A twister through Texas

Will Grace survive her trip across Texas with a serial killer? And what made her crazy enough to suggest the trip to him in the first place? Even if Carl has dementia (as he claims) he’s still a strong, scary person.

But Grace believes she is stronger. When she was 12, her 19-year-old sister disappeared without a trace and now clings to the slimmest of hopes that Rachel is still alive, but all of her actions are aimed at finding a killer.

That’s how she came to be riding across Texas in various rented cars with the man she is sure murdered her sister. She trained for this, her

PAPER GHOSTS

physical fitness and reflexes are at their peak. But watching Carl take imaginary photos in places other Texan women disappeared, Grace fears she’ll be next, leaving her parents to grieve for two missing daughters.

Carl was tried as a killer; his DNA was found at another crime scene but he convinced the court he was too crazy to know what happened and when. Grace thinks he’s crazy like a fox. She’s watching him.

Julie Heaberlin’s Texas roots crawl through Paper Ghosts, like the fear you feel for Grace as her actions become more extreme. In her fourth novel, Heaberlin keeps the tension high; her speciality is psychological by Julie Heaberlin (Penguin Random House, $37) Reviewed by Helen Van Berkel thrillers and the experienced novelist throws in plenty of twists.

Texas is a character in the book in its own right as Grace and Carl travel on their bizarre journey from one killing ground to the next.

The book contains a double tragedy: the tragedy of murder and the tragedy of dementia. Carl is possibly the most unsympathetic character he could be and he could be lying about his illness and memory loss. But the others at the run-down dementia home when he lives are clearly victims of the disease.

Heaberlin writes: “Dementia is like any other serial killer — except we can’t fight back. Not yet.”

The stories of these two serial killers will keep you hurrying to reach the last page.