Insidious: An FBI Thriller, Book 20

By: Catherine Coulter

Narrated by: Renee Raudman, MacLeod Andrews

Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

Insidious is the twentieth thriller in #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter's FBI series. FBI agents Savich and Sherlock must discover who is trying to murder eighty-six-year-old Venus Rasmussen, a powerful, wealthy society icon. They soon find out that the danger may be closer than expected.

Venus Rasmussen, a powerful eighty-six-year-old woman who still runs Rasmussen Industries, an international conglomerate, believes someone is poisoning her. After Savich and Sherlock visit with her, someone attempts to shoot her in broad daylight. Who's trying to kill her and why? A member of her rapacious family, or her grandson who's been missing for ten years and suddenly reappears? Savich and Sherlock must peel away the layers to uncover the incredible truth about who would target Venus.

Meanwhile, Special Agent Cam Wittier leaves Washington for Los Angeles to work with local Detective Daniel Montoya to lead the hunt for the Starlet Slasher, a serial killer who has cut the throats of five young actresses. When a sixth young actress is murdered, Cam comes to realize the truth might be closer than she'd ever want to believe.

With breakneck speed and unexpected twists and turns, Coulter's Insidious will leave you breathless until the shocking conclusion.

©2016 Catherine Coulter (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Not the Same Formula

Just a heads up for anyone who has read the previous nineteen books in this series, Coulter switches it up in Insidious. Don't expect romance to be a main plot point or even a subplot. It doesn't exist. This time around it's pure suspense. It's very convoluted - still not sure if I buy it - kind of suspense, but it definitely shouldn't be categorized as a romance. Coulter gives us two different cases: a serial killer on the west coast being investigated by a female FBI agent named Cam and a local cop named Daniel. Again, don't expect any romance between these two. Sherlock and Savich are in D.C. trying to find out who's been trying to kill a sweet little old lady that Savich knows. Both stories get about equal time and kind of wish they would have been split in to two separate novellas. I'd really start to get interested in what was happening with one case only to have to switch to the other on the next page. The cases do not intersect at all, so I'm not quite sure why the book was set up this way.

Somewhat disappointed

I've read every book in this series and have loved them. I eagerly await a new release and devour it immediately. However, I felt this release was not nearly as exciting and the 2 separate story lines didn't work. The one with Savich and Sherlock was almost ridiculous in its simplicity and predictability. The other storyline was predictable, with very few twists and turns I have become accustomed to.

Not up to her usual quality

There were actually two plots: the murder of actresses as well as poisoning of a wealthy old woman. Two were totally separate, and I suppose that the only reason for including them both was to add bulk of the book overall.
I listened to it as an audiobook, and my complaint about story of the poisoning is with the narrator's pronunciation of a name. It being an audiobook, I can't know for sure how the name was spelled, but if it's spelled "M a r c i a" then it's pronounced "Marsha" NOT "Marcy-a". I know that it's a minor thing, but it bugs the hell out of me! For the most part, I really liked that story! The one about the murders of the actresses, Ms. Coulter seemed to want to do more with, but I don't know if she just ran out the steam or what exactly it was. It was good, but it seemed somewhat disconnected and didn't hold together well. Oh well. I've read/listened to the first five or six of this series, and for the most part they were excellent. I think that I need to go back and listen to the ones in between just to remind myself how much her writing has generally impressed me.

Another Winner

Two stories for the price of one! Two very good suspense filled tales... Hard to stop listening to.

Good suspense 'who done it'

This is really a very good novel if one can get past the overly syrupy sweet relationship between married FBI agents Savich (him) and Sherlock (her). Their very precocious 5 year old son Sean also gets a bit boring at times. I counted and found I have 14 of Catherine Coulter's FBI series novels in my Audible library, but this is only my third review. Insidious, book 20 in the series, is far from being the best. But it keep me interested enough to finish the book. The male-female narrating pair are stellar.

This series is perfectly fine when I have nothing better to listen to. The suspense in not as intense in this novel as it is in most other novels in the series.

Far Out!

It's intricately written and wonderfully performed. Highly recommend listening. Enjoyable characterizations. What more need be said.

Very Engaging

love Catherine Coulter. She never fails to deliver a full on engaging story that you want to see right through to the end. thanks

Huge disappointment based on other Coulter novels

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Two plots would have been better with two novellas. Most disappointing, however, was th glacial pace, filled with tedious detail that did nothing to improve the story. What happened to the action and tension in the Nicholas Drummond series? The characters in Insidious are trite and their dialogue tedious and boring. I am going to return his book in favor of another. In addition, the multiplicity of characters makes it very difficult to create plausible voices. MacLeod Andrews is brilliant and always a breath away from launching into Nicholas Drummond whereas Renee Raudman sounds just like the shrill female characters in two other Savitch mysteries. I'll give Coulter another try when she brings back Drummond and his partner.

What could Catherine Coulter have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

See above comments

Would you be willing to try another one of Renee Raudman and MacLeod Andrews ’s performances?

Hav listened to several already

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Colossal disappointment

AAH 3

I Struggled to finish book. It seemed pieced together.
Still finished it even though you could anticipate next sentence.

good book.

I like that Coulter always has two stories going at the same time. Keeps it really exciting. I always liked Savage and Sherlock characters and I like how she always adds a few new characters. Catherine's Coulter books are always very good reads.