NORMAL
By Graeme Cameron. Harlequin. $29.99

A TIME TO RUN
By J. M. Peace. Macmillan. $29.99

Graeme Cameron and Queensland police officer Jay Peace both delve into the minds of serial killers in their exciting debut thrillers.

Cameron's Normal (see Karen Hardy's interview with Graeme Cameron) the more inventive of the two and is one of the best British crime novels I have read so far this year.

Cameron's unnamed narrator is a normal looking and outwardly pleasant person who is quite witty and amusing in his observations. For him, however, killing and mutilation is normal and just part of what he does. Despite his admission that he hurts people, "It's all I've ever done", he is quite an engaging narrator, although Cameron frequently jolts the reader out of their comfort zone with his killer's sardonic mixing of the everyday with the horrific: "An unprecedented calm enveloped me as I made space in the pantry freezer, between the joints of topside beef and the waitress from the Hungry Horse."

Things are going smoothly for Cameron's narrator until he begins to fall in love with a checkout girl from the local grocery store and his latest victim, who is locked in an elaborate cage in his basement, turns out to be more of a challenge than he was expecting. Gradually his life turns to chaos and the police begin to circle.

This is a very clever and witty novel that will shock and enthral readers as it twists its way through a series of surprises and unexpected developments to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion. The characters are well developed and original, and the writing is smooth and amusing. A must read!

Peace's A Time to Run traverses more familiar terrain, but is still an exciting and gripping story.

A night on the town blowing off steam goes terribly wrong for Sammi Willis. She is drugged and kidnapped and driven into the Queensland bush by a killer who likes to hunt women for sport. Unbeknown to the killer, however, Sammi is a police officer who refuses to give in. As the killer tracks his prey through the hot, dusty bush, Sammi's colleagues and her boyfriend frantically try to find her.

Raw and credible, this is a tough and thrilling novel that moves at a good pace. The writing is not as polished as Cameron's, but the sheer energy of the story will keep most readers happily turning the pages well into the night.

A good way to spend a cold Canberra weekend.

Jeff Popple is a Canberra reviewer.

Karen Hardy talks to Graeme Cameron in tomorrow's Relax magazine.