superior! Knife-blade suspense that will keep you up late & keep you turning pages. A classic Dekker mind-bending thrill ride that plunges the reader into a rush of adrenaline again & again. Chilling mystery, soul-searching drama, endearing romance, & a host of memorable characters will drag your mind into a deep, dark depth that could only come from the mind of Ted Dekker.
Enjoy the ride.

Loved it

Would you consider the audio edition of The Bride Collector to be better than the print version?

This story drew me in and kept me interested. It was clever and exciting. I would have liked to know a bit more background on the characters from the hospital but was entertained none the less.
The narrator was terrible. The cadence of his speech so slow I thought there was a problem with my device. I sped it up but wished for a better delivery thoughout.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Mainly how slow he spoke was the problem for me. He seemed to be trying to make the story more nerve racking with his pauses and droning tone.

I hear that the author can do better

Aspects of this story were good, but overall it was very standard. I found that it was a bit insulting to mental illness - they just need a pat on the hand and to be told that they are pretty and they will be fine!
I have heard from others that Dekker can write better than this so I would try something else by him.

The last third of the book was great

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really. Although the story as a whole was good, the writing itself was weak. It was kind of painful to listen to at times. The characters were unrealistically flat, and none of them had any depth. The story was fun, which is why I give it 3 stars, but I was mostly disappointed.

Would you recommend The Bride Collector to your friends? Why or why not?

No. See my notes above.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narrator did a good job for the most part. There were a few times where he got his own voices for the different characters mixed up, but overall he kept it as interesting as he could make it.

Was The Bride Collector worth the listening time?

The story? Yes. The writing? No.

A Good Read

A book that's hard to put down. If you like a really good Thriller? This is it.

Everyone is the Favorite

FBI Agent Brad Raines has a difficult case on his hands. Someone in Denver is kidnapping beautiful women only to kill them and glue them to the wall. The killer leaves them completely drained of blooded dressed up in a bride's dress. Notes are left inside a heel of some of the women. If decrypted correctly, Raines can take the next step in finding who is committing this string of murders.

But Raines is stumped. However, one of the clues sends him to the Center for Wellness and Intelligence where he meets a group of individuals who have suffered significant emotional trauma that leaves them unable to cope with the world on its terms. The administrator calls their mental incapacities gifts. Raines and his partner, Nikki, buy in to that concept and allow the group to assist them in solving the case. Part of that includes bringing in the body of the fifth victim for Paradise, one of the patients, to touch because one of her gifts is the ability to see ghosts, although no one is really sure if it's real or part of her illness.

Throughout the novel Raines questions his perception of mental illness as well as certain concepts of spirituality. He also plays around with an old psychological concept that we all have the potential of becoming mentally ill if faced with a certain stressor or trauma. He's a tragic figure, yet does experience personal growth to which we, as readers, are included.

At the end of the book, we are treated to an interview with Ted Dekker who explains how he came up with the idea of having patients from a mental institution as intricate players in the mystery. As he explains, he wanted to explore a different way of thinking about these individuals and what would happen if we, as a society, perceived them as having gifts.

The characters in the book are well developed and we find ourselves drawn into their world. We even like them.

Dekker handles some difficult subject matter in the novel and does so with grace and alacrity. There are spots in the novel which run a little slow and it takes longer than it should to get the story moving. However, the tension and suspense within the novel are well worth getting through those places.

Glover does a nice job of reading and makes it easy to identify each of the many characters within the novel. I recommend the book.

Good Characters

Very interesting characters - would love a sequel featuring more from the institute. The drill was just creepy. Good read.

Loving It!

If you could sum up The Bride Collector in three words, what would they be?

unpredictable, intriguing, edge-of-your-seat-exciting

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Bride Collector?

As the story goes on The Bride Collector kidnapps many women. When one woman in particular is kidnapped, all I could think was I did not see that coming!

Any additional comments?

It is awesome!